Ethics and Aesthetics in Muriel Spark’s Authorial Strategies

This dissertation tries to find a satisfactory answer to a problem that Scottish writer Muriel Spark (1918-2006) poses in her autobiography Curriculum Vitae (1992). There is a paradox in Spark’s way of narrating her autobiography since she offers us a crystalline and detailed depiction of her youn...

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Autor principal:	Altemir Giral, Ana Isabel
Otros Autores:	Villar Flor, Carlos (Universidad de La Rioja)
Formato:	text (thesis)
Lenguaje:	eng
Publicado:	Universidad de La Rioja (España) 2020
Acceso en línea:	https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaites?codigo=283819
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description	This dissertation tries to find a satisfactory answer to a problem that Scottish writer Muriel Spark (1918-2006) poses in her autobiography Curriculum Vitae (1992). There is a paradox in Spark’s way of narrating her autobiography since she offers us a crystalline and detailed depiction of her younger self up until the publication of her first novel, which contrasts with Muriel Spark's highly metafictional novelistic production, with an almost obsessive tendency to explore and expose the very nature of fiction and the complex relationship between life and art. Therefore, her autobiography ends with the idea of being “completed” or “continued” by her readers in her successive novels as the writer herself suggested in some interviews and essays. In order to depict the basic lines that construct her fictional world, we divide her novelistic production into three periods which not only encompass her career, but also evince the evolution of both the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of her fiction. Each period will be studied through a profound analysis of a representative novel: The Comforters (1957), her first novel, The Driver’s Seat (1970), the author’s favourite, and The Finishing School (2004), the last novel she published. In each novel Spark constructs her fiction-writing self through a set of two main characters whose opposing characteristics paradoxically work as a unifying force. This study analyses the Double Motif in Spark's fiction and its development throughout her work. We will aim to prove that Muriel Spark, as a metafictional writer, experiments with fictional doubles to recreate an aesthetic version of reality and, consequently, of herself. Through the authorial strategy of self-effacement in her novels, Spark may offer her readers a truer version of her fiction-writing self.
author2	Villar Flor, Carlos (Universidad de La Rioja)
author_facet	Villar Flor, Carlos (Universidad de La Rioja) Altemir Giral, Ana Isabel
format	text (thesis)
author	Altemir Giral, Ana Isabel
spellingShingle	Altemir Giral, Ana Isabel Ethics and Aesthetics in Muriel Spark’s Authorial Strategies
author_sort	Altemir Giral, Ana Isabel
title	Ethics and Aesthetics in Muriel Spark’s Authorial Strategies
title_short	Ethics and Aesthetics in Muriel Spark’s Authorial Strategies
title_full	Ethics and Aesthetics in Muriel Spark’s Authorial Strategies
title_fullStr	Ethics and Aesthetics in Muriel Spark’s Authorial Strategies
title_full_unstemmed	Ethics and Aesthetics in Muriel Spark’s Authorial Strategies
title_sort	ethics and aesthetics in muriel spark’s authorial strategies
publisher	Universidad de La Rioja (España)
publishDate	2020
url	https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaites?codigo=283819
work_keys_str_mv	AT altemirgiralanaisabel ethicsandaestheticsinmurielsparksauthorialstrategies
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spelling	oai-TES00000229652020-12-15Ethics and Aesthetics in Muriel Spark’s Authorial StrategiesAltemir Giral, Ana IsabelThis dissertation tries to find a satisfactory answer to a problem that Scottish writer Muriel Spark (1918-2006) poses in her autobiography Curriculum Vitae (1992). There is a paradox in Spark’s way of narrating her autobiography since she offers us a crystalline and detailed depiction of her younger self up until the publication of her first novel, which contrasts with Muriel Spark's highly metafictional novelistic production, with an almost obsessive tendency to explore and expose the very nature of fiction and the complex relationship between life and art. Therefore, her autobiography ends with the idea of being “completed” or “continued” by her readers in her successive novels as the writer herself suggested in some interviews and essays. In order to depict the basic lines that construct her fictional world, we divide her novelistic production into three periods which not only encompass her career, but also evince the evolution of both the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of her fiction. Each period will be studied through a profound analysis of a representative novel: The Comforters (1957), her first novel, The Driver’s Seat (1970), the author’s favourite, and The Finishing School (2004), the last novel she published. In each novel Spark constructs her fiction-writing self through a set of two main characters whose opposing characteristics paradoxically work as a unifying force. This study analyses the Double Motif in Spark's fiction and its development throughout her work. We will aim to prove that Muriel Spark, as a metafictional writer, experiments with fictional doubles to recreate an aesthetic version of reality and, consequently, of herself. Through the authorial strategy of self-effacement in her novels, Spark may offer her readers a truer version of her fiction-writing self.Esta disertación intenta encontrar una respuesta satisfactoria a un problema que la escritora escocesa Muriel Spark (1918-2006) plantea en su autobiografía Curriculum Vitae (1992). Hay una paradoja en la forma en que Spark narra su autobiografía, ya que nos ofrece una descripción cristalina y detallada de su "yo" más joven hasta la publicación de su primera novela que contrasta claramente con su producción novelística, altamente metaficcional, con una tendencia casi obsesiva a explorar y exponer la naturaleza misma de la ficción y la compleja relación entre la vida y el arte. Por lo tanto, la descripción casi clínica de los acontecimientos narrados en su autobiografía parece insinuar la idea de ser "completada" o "continuada" por sus lectores en sus sucesivas novelas como la propia escritora sugirió en algunas entrevistas y ensayos. Para representar las líneas básicas que construyen su mundo ficcional, dividimos su producción novelística en tres períodos que no solo abarcan su carrera, sino que también muestran la evolución de las dimensiones tanto éticas como estéticas de su ficción. Cada período se estudiará mediante un análisis profundo de una novela representativa: The Comforters (1957), su primera novela, The Driver’s Seat (1970), la favorita de la autora, y The Finishing School (2004), la última novela que publicó. En cada novela, Spark presenta dos personajes principales recurrentes cuyas características opuestas funcionan paradójicamente como una fuerza unificadora.Por lo tanto, este estudio analiza el Motivo del Doble en la ficción de Muriel Spark y su desarrollo a lo largo de su obra.Buscaremos demostrar que Muriel Spark, como escritora metaficcional, experimenta con dobles ficcionales para recrear una versión estética de la realidad y, por consiguiente, de ella misma. Mediante la práctica de "self-effacement" Spark ofrece a sus lectores la posibilidad de construir una versión más ajustada a la imagen de la escritora que hay detrás de sus novelas.Universidad de La Rioja (España)Villar Flor, Carlos (Universidad de La Rioja)2020text (thesis)application/pdfhttps://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaites?codigo=283819engLICENCIA DE USO: Los documentos a texto completo incluidos en Dialnet son de acceso libre y propiedad de sus autores y/o editores. Por tanto, cualquier acto de reproducción, distribución, comunicación pública y/o transformación total o parcial requiere el consentimiento expreso y escrito de aquéllos. Cualquier enlace al texto completo de estos documentos deberá hacerse a través de la URL oficial de éstos en Dialnet. Más información: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/info/derechosOAI \| INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS STATEMENT: Full text documents hosted by Dialnet are protected by copyright and/or related rights. 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Ethics and Aesthetics in Muriel Spark’s Authorial Strategies

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