ACTA NEOPHILOLOGICA
35. 1-2 (2002) Ljubljana
MIRKO JURAK
JANEZ STANONIK - OCTOGENARIAN
IGOR MAVER
SLOVENE MIGRANT LITERATURE IN AUSTRALIA
JANEZ GORENC
W. B. YEATS IN THE SLOVENE CULTURAL SPACE
MATEJA SLUNJSKI
THE PLAYS OF L. HELLMAN, C. ODETS AND W. INGE ON SLOVENE STAGES
DANICA ČERČE
CENTENNIAL REFLECTIONS ON STEINBECK'S REPUTATION IN SLOVENIA
HELEN J. SWIFT
ALAIN CHARTIER AND THE DEATH OF LYRIC LANGUAGE
JAMIL GEORGE BARCHA
MICHEL DE MONTAIGNES ESSAIS
ROSALIND SILVESTER
COMMUNICATION WITH THE OTHER IN JEAN PAUL SARTRE'S L'ÂGE DE RAISON
LUDOVIK B. OSTERC
DON QUIJOTE Y HAMLET •
NADA GROŠELJ
ENJAMBMENT AND ITS REALISATION(S) IN SPEECH
NADA ŠABEC
SECOND PERSON PRONOUNS AS MARKERS OF (IN)EQUALITY
GAŠPER ILC
DISCURSIVE ROLE OF PAST TENSES
FRANČIŠKA LIPOVŠEK
THE USE OF POSSESSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS IN ENGLISH AND SLOVENE
ACTA NEOPHILOLOGICA
35. 1-2 (2002) Ljubljana
MIRKO JURAK
JANEZ STANONIK - OCTOGENARIAN.......................................................................... 3
IGOR MAVER
SLOVENE MIGRANT LITERATURE IN AUSTRALIA ....................................................... 5
JANEZ GORENC
W. B. YEATS IN THE SLOVENE CULTURAL SPACE........................................................ 13
MATEJA SLUNJSKI
THE PLAYS OF L. HELLMAN, C. ODETS AND W. INGE ON SLOVENE STAGES.................. 29
DANICA ČERČE
CENTENNIAL REFLECTIONS ON STEINBECK'S REPUTATION IN SLOVENIA................... 45
HELEN J. SWIFT
ALAIN CHARTIER AND THE DEATH OF LYRIC LANGUAGE........................................... 57
JAMIL GEORGE BARCHA
MICHEL DE MONTAIGNES ESSAIS..........................................'..................................... 67
ROSALIND SILVESTER
COMMUNICATION WITH THE OTHER IN JEAN PAUL SARTRE'S L'AGE DE RAISON.......... 77
LUDOVIK B. OSTERC
DON QUIJOTE Y HAMLET .......................................................................................... 91
NADA GROŠELJ
ENJAMBMENT AND ITS REALISATION(S) IN SPEECH ................................................... 101
NADA ŠABEC
SECOND PERSON PRONOUNS AS MARKERS OF (IN)EQUALITY..................................... 115
GAŠPER ILC
DISCURSIVE ROLE OF PAST TENSES........................................................................... 127
FRANČIŠKA LIPOVŠEK
THE USE OF POSSESSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS IN ENGLISH AND SLOVENE....................... 137
ACTA NEOPHILOLOGICA
University of Ljubljana - Univerza v Ljubljani
Slovenia - Slovenija
SLO ISSN 0567-784X
Editor (Urednik):
Associate Editor (Pomočnik urednika):
Mirko Jurak Igor Maver
Editorial Board - Members (Uredniški odbor - člani): Anton Janko, Jerneja Petrič,
Miha Pintarič,
Frančiška Trobevšek - Drobnak
Advisory Committee (Svet revije):
Sonja Bašič (Zagreb), Henry R. Cooper, Jr. (Bloomington, Ind.), Renzo Crivelli (Trieste), Kajetan Gantar (Ljubljana), Kari Heinz Goller (Regensburg), Meta Grosman (Ljubljana), Bernard Hickey (Lecce), Angelika Hribar (Ljubljana), Branka Kalenic (Ljubljana), Mirko Križman (Maribor), Franz Kuna (Klagenfurt), Rado L. Lencek (New York), Tom Ložar (Montreal), Mira Miladinovič - Zalaznik (Ljubljana), Tom M. S. Priestley (Edmonton, Alb.), Janez Stanonik (Ljubljana), Neva Šlibar (Ljubljana), Atilij Rakar (Ljubljana), Wolfgang Zach (Innsbruck).
Acta Neophilologica is published by the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, with the support of Ministry of Science, Schooling and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia. The review is primarily oriented in promoting scholarly articles on English and American literature, on other literatures written in English as well as on German and Romance literatures. The Editorial Board also welcomes scholarly articles in related areas (as e.g. cross-cultural studies, ethnic studies, comparative literature, linguistics). All articles as refereed before being accepted or rejcted. The views expressed in articles should in no way be construed as reflecting the views of the publisher. Articles submitted for consideration should be sent in two computed-printed copies (double spaced), an abstract of no more than 60 words (in English) together with a diskette. Articles should be of no more than 5,000 words, and book-reviews of 1,000 words. For format and style authors should follow the MLA Handbook (fourth ed., 1995).
Articles and suggestions for exchange journals and books for reviews should be sent to Mirko Jurak, Department of English, Filozofska fakulteta, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
©Acta Neophilologica. All rights reserved.
Printed by Birografika BORI, d.o.o., Ljubljana.
UDK 929 Stanonik J.
JANEZ STANONIK - OCTOGENARIAN
On January 2, 2002, the former editor of Acta Neophilologica, Professor Janez Stanonik, Member of the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts, celebrated his eightieth birthday. He founded the review in 1968 and very successfully edited it for thirty-two years. Under his editorship Acta Neophilologica published 205 articles written by 89 authors. Thus we can say that the review opened the possibility for Slovene and other scholars to present their research on Western European literatures and languages as well as on literatures written in English (particularly American, Canadian and Australian) to literary historians and critics throughout the world.
As an account of Professor Stanonik's literary achievements was published two years ago (Acta Neophilologica 33. 1-2 (2000): 3-5) it need not be repeated here; let me only add that Professor Janez Stanonik is still full of energy and mentally very active, as is best proven by articles he still publishes yearly. On behalf of the contributors to Acta Neophilologica, members of the Editorial Board and myself I wish him a lot of good health, happiness and new scholarly achievements in the years to come.
Mirko Jurak, Editor
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UDK 821.163.6(94).09:314.743(94= 163.6)
SLOVENE MIGRANT LITERATURE IN AUSTRALIA
Igor Maver
Abstract
This article on the literary creativity of Slovene migrants in Australia after the Second World War, including the most recent publications, discusses only the most artistically accomplished authors and addresses those works that have received the most enthusiastic reception by the critics and readers alike. Of course, those who are not mentioned are also important to the preservation of Slovene culture and identity among the Slovene migrants in Australia from a documentary, historical, or ethnological points of view. However, the genres featured here include the explicitly literary, the semi-literary fictionalized biography, the memoir and documentary fiction, and the literary journalistic text - all those fields and genres that nowadays straddle the division line between 'high' literature and so-called 'creative fiction'.
Artistic merit cannot be and is not the sole criterion in discussing migrant writing; however, it is only artistic relevance that has the power to reach readers beyond a work's context of origin and that guarantees the text in question a lasting value and a secure place in a literary culture (of readers and publishers), in Slovenia and Australia. As to the literary genres in Slovene migrant writing, (confessional) poetry is by far predominant, followed by short fiction, biographical and documentarist fiction and, more recently, several novels. Literary critics that have so far mostly written about Slovene migrant writing produced in Australia are Mirko Jurak, Barbara Susa and the author of this article.
Slovene migrant literature in Australia, despite its relatively short existence in comparison with that in the U.S.A., but due to its swift growth and artistic quality, definitely deserves special mention and research. Quite a few of its literati have by the beginning of the new millenium published independently their collections of poems or prose work,s in Australia as well as in Slovenia, and have seen a warm reception. On the other hand, the most productive and successful among them justifiably ask themselves why they have not yet been included in the most significant Slovene literary anthologies and histories, in light of the publicly proclaimed artistic merit of their literary work. They do not wish to be pushed, in Slovenia too, into a kind of ghetto, in which many migrant writers nevertheless still nowadays find themselves in the Australian 'multicultural' environment.
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It goes without saying that within the Slovene migrant community there emerges also the problem of the language, English, which is mastered fully by the second generation of authors (Michelle Leber, Irena Birsa) and by some representatives of the first generation of migrants to Australia (Bert Pribac, Pavla Gruden, Danijela Hliš, etc). The most important body of migrant writings is, of course, still published in the Slovene language, although works by the Slovene migrants written in English (or bi-lingually), one may claim, also belong within the framework of Slovene literary sensibility and creativity, a phenomenon that can be found also with some other migrant-emitive European nations. Bilingualism (e.g. collections of poems in English and Slovene) results from a longstanding physical and spiritual displacement, whereby many migrants artistically and intimately increasingly experience Australia as their new or 'second homeland'. Slovene migrant experience has recently seen its first major literary expression (and film version) outside the Slovene diaspora, in the novel by the Tasmanian writer Richard Flanagan, The Sound of One Hand Clapping from 1998 (Jurak 1999). Flanagan took as the basis of his book the tragic life story of his wife Sonja, a Slovene migrant who had arrived to live in Australia at an early age with her parents after the Second World War.
