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Murder! But How Foul? Determination, Existentialism and Rationalization in Twentieth-Century American Novels with Transgressive Protagonists

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dc.contributor.advisorRedding, Arthur F.
dc.creatorDale, John Frederick
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-31T16:23:30Z
dc.date.available2014-07-31T16:23:30Z
dc.date.copyright2014-04-09
dc.date.issued2014-07-28
dc.date.updated2014-07-28T16:20:59Z
dc.degree.disciplineEnglish
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractHumans tend to blunt the horror of transgressive violence by "containing" it in a potentially explicatory system. This thesis investigates whether a range of transgressive protagonists from canonical twentieth-century American novels are "contained" in this way by reference to philosophical or sociological systems powerful at the time of writing, and further whether the systems involved track the roughly mid-century switch of emphasis from determinism to philosophies valorizing individual autonomy (such as existentialism). These propositions were found to be broadly justified, but there were significant nuances. For example, Humbert Humbert, the protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, at first rejoices in his autonomy from normative ethical standards, but comes to realize that such autonomy can exist only as long as he confines himself to the world of the imagination. On the other hand, Clyde Griffiths, the socially and economically determined protagonist of Theodore Dreiser's American Tragedy, achieves a kind of proto-existential isolation in his quest for an understanding of his "criminal" responsibility. Richard Wright, from mid-century, created both determinist and existential transgressive protagonists, but his work is most obviously characterized by a third element--a half-unexplained volcanic rage. In many of the novels examined it was found that horror at the crime of the transgressive protagonist was further derailed by narratological ploys, including the manipulation of the reader's engagement with, or sympathy for, the protagonist--sometimes by the use of humour. Other cross-currents were apparent; the achievement of self-transcendence in some of the protagonists (e.g. Humbert Humbert and Clyde Griffiths), and the foregrounding of performativity in others (e.g. Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith's Ripleiad). Most remarkably, all of the novels investigated demonstrate a tacit belief in the need to recuperate the protagonist, who is not only a transgressor, but also a humanist subject who is intrinsically of at least potential value. There is an almost unquestioned impulse to somehow address the protagonist's fall from grace. It is further clear that this concern disappears from "anti-humanist" novels featuring transgressive protagonists from the end of the century, such as Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/27698
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectAmerican literatureen_US
dc.subjectModern literatureen_US
dc.subjectPhilosophyen_US
dc.subject.keywordsLet It Come Downen_US
dc.subject.keywordsTransgressionen_US
dc.subject.keywordsTransgressive protagonistsen_US
dc.subject.keywordsAmerican fictionen_US
dc.subject.keywordsExistentialismen_US
dc.subject.keywordsDeterminismen_US
dc.subject.keywordsFrank Norrisen_US
dc.subject.keywordsMcTeagueen_US
dc.subject.keywordsTheodore Dreiseren_US
dc.subject.keywordsAmerican Tragedyen_US
dc.subject.keywordsJames M. Cainen_US
dc.subject.keywordsThe Postman Always Rings Twiceen_US
dc.subject.keywordsRichard Wrighten_US
dc.subject.keywordsNative Sonen_US
dc.subject.keywordsThe Outsideren_US
dc.subject.keywordsVladimir Nabokoven_US
dc.subject.keywordsLolitaen_US
dc.subject.keywordsPatricia Highsmithen_US
dc.subject.keywordsTom Ripleyen_US
dc.subject.keywordsThe Talented Mr. Ripleyen_US
dc.subject.keywordsHumanismen_US
dc.subject.keywordsAnti-humanismen_US
dc.subject.keywordsBret Easton Ellisen_US
dc.subject.keywordsAmerican Psychoen_US
dc.subject.keywordsPaul Bowlesen_US
dc.titleMurder! But How Foul? Determination, Existentialism and Rationalization in Twentieth-Century American Novels with Transgressive Protagonistsen_US
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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