‘Back & Down’ Narrative, Psychoanalysis, and Progress in the ...
`Back & Down': Narrative, Psychoanalysis, and Progress in the Novels of Jean Rhys
by J. Kathryn Cook
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychoanalytic Studies
University College London University of London 2016
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DECLARATION I, J. Kathryn Cook, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. J. Kathryn Cook, 23 June 2016
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ABSTRACT
The aim of this thesis is to examine Jean Rhys's novels from a psychoanalytic perspective. While Rhys's fiction is undeniably autobiographically informed, the intent of this study is to explore the life of the fiction rather than that of its author. Each of Rhys's five novels ? Quartet (1929), After Leaving Mr Mackenzie (1931), Voyage in the Dark (1934), Good Morning, Midnight (1939), and Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) ? chronicles the suffering, trauma, and loss experienced by its respective protagonist. As such, Rhys's oeuvre is imbued with a sense of fragmentation that renders her work particularly rich literary material for psychoanalytic criticism, though to date little has been applied to her works.
Looking at each of the author's five individual novels as connected in terms of the issues they explore, this thesis tracks the development of Rhys's works as she systematically explores issues of trauma, maternity, desire, and loss through her characters. My argument is that Rhys's novels represent a literary and psychological progressions inwards, in which her heroines increasingly tolerate psychological spaces infused with strife, demonstrate self-awareness, and develop empathy; my thesis will explore how and by what means this process occurs. Drawing on existing criticism on Rhys's work, which consists predominantly of feminist and postcolonial studies, I will look at the issues and themes of Rhys's oeuvre in conjunction with the psychoanalytic works and theories of Freud and Lacan. This study aims to be an interdisciplinary examination of Rhys's texts and hopes to offer a potentially valuable and largely unexplored way of reading and appreciating her work.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to extend my most sincere gratitude to both of my PhD advisors, Lionel Bailly and Juliet Mitchell, whose guidance, expertise, enthusiasm, and encouragement made this endeavour not only possible but enjoyable. The freedom they allowed me in determining the parameters of my dissertation and the patience they demonstrated as I painstakingly worked out what these were is indicative not only their selflessness as supervisors, but of their kindness and compassion as individuals.
I am also eternally indebted to Greg Dart, who brought After Leaving Mr Mackenzie to my attention and whose shared interest in Rhys's work first inspired this thesis. I could not have asked for a better initiation into Rhys's world than the one he provided.
I would also like to thank my examiners, Patrick Luyten and Patricia Moran. Their insightful feedback and kind approach made my viva such a joy and this work is infinitely better for their input and counsel.
I am beyond grateful to Diana Athill and Diana Melly for generously sharing with me their personal experiences and memories of Rhys and for providing a more grounded and tangible understanding of a very complicated author.
I am thankful to both Brian Clack and Manuel Batsch for their comments and suggestions; their sharp and discerning minds have encouraged me to think beyond that which feels safe and I am forever appreciative of their time and feedback.
I am also profoundly grateful for my singularly gifted classmates and friends, who over the course of four years have shared much needed commiseration, countless coffees, even countlesser bottles of wine, sound advice, and innumerable brilliant ideas. Eliza Cubit, in particular, made the final stages of the writing process bearable and I could not have finished without her company.
I am also grateful to Olive Burke, whose true understanding and application of psychoanalysis added a different dimension to my thesis and my understanding of the practice of analysis. Your quiet brilliance and support is embedded throughout these pages.
My unending, heartfelt gratitude I also owe to my mom, whose limitless love and support in all my pursuits has made yet another impossible degree possible.
And finally to my partner, Charlie, who suffered alongside me as I made sense of something I never thought I would fully understand. Without him, I would have been lost in Rhys's mad world; he more than anyone is responsible for seeing this work to its completion.
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
6
METHOD
31
CHAPTER ONE: Quartet
54
CHAPTER TWO: After Leaving Mr Mackenzie
93
CHAPTER THREE: Voyage in the Dark
138
CHAPTER FOUR: Good Morning, Midnight
182
CHAPTER FIVE: Wide Sargasso Sea
231
CONCLUSION
294
BIBLIOGRAPHY
301
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