The literary creativity of Slovene migrants in Australia started soon after the biggest influx of migration to Australia right after World War II at the beginning of the fifties. It was then that the publication of the journal Misli started (1952), where along with the discussion of religious issues and life among the migrants the Slovene Catholic priests first tried their hand also at writing literary pieces (Rev Klavdij Okorn, Rev Bernard Ambrožič). Later laypersons started publishing their works in the journal, among them Neva Rudolf and Ivan Burnik-Legiša. Rudolf lived in Australia only a couple of years; however, with her collection of poems Južni križ (The Southern Cross, 1958) and the collection of sketches Avstralske črtice, Australian Sketches), though not published on Australian ground, she was one of the first literary authors among the Slovenes living in Australia. With the publication of the migrant magazine Vestnik literary creativity received a new impetus and a new possibility of getting migrant literature published. Ivan Burnik-Legiša, despite his numerous collections of verse, has drawn critical attention only very recently with his collections Jesensko listje (Autumn Leaves, 1991), Za pest drobiža (For a Handful of Coins, 1993), and Hrepenenje in sanje (Yearning and Dreams, 1995). In the poems he recollects his youth at home in Slovenia; it seems he has never come to accept the new Australian environment as his very own, while, clearly estranged, he does not feel at home in Slovenia either.
The first book in the Slovene language to be published in Australia was the collection of poems by Bert Pribac Bronasti tolkač (The Bronze Knocker, 1962). Among his numerous publications, the collections V kljunu golobice (In the Beak of a Dove, 1973) and Prozorni ljudje (Transparent People, 1991) have to be mentioned, which indicate that Pribac with his substantial quality literary output ranks along with Jože Žohar and Pavla Gruden among the very best Slovene migrant poets in Australia (Maver 1994). In 2000 was published (in Koper in Slovenia) the second edition of his first collection Bronasti tolkač with some additional poems. In these the poet, both a Slovene Istrian and an Australian, symbolically returns to Slovenia, although he remains split between the two countries, »ne v tej ne v oni domovini / do dna zasidran, / a vendar
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ujet v ljubezni do obeh ...« (Pribac 1999: 199). Pribac can be placed high among Slovene poets. It is true that his early verse is characterized by a somewhat Baroque language, coupled with the typical migrant nostalgia and longing for home. However, he quickly outgrew this early apprentice stage to mature into a subtle Impressionist poet of his native Slovene Istria along the Adriatic Sea and his 'new' second homeland, Australia. He can for this reason also be called a poet of two homelands, who feels at home here in Slovenia and 'down under' in Australia, who uses in his verse images taken from both lands and whose poetry as all good verse transcends the borders of space and time to address universally valid issues.
Bert Pribac was together with Jože Žohar, Jože Čuješ and Danijela Hliš a co-founder of SALUK (1983), the Slovene-Australian Literary and Cultural Circle, which was founded as a natural outgrowth of the literary magazine Svobodni razgovori (cf. Suša 1996, 1999). This magazine, established in 1982 by the very energetic editor Pavla Gruden, was a natural Slovene literary response to Naš list, a literary journal of Yugoslav migrant writers in Australia and New Zealand. SALUK gathered most literary Slovenes in Australia, but its foremost merit is that it brought its exponents during the eighties into close contact with their Slovene counterparts, resulting in numerous publications of Slovene migrant authors in Slovenia and several organized tours, prior to and especially after the independence of Slovenia in 1991, which its literature somehow anticipated. There were three major anthologies published during that time by SIM, the Slovene Emigrant Association, which featured fictional and verse works by the authors gathered in SALUK: Zbornik avstralskih Slovencev 1985, Zbornik avstralskih Slovencev 1988 (Anthologies of Australian Slovenes, 1985,1988), and Lipa šumi med evkalipti (The Lime-tree Rustles among the Eucalypti, 1990).
Pavla Gruden, along with her important work as editor, published a number of poems both in English and Slovene. Her poetic strength can especially be seen in her collection of haiku verse Snubljenje duha (Courting the Mind, 1994). She reveals herself as a subtle poet of this originally Japanese epigrammatic verse, which helps her to word her migrant experience in Australia (cf. Jurak 1997). Australia is no longer conceived as a foreign land but rather as a terra felix, which may offer migrants refuge, showing them the way out of the controversies of the modern world: »Milo Južni križ / pot kaže brodolomcem - Zemlja vsa navzkriž« (Gruden 1994: 53). Her contemplative stance and the carpe diem approach speak in favour of a harmony between nature and Man. Pavla Gruden's new book is about to be published in Slovenia.
From among the group of migrant poets, such as the interesting but little published poet Peter Košak (Iskanje, Search, 1982), Cilka Žagar, Vika Gajšek, Ivanka Škof, Maijan Štravs {Pesmi iz pradavnine, Poems from Ancient Times), Ivan Žigon, Danica Petrič, Ivan Lapuh, Ciril Setničar, Caroline Tomašič, Ivan Kobal, Draga Gelt, Marcela Bole, Rev Tone Gorjup and others, Jože Žohar deserves special note, for he belongs among the best Slovene poets in Australia. His collection of verse Aurora Australis (1990) was the first book by a Slovene migrant from Australia to be published in Slovenia, and it received for its thematic and stylistic experimentation and innovations a very positive critical response (Maver 1992). In 1995 he published his second collection in Slovenia, Veku bukev (To the Crying of Beeches), and he is currently preparing for publication his third collection Obiranje limon (Lemon-picking).
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Zohar's verse is characterized by linguistic experimentation-using numerous palindromes, alliterations, sound colourings, as well as lexical and syntactic experimentation-for Zohar, as a migrant in a new English-speaking environment, is interested in testing the borders of Slovene poetic expression. In his last collection Obiranje limon, which still awaits publication, he thus introduces rhythmical prose and looks back on his life in Australia, metaphorically picking lemons, as he had previously picked apples (Aurora Australis) which eventually turned into sour wine (i.e. his life in Australia). He too accepts Australia as his new homeland, although he remains displaced and never 'trans-placed'. He sees his life as an endless process of saying good-bye and claims there is each time less of himself, whether departing from Australia or Slovenia; he tries to find inspiration, the Prodigal son, down under: »Tam kjer si, je junij zimski čas, ko limone, pomaranče dozorijo, čas, ko vse zapustiš in te vsi zapustijo, ker za spremembo hočeš tako. Sam veš, da se tudi med limonami čutno napete pesmi godijo. Med njimi si najdi zavetje« (Žohar 2001).
As regards Slovene migrant poetry written in English and sometimes bilingually, the poetry and prose of Danijela Hliš comes first. She represents the first generation of migrants who write in English, with, for example, Michelle Leber and the deceased Irena Birsa as members of the second generation of Australians born to Slovene parents. These writers are no longer preoccupied with such typical migrant themes as nostalgia for home or the problems of migrants trying to establish themselves in a linguistically and culturally different environment, for they take as themes existential issues, urban impressions and the like, though tainted with the typical Slovene melancholy. Bilingualism fits into the framework of the Australian policy of multiculturalism and has thus changed conditions of literary creativity, especially since the 1980s (Maver 1999a). Hliš writes her sketches and poems mostly in the two languages. With her perfect command of English as a literary medium of expression, she is the first author of Slovene origin who has managed to enter Australian multicultural anthologies and even the secondary school reader for Australian state schools, with her bilingual verse collection Whisper/Sepetanje and the collection in English Hideaway Serenade (1996). Poems in the latter book show her migrant experience as essentially ambivalent: she describes the Slovenia she had left behind not only nostalgically but also bitterly, and, on the other hand, she seems to have accepted Australia as the new homeland with which she emotionally identifies not only in the poems but also in the short stories, essays and sketches.
As regards Slovene migrant fiction, a great number of short prose or documentary writings have appeared in Australia and Slovenia: Rev Bernard Ambrožič, Marijan Peršič (Per Aspera ad Astra, 2001), Draga Gelt, Stanka Gregorič, Danica Petrič, Ivanka Škof, Pavla Gruden, Danijela Hliš, Ivan Žigon, Lojze Košorok, Aleksandra Ceferin, and many others. From among the longer prose works, the book by Ivan Kobal written in English Men Who Built the Snowy (1982) appeared first, published later in the Slovene language as Možje s Snowyja (1993). This essentially memoiristic work is based on the author's personal experience of participating in the construction of the hydro-energy system in the Snowy Mountains during 1954-1958 in which many migrants participated, including Slovenes. The book is a documentary testimony about this project, which, according to Kobal, brought the migrants of various nationalities
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together to work after the Second World War in a harmonious union to build the new Australia.
Cilka Žagar, currently in Slovenia, is probably the best know migrant fiction author, for two of her published novels were received very favourably: Barbara (1995) and Magdalena med črnimi opali (Magdalena among Black Opals, 2000). She is preparing to publish in Australia the book Goodbye Riverbank, describing the various life stories of Australian Aborigines that she knows well from her work and life among the opal seekers at Lightning Ridge. She wrote about the Aborigines also in the book Growing Up in Walgett, and in Slovene she is preparing the publication of the novel Nevidne vezi (Invisible Ties). Žagar's novel Barbara, written originally in English and then translated into Slovene, presents a chronicle of the Slovene migrant community in Australia, from the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Scheme to the current problems of the community. Through the eyes of the protagonist Barbara and her family in the fictitious town of Linden, one receives insight into the sad and even cruel but also happy moments in the lives and times of Slovene migrants living under the Southern Cross. Her novel Magdalena med črnimi opali is about a split personality, the double ego of a single migrant person (Magda-Lena) and grows into a saga of a migrant family. While Magda takes care of the family, Lena looks back and tries to find ways to return to the past, when she was loved and when she herself loved and still nourished the hope of a better future. Magdalena, two aspects a of a personality, dual-istically set asunder between the search for the material and the spiritual aspect of life, constantly seeks a perfect love that would provide safety and spiritual meaning as opposed to material things.
Ivanka Sluga-Škof, along with the many previously published articles, in 1999 published a book of memoirs that range from her childhood in Slovenia to her life and cultural work among the Slovenes in Australia. From among the younger generation of writers Katarina Mahnič should definitely be mentioned, for she has for some years now been editing the journal Misli and has already received important recognition of her writing in Slovenia. In 2000 was also published a book by Ivan Lapuh, Potok treh izvirov (The Brook of Three Sources), containing mostly sketches, some poems and a few aphorisms. There are two more books that have to be mentioned in this regard, although they are written in English. The Second Landing by Victoria Zabukovec (1993), who is not of Slovene origin, is an historical, memoiristic and half-documentary book based on the life experience of her Slovene husband. Janko Majnik in his autobiographical memoir Diary of a Submariner (1996) describes his experience of the Second World War as a Yugoslav submariner, when he together with the crew, not wanting to be captured by the Germans, defected to the allies and via Egypt eventually migrated to Australia (Maver 1999b).
Considering the numerous (according to the biliographical data of over a hundred published books collected by Milena Brgoč) and increasingly noteworthy literary works by Slovene migrants in Australia, at least two ideas for the future suggest themselves. Artistically, important works ought to be more adequately represented in the anthologies of the unified Slovene literature within the so-called common Slovene cultural space, a syntagm very rarely heard during the past years; and, second, literary critics and editors should try harder to publish and republish individual literary works,
9
especially if they were previously published in Australia with success. With the several verse collections and books in prose published during the last years, the situation is improving, yet the status is far from satisfactory or confidence-inspiring.
In the present processes of globalization, all migrant literature is most valuable and should not be treated separately or ghettoized, certainly not for its geographical 'tyrrany of distance' and even less so for its artistic merit, which in some instances is high indeed. This has been acknowledged also by 'emitive' nations much larger than Slovenia, with a considerable migrant body living abroad. Spiritual and physical di-videdness in which many migrant authors have found themselves may even represent an advantage for artists, for, less burdened and with a greater critical (di)stance they can reflect the world around them, the new migrant environment, and also the world they left behind 'at home' in Slovenia. It is true, however, that their country of origin is also changing quickly and is no longer as it was when they left it. Slovene migrant writers translate reality in two different systems, which is why their work can be regarded an enrichment of both cultures, the source and the target: thus they emerge as 'transcultural' writers in the best sense of the word. Does the future culture of the newly settled countries such as the U.S.A., Canada, and Australia belong to the melting pot, mosaic or hybrid? To some kind of mixture definitely. The most recent critical cultural approach has introduced new concepts, in addition to the already established 'multiculturalism', such as 'polyvocality' and especially 'hybridity' (Bakhtin 1990). The latter has been extended by Homi Bhabha to examine also the relations of power within the 'colonial' situation, arguing that hybridity as a form of cultural difference allows the voice of the other (in our instance the migrant), the marginalised, and the dominated to exist within the language of the dominant group whose voice is never totally in control (Bhabha 1994).
All of these factors, among which artistic merit is beyond doubt of prime importance, speak in favour of including individual migrant works into the Slovene literary canon. They frequently transcend the thematization of the sheer Slovene migrant experience in Australia and adopt a cosmopolitan existential stance which addresses readers internationally, in Slovenia and abroad.
University of Ljubljana
WORKS CITED
Bakhtin, M. M. The Dialogic Imaginatin. Austin: U of Texas P, 1990. Bhabha, Homi. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge, 1994. Gruden, Pavla. Snubljenje duha. Ljubljana: SIM, 1994.
Jurak, Mirko. »Slovene Poetry in Australia: From Terra Incognita to Terra Felix«. Acta Neophilologica 19. 1-2. (1997): 59-67.
_. »Slovene Migrants in Richard Flanagan's Novel The Sound of One Hand Clapping». Essays
in Australian and Canadian Literature. Ur. M. Jurak, I. Maver. Ljubljana: ZIFF, 2000. 107118.
Maver, Igor. »Slovene Immigrant Literature in Australia: Jože Žohar's Aurora Australis. The Making of a Pluralist Australia, 1950-1990: Selected Papers from the Inaugural EASA Conference, 1991. Ed. W. Senn and G. Capone. Bern, New York: P. Lang Verlag, 1992. 161-8.
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_. »The Mediterranean in Mind: Bert Pribac, a Slovene Poet in Australia«. Westerly 39/4
(1994): 123-29.
_. »Literarno ustvarjanje avstralskih Slovencev v angleškem jeziku«. Slovenska izseljenska
književnost. Evropa, Avstralija, Azija. Ur. J. Žitnik in H. Glušič. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU; Rokus, 1999a. 305-17.
_. Contemporary Australian Literature between Europe and Australia. Sydney Studies in
Society and Culture No. 18. Sydney: University of Sydney, 1999; Nottingham: Shoestring Press, 1999b. 75-84.
Pribac, Bert. Bronasti tolkač. Koper: Capris, 1999.
Suša, Barbara. »The Slovene Language among the Slovenes in Australia«. Ethnic Literature and Culture in the U.S.A., Canada, and Australia. Ed. I. Maver. Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang Verlag, 1996. 295-98.
_. »Literarno ustvarjanje Slovencev v Avstraliji v slovenskem jeziku«. Slovenska izseljenska
književnost. Evropa, Avstralija, Azija. Ur. J. Žitnik in H. Glušič. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU; Rokus, 1999. 267-303.
Žohar, Jože. Obiranje limon. Manuscript, 2001.
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UDK 821.111(417).09 Yeats W.B.(497.4)
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS IN THE SLOVENE CULTURAL SPACE
Janez Gorenc
Abstract
William Butler Yeats, Irish poet, dramatist and essayist, winner of the Nobel prize in 1923, was also widely known for the active part he played in Irish politics. Even though he was mostly involved culturally - he wrote about Irish politics in his works, established several literary clubs, founded theatres - he also activated himself as a politician when he was a senator during the years 1923-1928. This article focuses on the mention of his political activities in different English and Slovene texts. It makes a presentation of the vast majority of the texts on Yeats that have appeared in Slovene. It also points out that while the majority of English encyclopaedias and literary histories openly write about Yeats's politics, Slovene texts about Yeats focus mostly on his literary opus and less on his involvement in politics. When they do mention it, however, they usually avoid the details. This article tries to determine some reasons for this fact.
William Butler Yeats, an Irish poet, playwright, occultist, essay writer and occasional politician, won the Nobel prize in 1923. He thus became an international poet, known in most parts of the world. His works were translated into many languages, his work was described in numerous literary studies and articles, and his name made it into all the encyclopaedias on the literatures in English. In this article I at first focus on any mention of Yeats's political views in various encyclopaedias and some literary histories, and then also on his presence in the Slovene cultural space.
Yeats was mainly preoccupied with writing and with his participation in various activities connected to literature (The Abbey Theatre, The Rhymer's Club). However, he was also involved in the political events that took place in Ireland, mostly through his writing, and he also took part in Irish politics actively, as he was Senator from 1922 to 1928. Even though politics did not substantially effect the style of his work, especially poetry and drama, and perhaps it could even be said that politics constituted only a minor portion of his life, it is still something that needs to be taken into consideration if we want to get a full picture of the poet and his work. Yeats himself always strictly held that the principle of the "unity of being" was paramount in his work and life, every smallest and insignificant phenomenon being linked to everything else. So it would be impossible, unfair even, to sever one aspect of his life from the rest, regardless of how unimportant it may seem.
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Considering the fact that Yeats's political participation in Ireland was hardly ever dealt with widely in the articles on the poet published in the Slovene cultural space, it would be appropriate to determine just how important Yeats's political identity is to authors from the English-speaking cultural space and thus establish whether Slovene articles on Yeats were lacking crucial information or not. It was therefore necessary to examine what some of the English literary encyclopaedias and literary histories have to say on the matter.
The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English is quite informative in this respect. It tries to find a strong connection between Yeats and the political events in the Ireland of his days: "at the start of the guerrilla war (the Yeats family) settled in Oxford, but in 1922 returned to live in Dublin. The bridge at Thoor Ballylee (Yeats's Norman Tower in County Mayo) was blown up and shots were fired into their Dublin home. In the same year he became a Senator, and in 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1933 (he) was briefly, but enthusiastically involved with the Fascist Blue shirts in Dublin" (The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English 1103).
Quite extensive in describing Yeats's political views is also The Oxford Companion to Irish Literature. It points out Yeats's very emotional involvement with Maud Gonne and also her influence on him and his political views: "Yeats became a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood to please Maud Gonne, but became disillusioned with revolutionaries and nationalists, especially after the Dublin riots of 1897" (The Oxford Companion to Irish Literature 610). The encyclopaedia also points out that Yeats was an elitist who created for the artistic "aristocracy", for the so-called elite: "His continuing interest in aristocratic art was reflected in imitations of the Japanese Noh" (610-1). As stated, he believed the Protestants to be intellectually superior to the Catholics, and this fact is also mentioned. The example of Yeats's famous Senate speech on divorce is given: "He became a senator of the Irish Free State in 1922, chairing the committee on the new Irish coinage, and later causing a controversy with his defence of the Protestant people of Ireland during the divorce debate in 1925" (611). It is interesting that Yeats's support of the Fascist Blue shirts is not mentioned in this text.
The Wordsworth Companion to Literature in English introduces Yeats as an artist of words, but also as a politically involved intellectual. He is said to have engaged in the "Contemporary Club, a nationalist university debating club" (The Wordsworth Companion to Literature in English 1030), where he among others, met "the old Fenian leader John O'Leary, who encouraged in him a cultural nationalism" (ibid.). It is also said that his poetry developed from "allegorical nationalist poems" (ibid.) to "a more passionate condemnation of Western civilisation" (ibid.). And most interestingly, his engagement, however brief, with the Irish Fascist movement, is also pointed but: "... in 1933 he was briefly, but enthusiastically, involved with the Fascist Blue shirts in Dublin" (ibid.).
Individual literary studies are even more informative than literary histories and encyclopaedias. Among the first texts on Yeats's politics was George Orwell's essay on Yeats in Dickens, Dali and Others. In it he accused Yeats of having Fascist tendencies, which were supposedly evident in the poem "The Second Coming" (Orwell 167). One of the first true literary studies of Yeats was that of Richard Ellmann, Yeats - The
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Man and the Masks (Ellmann). In his book Ellmann presents Yeats's life and work in detail and also tries to pinpoint the events in Yeats's life that influenced it. He cannot by-pass the poet's involvement in politics, since he mentions Yeats's alleged Fascist tendencies already in the preface to the book. He mentions that in 1885 a vigorous nationalism was one of the directions, besides occultism, in which Yeats's energies flowed, as "it was difficult not to be affected by the patriotic fervour of the times; the dynamiters of the determined Irish Republican Brotherhood were blowing up English railway stations; Parnell had unified the Irish party in Parliament and was bringing great pressure to bear on Gladstone, who introduced a Home Rule Bill for Ireland in 1886" (Ellmann 45). Yeats was at that time under the influence of John O'Leary, an Irish nationalist, who had returned from an exile in France (46-7).
Ellman also concentrates on the role of Maud Gonne, the fervent Irish nationalist, in Yeats's life. Since the moment they met in 1889 he was deeply in love with her. So, to please her, he even became a political activist. At first he established several literary societies, namely the Irish Literary Society in 1891 and the National Literary Society in 1892 (107), but in 1896 he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a rather violent organisation, in order to push his love problems aside (111).
Later, when Yeats became Senator, he became very conservative and supported Mussolini's regime and celebrated it as the new type of authoritative government the new Europe, according to his predictions in his essay A Vision, called for. But as Ellmann constitutes, he "did not go so far as to accept Fascism explicitly, but he came dangerously close" (247-8). However, he did support general Eoin O'Duffy, the leader of the Irish Fascist National Guard, also known as the 'Blue Shirts', for a brief four months in 1933, but averted from him when he saw his error. Even Yeats's wife denied his sympathies with O'Duffy and said that Yeats on one occasion called O'Duffy a 'Swashbuckler'" (xix).
If Ellmann does not make Yeats's politics the focal point of his debate and is rather forgiving when it comes to Yeats's 'Fascism', Connor Cruise O'Brien is not. His essay »Passion and Cunning« proclaims Yeats to be a Fascist, authoritarian and elitist. O'Connor founds his conclusions mostly on letters and essays, not so much on Yeats's poetry. But it is with the help of the former that he then interprets some of Yeats's poems and presents them as texts containing very reactionary ideas. The time when Yeats was Senator was particularly expounded, as O'Brien claims that his ideas were "extremely reactionary" at that time (O'Brien 29). He admired Kevin O'Higgins, the Minister of Justice in the Free State government, who had seventy-seven political opponents shot (31) and praised him in the poem "The Municipal Gallery Revisited". He considered himself an aristocrat and turned sharply against the Catholics when they passed a bill against divorce and contraceptives. This was to Yeats a bad insult, as he believed that the aristocracy "was now taking orders from a bunch of peasants in mitres. The 'base' were dictating to the betters" (33).
In 1932 Irish politics saw a turn in power. Namely, Eamon de Valera, who had lost the Civil War, was elected president. Yeats disliked him very much, so he started supporting anyone who could endanger de Valera's government. And he found this someone in general Eoin O'Duffy. Through a series of letters to Olivia Shakespeare, which O'Brien cites in his essay, Yeats exalts O'Duffy and says he is the right man to
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lead the opposition, which will eventually take over from de Valera (34-38). But O'Duffy turned out to be soft in his core and backed down when de Valera sent armoured cars on the streets. The opposition's entire plans of a coup d'etat fell through and Yeats was utterly disappointed. O'Brien here claims that it was O'Duffy who Yeats became disillusioned with, not Fascism. Yeats was still the old Yeats, "strongly drawn to Fascism" (38), and he remained such till his death (38-51).
From this brief comparison of critical texts on Yeats in English we can see that the poet's political views and involvement are expressed to different extent and that they also stress different qualities of Yeats 's political identities which have been written on by several other authors besides the ones looked into above. Whereas O'Brien claims that Yeats was authoritarian, Elizabeth Cullingford in her essay "From Democracy to Authority" refutes O'Brien and even suggests that Yeats might have been a Marxist (Cullingford 61-79). Both Marjorie Howes, author of the essay "Family Values: Gender, Sexuality and Crisis in Yeats's Anglo-Irish Aristocracy", and Roy F. Foster, author of "Protestant Magic: Yeats and the Spell of Irish History", expound Yeats's strong inclinations for a Protestant ascendancy in Ireland and his fear of its decline (Howes 107-29; Foster 83-105). There are also studies that revert to Yeats's politics only briefly, when they mention what some other author said about a poem of Yeats's (Bloom 463), but are otherwise completely dedicated to Yeats's work and not his life. But it is almost impossible to find a literary history or encyclopaedia in English with a text on Yeats without any mention of his political involvement.
I shall now examine the presence of W.B. Yeats and his verse in Slovene. Even though the first translations appeared in our press as early as 1929, it should be mentioned that Yeats is very poorly represented in Slovene literary history and criticism. We would search in vain, if we wanted to find his name mentioned in Pregled svetovne književnosti (A Survey of World Literature - Kos 1991). Yeats does not appear in Ivan Cankar in evropska literatura either (Ivan Cankar and European Literature - Pirjevec 1964), where we can otherwise find the most renowned European names connected with symbolism and different literary trends. Yeats does appear in Primerjalna zgodovina slovenske literature (A Comparative History of the Slovene Literature -Kos 1987), but only to be presented as "a representative of symbolism, alongside Rilke, Maeterlinck, and Andrejev, /who/ did not use the concept of symbolism in the way Cankar did" (Kos, 1987: 117). Nevertheless, there are several (though not numerous) articles about Yeats in Slovene that shall be discussed here.
The first translations of Yeats's poetry were published in 1929 in Listič iz angleške lirike (A Leaf of English Verse). The editor and translator was Griša Koritnik and besides Yeats he also included poets such as P. B. Shelley, Lord Byron, John Keats and William Blake into the booklet. There are four translations of Yeats's poems in the publication ("Down by the Salley Gardens", "When You Are Old", "The Lake Isle of Innisfree", "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven"), but there was no foreword or commentary on the poets (Koritnik 51-4).
The first articles about Yeats, or at least about his work, appeared in 1933, when his play Countess Cathleen was staged in the Slovene National Theatre in Ljubljana, together with Maeterlinck's Justification. Three articles appeared in the daily press about the performance and one was published later in the annual publication of the
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theatre, the Gledališki list Narodnega gledališča v Ljubljani. In this article the play is just summarised and four excerpts are added (Gledališki list Narodnega gledališča v Ljubljani 2-4). In Jutro an article called "Dve premieri v drami" (Two First Nights in The Drama) was written by Juš Kozak, Slovenec published "Ljubljansko gledališče: Zadoščenje - Gospa Cathleena" ("The Ljubljana Theatre: Justification - Countess Cathleen") by France Koblar, and Fran Govekar wrote "Zopet novitete naše drame" (New Plays in Our Drama) for Slovenski narod. Koblar's article was re-printed in the publication Dvajset let slovenske drame, which he wrote and edited himself thirty-two years after Yeats's play had been staged (Koblar 1965: 119-21).
Each paper belonged to a different political party (Slovenec - Catholic; Slovenski narod - Liberal; Jutro - Socialist), so comparing them is interesting from the point of view of this article - namely, how Slovene writers of different political views comprehended the play politically. The drama itself could be seen as a mixture of poetic, nationalistic and even some revolutionary elements. Cathleen, being a Protestant landowner, is the only person in the valley of darkness who maintains her spirit pure and does not go running right off to the devils to sell her soul for material goods, as the other people, obviously her own, Catholic tenants, do. When she finally does so, she sells her soul not because there is something in it for her, but because she wants to save her "children" and their souls. As I have already mentioned, the poetic element is very strong and it somehow conceals the narrative part of the story, but nevertheless, it is there. Were the writers of the three articles able to judge the play each from their own (political) standpoint? The comparison of the three articles shows that all three journalists were impartially trying to simply assess the staging, acting and directing of the performance. The presentation of the plot itself does differ a bit according to the political line each paper adhered to, but the differences are visible only to a trained and alert eye, to an average reader, however, there appears to be no obvious difference between the articles.
All the three articles present the staging of the play and its effectiveness, the text itself, and also the cast. They all commend the powerful impact the first part made. It is said to be "dramatically powerful" (Govekar 3), "dramatically stronger" (Koblar, 1933: 4) and it proves "the great might of Yeats's pen" (Kozak 4). The three critics, however, subtly criticise the second part of the play, which "loses (...) its initial energy and takes on a pathetic lyricism" (ibid.), "is more lyrical and pious (...) and becomes rather pathetic" (Koblar, 1933: 4), and the play is "pathetically lyrical and pleasant to watch, but less comprehensible and powerful" (Govekar 3). Govekar even writes that there is "intimate lyrical beauty in the play", but it is "inaccessible to the audience in this pre-Carnival season" (ibid.). The other two articles say nothing about the responses of the theatre-goers.
The articles also describe the plot of Countess Cathleen. Govekar is rather sparing of his words. He mentions, however, that the plot in Countess Cathleen resembles Faustus, who, just like the Countess, sells his soul to the Devil. However, she is redeemed and the doctor is not (ibid.). Koblar in Slovenec focuses on the Christian aspect of the play. He says that we see "the idea of doom and redemption", that in this land of famine "God (...) has hidden his face and the people are averting from him", but Cathleen decides to deliver her subjects back to God (Koblar 1933:4). Koblar also
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says that "it is difficult to turn the emphasized religious elements" of the second part of the play "into a sincere and straightforward performance" (ibid.).
Kozak, who wrote for the more left-wing Jutro, depicts the suffering crowd from a more 'revolutionary' aspect. In this great poverty and deprivation, where "only some corn-salad" grows in the "parched soil", in the hen-house "the last hen awaits the hatchet", the people are beginning to feel desperate (Kozak 3). So they turn their backs on God and trade their worthless souls to two devils for a piece of bread. Shemus Rea, one of the main characters in the play, defies "god and his mother, who do nothing" (ibid.) to help the people. It is interesting to observe that Koblar writes "God" with a capital letter, whereas Kozak does not. Govekar never mentions God. Both Govekar and Koblar write about the director of the play as "Mr Debevc" (Koblar) or "Mr C(iril) Debevc" (Govekar), but Kozak puts the director's name down simply as "Debevc". It can be concluded, then, that even though the three newspapers mentioned belonged to different political options, they did not differ much in the way they described the premiere of Countess Cathleen. The articles are impartial and they convey the same message - the drama was a success.
The second article about W.B. Yeats that appeared in the newspaper Jutro in 1939, when the poet died, was actually an obituary. It is unsigned, but its title is "Smrt dveh pesnikov" (The Death of Two Poets) and it mentions the deaths of W.B. Yeats and F.S. Prochazka. The text mentions how old Yeats was, when he died and that he got the Nobel Prize in 1923. He is said "to have drunk out of the rich fountain of Irish folklore and more than any poet expressed the spirit of the Irish yearning for liberty and independence in his poetry" (Jutro, 2 February 1939). The article also says that Yeats wrote many dramas, essays, and philosophical texts. "The Irish revolutionary spirit is omnipresent in his work, always embroiled with mysticism and a hymnal fervour" (ibid.), the obituary ends. It does not mention Yeats's political involvement, let alone what his political orientation might have been. But of course, an obituary is hardly the place where such character traits of a person should be discussed.
The following article, one that was published in the newspaper Nasi razgledi in 1962, did mention Yeats's political work; it was about the publication of The Senate Speeches of W.B. Yeats. It was titled "Govori W.B. Yeatsa v senatu" (The Senate Speeches of W.B. Yeats) and the author was Olga Grahor. She mentions that Yeats, known in Slovenia "as one of the greatest English poets of the twentieth century" (Grahor 79), born in Ireland, was one of the "leaders of the Irish national movement" (ibid.). "He helped organise the Irish National Literary Society in London and in Dublin and then, together with George Moore, founded the Irish Literary Theatre, which was later renamed into The Abbey Theatre" (ibid.).
Then Grahor mentions that it is less widely known that Yeats was also politically involved, for he "was elected senator in 1922, into the first assembly of the Free State Senate, and in 1928 resigned from the job" (ibid.). The book is said to feature "all of Yeats's senate speeches on a wide array of topics (education, divorce, copyright, etc.), and also abstracts of parliament debates he took part in, thus the atmosphere in the parliament and also the personalities of some of his colleagues are depicted" (ibid.). The book is also said to contain some of Yeats's essays and public speeches on his Senate activity. Grahor is surprised that the poet, "who was a disciple
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of the French symbolists, who admired and also published the poems of William Blake and was in his youth fully immersed into ancient Irish folklore, proved to be very practical and far-sighted" (ibid.). According to Grahor, Yeats tried to show what a certain law would look like in real life, not just on paper. Grahor also mentions that the book Senate Speeches was published by R. Pearce, Faber Publishers, that it costs 21 shillings, and also that it has a hundred and eighty-three pages.
By the time this article was published, we had had six Yeats's poems translated into Slovene and one play staged. There were four articles written about Countess Cathleen first-night performance and one obituary a few days after Yeats had died. How can it be, then, that there is a whole article, however short it may be, published on Yeats and on his political activities, just because his senate speeches have been printed and published? It would be understandable, if Yeats were a very influential poet in Slovenia, but he was not, at least not until 1983, when the first book of Yeats's verse, dramas, and essays was published. I am not trying to say that it was a nonsensical thing to do. Grahor wrote, after all, the first article on Yeats and his political activities, on Yeats as the public figure, and it would have been the first article on Yeats in our language, had it not been preceded by the obituary. It is just the occasion for which it was written and published that draws one's attention. However, it is, despite a few inaccuracies, an important text, one that shows that Yeats was always lurking somewhere in the Slovene artistic and cultural space, even though he did not make his presence fully evident until 1983.
In 1965, the first foreword in Slovene to the works of W.B. Yeats's appeared in the newspaper Most, published in Trieste. The translator A. Rečan translated four different poems and wrote an accompanying introduction, titled "W.B. Yeats: pesmi" (W.B. Yeats: Poems) about the author. He says that Yeats is Irish by birth "just like the other three representatives of the new English literature (Joyce, Wilde, Shaw), who have gained world fame" (Rečan 10). Rečan, just like Grahor, mentions, that Yeats socialised with the symbolists in Paris and London in the nineties and that he was especially influenced by Mallarmé. Since I am especially interested in what different authors writing about W.B. Yeats have to say about his political activities, I cannot bypass Recan's statement, that Yeats was "politically and socially completely uncommitted" (ibid.) and that he tried, in his works, in poetry, drama, essays, myths, or legends, "only to search for his own essence" (ibid.), that is why he "discloses himself to other nations very slowly" (ibid.). The only social function that Rečan admits to Yeats is "being one of the leaders of an important theatre in Dublin" (ibid.) and that he is one of the "re-builders of Irish culture" (ibid.). Taking into consideration that this foreword was written in 1965, when not only were there many books and views on Yeats and his political involvement published, but there was also the article by Olga Grahor, which, if nothing else, should tell the potential reader by just looking at its title, that Yeats was a senator for a while, which is far from being "politically uncommitted", such a statement is slightly deficient and far-fetched. Even though Rečan is to be commended for writing the first ever foreword in Slovene on W.B. Yeats, it should be said that the translator should have done his work more thoroughly. Otherwise, perhaps, he would not have placed a poem named "Miš" (Mouse) alongside three of Yeats's poems, claiming that "Mouse" too, was signed by Yeats. With all the best
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intentions, I could not, however hard I tried, trace any poem among Yeats's lyrics with such a title.
A new leaf in the Slovene reception of Yeats was turned, however, when the first translations of Yeats's poetry were made by the most important Slovene Yeatsean yet, Veno Taufer. The first pieces appeared in 1974. They were published in the fortnightly magazine for intellectuals Razgledi and there was also a short, but descriptive foreword about Yeats. It says that Yeats, who called himself "the last romantic" (Taufer 1974: 186) is "a senior contemporary to T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound" (ibid.). The whole article focuses on Yeats's artistic development and work, on the sources of his poetic inspiration and also discusses some of his philosophy - the ever-turning gyres, the unity of being, and the duality of his poetry, this being its strongest characteristic. Taufer looks through the development of Yeats's style and states that he is at first a child of "romanticism, Irish folklore and the pre-Raphaelite school" (ibid.), only to later turn to French symbolism. Taufer mentions that Yeats was, in the course of his life, influenced by many aesthetic schools and philosophies, the most omnipresent being occultism. And yet he was able to "absorb them with his personal beliefs and create his own, very elaborate poetic world of symbols" (ibid.). All of his poetry thus revolved, according to Taufer, around his (almost) obsessions: "...his dedication to Ireland and his unconsummated love with Maud Gonne (whether it was consummated or not remains a subject of debate), and his mystical perception of the destiny of our world and civilisation" (ibid.). There is hardly any mention of Yeats's political activities, apart from the remark that he "actively influenced the Renaissance of the Irish theatre" (ibid.). The content of this introduction to Yeats's work does reveal the most essential traits of the poet's life, work and philosophy to inform the more attentive readers about what they are to expect from the poetry that follows in translation.
But this is just the first of the four forewords that Taufer has written about W.B. Yeats. The next one, published in the 1982/83 edition of Nova Revija was both longer and also more explicit. It contains all the information from Taufer's first foreword in 1974, and extends it in many different ways. The article, simply titled "W.B. Yeats", begins with the statement that "Yeats is one of the most renowned poetical names of the 20th century, although quite unknown with us (the staging of Countess Cathleen did not make a major impact)" (Taufer 1982/83: 535). Again it is mentioned that Yeats called himself "the last romantic", however, it is added that "despite this his poetry counts as one of the milestones of modern Anglo-Saxon verse," (ibid.). This is followed by the description of the schools and philosophies that he was influenced by, but again it is extended by the note that Yeats was a re-builder of English and Irish verse, "which was at the turn of the century suckled by a liverish, aestheticised muse, grazing on pastoral fields" (ibid.).
Taufer continues his presentation by describing the development of Yeats's poetry and his symbolic cosmology, his dedication to Ireland, but for the first time also mentions that this did not "exclude the most profound contempt for Irish 'affairs'" (536). The language of the poet and his poetic and symbolic cosmology are also described. For this Taufer states that "it strove towards ultimate simplicity and verbality, but at the same time towards crystal musicality" (ibid.). His entire system of symbols, that he himself developed and elaborated, was interwoven with an invisible presence
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of Yeats's "personal experience" (ibid.) of pain, scepticism, rejection, but also of faith, acceptation and elevation. So his labour to achieve the 'unity of being', his ultimate goal, as Taufer further states, was a very difficult thing to do. And precisely this was, according to Taufer, the strongest trait of Yeats's poetry - to embrace all the seeming contradictions and blend them into an all-prevailing unity, which Yeats believed in until he died. Taufer ends the preface with the logical conclusion, that to Yeats, "writing poetry was like a magical ritual, which in itself fused scepticism, premonitions, relativism" and that he was pushed forward by the "awareness of the reality of the poetical, perhaps even more: faith in it" (ibid.).
The most comprehensive volume of Yeats's work in Slovene has so far been published in 1983 in the series Nobelovci (the Nobel Prize awarded writers). There are seventy-eight poems, and alongside that three translated dramas and just as many essays. All of these works were translated by Veno Taufer, except for the poem "Down by the Salley Gardens" ("Pod vrbo tam na loki" - trans. Janez Menart). There is an extensive foreword on the poet in the volume, written by Taufer, and also a translation of the poet's speech, which he gave in Stockholm when he received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923. What is of most interest for this article is the introduction, more precisely the description of Yeats's political involvement.
The introduction puts most stress on Yeats's aesthetics, also on the philosophy of his work. The meaning of his "unity of being" is expounded by saying that Yeats "had forged and polished his poems, from his first to the very last ones, into one big poem, an organic unity, until he died" (Taufer 1983: 201). Yeats tried very hard to fuse his "work and his life into a unity" (ibid.), which, of course, means that his thoughts, views and also his political involvement simply cannot be severed from his art. The text says that "it might be claimed" Yeats "was a determinist" (202), yet he also continuously "exalted and even cherished individualism" (ibid.), which the reader can feel in most of his poetry. However, Taufer goes on to say, "Yeats was no revolutionary," except in the sense which the word 'revolutionary' carried in the pre-Free State Ireland, "to be a nationalist, to hate the English and to oppose them in any way possible" (ibid.). This is the first time in Slovene 'Yeatsology' that the word "hate" is introduced, and perhaps even more unprecedented, it is expounded at whom his hatred was directed. Up until this point Yeats's role in Ireland's becoming independent was only vaguely mentioned, never making clear what his objectives in this respect were or even why any Irish political involvement was necessary in the first place. Other introductions and articles on Yeats simply brought it to the reader's attention that Yeats was involved in some political activity, but never exactly how. Certainly it could be expected from an average reader to have some knowledge about what went on in Ireland before it became the Emerald Island of folk music and Guinness, as it is known among tourists today. But by skipping such information we may just as well skip mentioning Yeats's political commitment in the first place, without much damaging the text we create. So Taufer broke the ice in this field and made things clear(er).
Taufer also writes that Yeats was "not a modernist, and even less so an experimenter, just as he was politically a traditionalist" (ibid.). This statement refers to his poetry, which, as Taufer puts it, was never severed from Irish myths, "and myths are always rooted in the soil" (210), the soil in this case being Irish. Yeats wanted to be
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understood by. the reader, so he used the language of the people - paradoxically, it was this very simple language that he used for his own symbolic system, which made his poetry completely incomprehensible for an average reader. Taufer made that clear in the foreword. He did not clarify in detail, however, what he meant by Yeats's "political traditionalism".
Taufer is also the first to mention perhaps the most influential character in Yeats's life and work, Maud Gonne. She was, as it is well known, a zealous Irish nationalist, rallier of great masses of people who were ready to follow her, also an occasional, yet very successful, actress in the Abbey Theatre and of course Yeats's unfulfilled and unconsummated love. It can rightly be said that he did many things in order to impress her, or even to impress himself in order to be later able to impress her with his newly acquired self-confidence. Maud Gonne was a regular character in Yeats's verse, "not as a symbolic 'lady', but as the most beautiful woman of flesh and blood, with passion worthy and unworthy of the archetypal Helen, worthy and unworthy of passionate love" (215).
Taufer makes it clear to what length Yeats was prepared to go to win her love, as he may be seen "with the mask of a hero of the Irish mythology, the statesman, Senator, a passionate old man, Pan or a satyr" (ibid.). Yeats, because of her influence, diverts himself from the focal interest of his being, poetry, and becomes "a public figure", who not only became the renovator of Irish culture, "but also a seíf-confident political agitator, took on the role of the leader of big anti-English nationalistic demonstrations and also performed as the tamer of the audience during riots of artistically blind, ideology-ridden Irish nationalists in the Irish National Theatre" (ibid.).
Taufer thus hints at the possibility that most of Yeats's political commitment can be attributed to the influence of Maud Gonne. Since she was politically very active and also very radical, it was necessary for any man who was to win her heart to get involved in nationalist politics. Yeats was not a very brave man, especially when it came to public appearances, and Taufer makes this clear (ibid.). Maud Gonne's figure thus influenced Yeats so strongly that he probably undertook many political enterprises he would not have otherwise, if it had not been for her. To his great disappointment, however, she did not choose to marry him as he had wished, but gave herself away to major John MacBride, who later turned out to be a "drunken, vainglorious lout" (Collected Poems 203), as Yeats described him in "Easter 1916". Mentioning Maud Gonne is therefore of vital importance to an extensive foreword such as Taufer's, if the reader is to understand Yeats's poetry. Taufer made a minor error, though. He stated that Yeats was 37 Yeats old when the two of them met (Taufer 1983: 215). The truth is, however, that he was 24 years old when John O'Leary introduced them to one another. This happened in 1889.
The next'book of Yeats's work had to wait a whole decade to be published. It was a book of Yeats's verse Which appeared in the book series of poetry of different authors translated into Slovene, Lirika (Lyrical Poetry): All the translations of Yeats's poems in it are Taufer's, and there are 79 of them. All of Taufer's poems from 1983 can be found in the Lirika volume plus two more. There are no translated dramas or essays in this book, but the introduction, titled "W.B. Yeats, mag poetičnega" (W.B.
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Yeats, Magician of the Poetical) is somewhat longer and also there is a chronology of Yeats's life added as well as a short interpretation of the featured poems.
The introduction to this volume is somewhat longer than the one in Nobelovci, one might say, an extended version of the latter. There are some new parts in the text that did not appear in the first introduction. Taufer states that Yeats has been "attributed many things, many of which were actually very true: Irish nationalist, (...), the founder of the 'Irish literary and theatre Renaissance', politician, Senator, and for a short while even a subversive revolutionary, so to speak" (Taufer 1993: 148). Where Yeats's revolutionary subversion can be traced, however, remains to be seen.
Taufer also extended the part of his introduction with illustrations of Yeats's use of symbols in his poetry. Thus we can read a very thorough interpretation of the poems "Leda and the Swan" (153) and also "Byzantium" (156-8). These two interpretations are placed alongside the explanation of "The Second Coming" (166), which had already been published in the first introduction in 1983.
Besides these details the 1993 foreword to Yeats's poetry conveys more or less the same information as the one from 1983 and it is, as a matter of fact, only slightly modified. When "The Second Coming" is explained, there is a slight correction of the 1983 version: the sphinx gets "a man's head" instead of simply a "man's (human) head" as was interpreted in the first version of the translation. This is due to the fact that Taufer recognised the sphinx in question was an Egyptian one. However, the error concerning Yeats's age when he and Maud Gonne met remains unaltered. This is interesting as the chronology of Yeats's life gives the correct information about their first meeting - 1889 (184).
The most recent Slovene preface to Yeats's poetry was published in an anthology of modern verse, Slovenski Orfej (Ihan 1998). The preface, written by Uroš Zupan, is titled simply "William Butler Yeats". The text is strictly biographical and gives us the essential information about Yeats's life and work. Thus we are given the exact places of birth (Sandymount near Dublin) and death (Roqueburn, France). The activities in his youth are mentioned, as well as the fact that "he joined the 'Dublin Hermeticists' near the end of the century, later got connected to the revolutionary movement and helped found the Irish national theatre, the Abbey Theatre, where he became director" (Zupan 734). Zupan is very thorough in revealing the role that Yeats played in Irish social life. He continues: "He was one of the first members of the Irish Senate and the central figure of the cultural revival or the 'Celtic Renaissance'; he renewed Irish poetry and theatre" (ibid.). The rest of the preface contains the description of Yeats's language, the schools that influenced his writing and also how his poetry developed. There is a list of his better known poems and poetry collections and it is mentioned that he also wrote "fantasy plays on the Irish past, mythology and contemporary rustic life. Besides that he also wrote essays" (ibid.). This short biography accompanies four translated (trans. Veno Taufer) poems by W.B. Yeats that were published in the previously mentioned anthology.
A new introduction to Yeats's poetry was written by Marjan Strojan and published in the anthology of English verse Antologija angleške poezije. The text does not mention anything concerning the poet's political or social involvement. There are, however, interpretations of some of the translated poems - all translations are Taufer's
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- one of which is "Easter 1916". There it is mentioned that the husband of "Yeats's great love, the revolutionary Maud Gonne" (Strojan 716), namely John MacBride, was executed along with the other leaders of the Easter uprising.
Another part of this anthology, written by Mirko Jurak, namely Pogledi na razvoj angleške poezije, which is a survey of poetry in English from 1066 till the beginning of the 20th century, does speak of Yeats's political commitment. It begins by mentioning that Yeats, together with T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden, was the most important British poet of the 20th century (Jurak 769). It continues, however, that "Yeats was a great supporter of the Irish nationalist movement and, together with Lady Gregory, founded the Irish National Theatre in Dublin" (ibid.) and that he regretted that "Ireland could not gain its independence peacefully, since the Easter rising in 1916 was violently suppressed" (770). The text goes on to explain that Yeats was against the crude materialism that he witnessed in his days, and that life also had its mystical side which was just as important (ibid.). Even though this latter part of the text about Yeats apparently has nothing to do with Yeats's politics, it very much stresses the fact that Yeats firmly believed in the notion of the "unity of being", which incorporated all aspects of life and interwove them all into one impenetrable organism.
The most recent text in Slovene on W.B. Yeats is the M.A. thesis William Butler Yeats pri Slovencih (Gorenc 2001b), where Yeats's political involvement and convictions are discussed. The text raises the question, whether Yeats really was in fact rather right-wing in his political beliefs, as many authors have claimed (Orwell, Howes), perhaps even a fervent Fascist supporter (O'Brien), or as a contemporary saw him: "... he was a fascist and authoritarian, seeing in world crisis only the break-up of the 'damned liberalism' .... hater of reason, popular education and 'mechanical logic'" (O'Connor 12), or if he was none of the mentioned (Cullingford). The second part of the work analyses the presence and reception of Yeats's work in the Slovene cultural and literary space.
As stated at the beginning of the article, I intended to find out not only what the articles, forewords and texts on Yeats said about him in general, but more specifically, what they had to say about his political views. Since Yeats was a poet and since he got his Nobel Prize not for peace, economy, or science, but for literature, it is right and even normal for every writer of a preface to focus on Yeats's poetry, his aesthetics, his unique symbolic system and whatever in his life might be closely related to his work. But since the notion of the "unity of being" was the very helix round which everything in his life was supposed to revolve, his politics simply cannot be quite so simply extricated from different texts about him. Yeats was very much involved in the forming of a new Ireland, even before home rule was introduced. If he was to "suck at the dugs of' (Collected Poems 120) Ireland for his work, then he had to know what the milk he was drinking was made of.
The article has shown that Yeats's allegedly right-wing political convictions were widely discussed in literary histories and that in various English literary encyclopaedias the writers were very reluctant to write about the "murkier" side of Yeats's life. Statements that Yeats had a relationship with the Blue shirts can only be found in the most up-to-date encyclopaedias. I tried to clarify the reasons for such deficiencies when it comes to Yeats's politics in an interview with Veno Taufer, at present the most
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acclaimed and distinguished expert on Yeats in Slovenia. To the question why nobody mentioned Yeats's antidemocratic attitude Taufer answers that "he would not be so quick to claim Yeats was an anti-democrat 'in those times and circumstances'" (Gorenc 2001a: 1). According to Taufer Yeats was not antidemocratic, what is more, he tried to solve some of the problems the Ireland of his time was faced with in very democratic ways. As far as Yeats's elitism is concerned, Taufer concurs with this statement. However, he sees it as the only solution for Yeats, who tried to live and create in a world of conservatism, nationalism, provincialism, "which were all extremely annoying to Yeats" (ibid.). Thus, concludes Taufer, being an elitist - "elitist of the mind, of the spirit, of idealism" (ibid.) - was the only solution for Yeats if he was to be able to survive and create in his immediate environment.
About Yeats's alleged 'Fascism' Taufer says that "what we may see as Fascism today was not necessarily Fascism under certain circumstances" (ibid.), so we cannot say that Yeats would qualify as a Fascist. Taufer even says that Yeats spoke against it in an interview some time before his death. However, Yeats knew that, according to his cyclical theory, a new era was to arise and a 'rough beast' was to emerge. Taufer is sure that Yeats would have exclaimed, had he been alive today, when he saw and heard of Osama Bin Laden: "What did I tell you!?" (ibid.).
So how important is it really for a potential reader of Yeats's work, and specifically his poetry, to know certain things about his political life and political views? Taufer believes that not much. "Yeats's poems do speak of very personal experiences of the poet, but they are so convincingly elevated to a level of symbols and human archetypes, that it is possible for us to perceive them in a totally personal way" (ibid.). He claims that if a poem is good, then such perception is possible at every time and in every place. "Sometimes the poem defies even the poet's political intentions" (ibid.), concludes Taufer.
I personally concur with Taufer's opinion to a large extent. Yeats most certainly was an elitist of the mind and spirit and he also defied and rejected Fascism before he died. I also agree that knowing the political views of an author is not essential for understanding his poetry, especially if the experience of the reading is to become personal and timeless. However, there are points where Mr Taufer and I have different views. Yeats was a champion of elitism of the mind, no question about that. But it cannot be overlooked that he preferred the Protestant mind over the Catholic one, to mention solely that (Gorenc 2001b: 31-3). He ceased to promote Fascism in 1933, because he became disillusioned with it (O'Brien 38). It did not fulfil his expectations, as it turned to exaggerated populism, which ruined its initial 'promises'. At the end of his life he even opposed any regime and held them responsible for any life they caused to end. By and by, he was quite ambivalent about his support to one political option or another (On the Boiler 13) and even wrote satirical poems about it ("Church and State", "The Great Day", "Parnell", "Politics", etc).
I would also say that being familiar with a poet's political life is not (absolutely) necessary to comprehend a poem as a fully personal experience. In such a case it is unnecessary even to know anything about the poet's life and still understand the verse we are reading. But for a full understanding of what the poet might have had in mind, when he/she was writing the text (as long as we believe that this is at all possible),
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being acquainted with the poet's political views does help, if these ideas are evident in the poet's work. And if this were not so, then why is it important to expound Ezra Pound's political commitment during the Second World War in Italy? And why write extensively about G.B. Shaw's love for socialism?
To sum up, William Butler Yeats is a very important poet in English, perhaps the most important one of the 20th century. However, he is not known well enough in Slovenia, nor is he translated extensively into Slovene, except for his major poems. Despite the two books of his poetry that have been published, the general reader still does not know much about him. He is not even included into the most important books about world literature in Slovene, let alone into the school curriculum of our secondary schools (an exception here is the old curriculum for English, which incorporated one of Yeats's poems into the literature book - but this book is no longer in the curriculum for the English language). Yeats is a Nobel Prize winner, the quantity and quality of his entire work is great. Maybe it is because his symbolic language is so complicated that no one prior to Taufer dared take on the task of translating a larger number of his poems. Or perhaps it is simply so because he is just one of the many renowned poets and authors who simply failed to find their way onto the desks of our translators (except, of course, Taufer's) and literary historians. Introducing Yeats's work, other than his poetry, into our language should by all means become one of the priorities of our translators and literary historians. And when this happens, the poet's political views should not be shunned. They are important for a full understanding of some (if only the great minority) of his poems ("The Second Coming", "Under Ben Bulben", "At the Galway Races", "The Man and the Echo", "Meditations in Time of Civil War", etc.), plays ("Cathleen Ni Houlihan", "The King's Threshold", "The Words Upon the Window-Pane" etc.), and essays (On the Boiler, "A General Introduction to My Work", "If I Were Four-and-Twenty" etc.). And Yeats would probably have wanted his political views, which were very closely related to his perception of life and society, to be made explicit anyhow.
WORKS CITED
Bloom, Harold. Yeats. New York: Oxford UP, 1972.
Cullingford, Elizabeth. "From Democracy to Authority." Yeats's Political Identities. Ed. Jonathan
Allison. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1996. 61-80. Drabble, Margaret, ed. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 1932. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1985.
Ellmann, Richard. Yeats, the Man and the Masks. London: Faber & Faber, 1949.
Foster, Roy. "Protestant Magic: W.B. Yeats and the Spell of Irish History." Yeats's Political Identities.
Ed. Jonathan Allison. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1996. 83-103. Gillie, Christopher, ed. The Longman Companion to English Literature. London: Longman, 1972. Gorenc, Janez. Intrevju z Venom Tauferjem, pisateljem in prevajalcem. A personal interview. Novo mesto: kept by the author. 2001a.
_. William Butler Yeats pri Slovencih. M. A. thesis. Ljubljana: Filozofska Fakulteta Ljubljana,
2001b.
G(ovekar), F(ran). "Zopet novitete naše drame." Slovenski narod 11 February 1933: 3. G(rahor), O(lga). "Govori W.B. Yeatsa v senatu." Naši razgledi. (1962): 79.
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Howes, Marjorie. "Family Values: Gender, Sexuality and Crisis in Yeats's Anglo-Irish Aristocracy." Yeats's Political Identities. Ed. Jonathan Allison. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1996. 107-29.
Ihan, Alojz, ed. Orfejev spev. Ljubljana: Nova revija, 1998.
Jurak, Mirko. "Pogledi na razvoj angleške poezije". Antologija angleške poezije. Ed. Maijan Strojan.
Ljubljana: Cankaijeva založba, 1997. Koritnik, Griša. Listič iz angleške lirike. Ljubljana: privately published, 1929. K(ozak), J(uš). "Dve premieri v drami." Jutro 8 February 1933: 3-4.
Koblar, France. "M. Maeterlinck: Zadoščenje, W.B. Yeats: Gospa Cathleena." Dvajset let slovenske
drame II -1930 -1939. Ljubljana: Slovenska matica v Ljubljani, 1965. 119-121. Kos, Janko. Pregled svetovne književnosti. Ljubljana: DZS, 1991.
_. Primerjalna zgodovina slovenske literature. Ljubljana: Znanstveni inštitut Filozofske
fakultete, 1987.
O'Brien, Connor Cruse. "Passion and Cunning: An Essay on the Politics on W.B. Yeats." Yeats's Political Identities. Ed. Jonathan Allison. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1996. 29-56.
O, Connor, Frank. "The Old Age of a Poet". The Bell Feb. 1941. 7-18. Orwell, George. Dickens, Dali and Others. New York: Hardcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1946. Ousby, Ian, ed. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. 1988. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1992.
Ousby, Ian, ed. The Wordsworth Companion to Literature in English. 1988. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998.
Piijevec, Dušan. Ivan Cankar in evropska literatura. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1964. Strojan, Marjan, ed. Antologija angleške poezije. Ljubljana: Cankaijeva založba, 1997. Taufer, Veno. "Spremna beseda o avtoiju." Yeats: Nobelovci. W.B. Yeats. Trans. V. Taufer. Ljubljana: Cankaijeva založba, 1983. 201-18.
_. "W.B. Yeats." Nova revija 5-6 (1982/83): 535-6.
_. "W.B. Yeats." Naši razgledi (1979): 186.
_. "W.B. YEATS poet magičnega." William Butler Yeats. Lirika. Trans. V. Taufer.
Ljubljana: Založba Mladinska knjiga, 1993. 147-74. Welch, Robert, ed. The Oxford Companion to Irish Literature. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996. Yeats, William Butler. Autobiographies. 1955. London: Bracken Books, 1995. _. Collected Poems. London: Macmillan, 1995.
_. Izbrano delo. Nobelovci. Trans. Veno Taufer. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1983
_. "Leda in labod", "Nikoli ne daj vsega srca", "Po dolgem molku", "Vse me lahko zvabi",
"Novice za delfijsko preročišče", "Drugi prihod", "Kaj potem", "Noro kot megla in sneg". Z uvodom o avtoiju. Pesmi. Trans. Veno Taufer. Naši razgledi. (1979): 186.
_. "Miš", "Želi si oblačila neba", "Potovanje v Bizanc". "Z uvodom o avtoiju". Pesmi. Prev.
A. Rečan. Most 5 (1965): 10-11.
_. Memoirs. London: Macmillan, 1972.
_. On the Boiler. 1938. Dublin: Cuala Press, 1971.
Zupan, Uroš. "William Butler Yeats." Alojz Ihan, ed. Orfejev spev. Ljubljana: Nova revija, 1998.
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UDK 792.02(497.4):821.111(73)-2"19"
THE PLAYS OF LILLIAN HELLMAN, CLIFFORD ODETS AND WILLIAM
INGE ON SLOVENE STAGES
Mateja Slunjski
Abstract
After the Second World War, Slovene theatres started to include in their repertoires more and more American authors and their plays. Their choice were varied, from serious dramas by Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, to comedies by Norman Krasna and John van Druten, dependant mostly on the availability of the texts. In the immediate postwar years the theatres liked to present playwrights with progressive ideas in their plays, such as Lillian Hellman and her The Little Foxes, which was successfully produced at three Slovene theatres, while her The Children's Hour received negative reviews. In the fifties, three theatres chose two plays by Clifford Odets, Golden Boy and Country Girl, mainly because of his socially critical ideas and his admiration of humanity. His plays were rather well received; however, the critics doubted his literary genius. William Inge and his plays, Come Back, Little Sheba, Picnic and Bus Stop, chosen mainly because of the warmth with which the author depicted the tragedy and the beauty of life, were produced at three Slovene theatres. The author received rather wide-ranging opinions from the critics. Some thought him to be an unoriginal depicter of dull American life, while others praised his lyricism and new dramatic techniques.
Introduction
Lillian Hellman, Clifford Odets and William Inge and their dramatic works belong to the principal artistic works of American drama, although they have been received differently by American critics and literary historians. Lillian Hellman and Clifford Odets, who became famous in the thirties, were recognized as authors with social concern and progressive elements in most of their works. William Inge, who emerged as a playwright in the early fifties, has often been placed along-side Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller as the best postwar American playwright. The purpose of my paper is to establish which of their plays were staged in Slovenia and at which theatres, why the plays were chosen by the theatres, how successful the translations were and how the performances were received by the audience and by the critics in the Slovene press at that time. Two plays by Lillian Hellman, The Children's Hour and The Little Foxes, two plays by Clifford Odets, Golden Boy and The Country Girl, and three plays by William Inge, Come back, Little Sheba, Picnic and Bus Stop, were
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performed at twelve Slovene theatres, in the period between 1949 and 1970. All the plays were translated for the staging purposes only and have not been published in Slovene. The plays were mentioned in the literary reviews of certain Slovene theatres and in the collected reviews of performances.
Lillian Hellman (1906 - 1984) wrote plays, film scripts and memoirs. She came into contact with drama while working as a reader of dramatic scripts and was supported in her writing attempts by Dashiell Hammett, a writer of detective novels. She succeeded with her first play, The Children's Hour during the Depression. During the Spanish Civil War she was politically involved against fascism and after visiting Spain she developed radical views of society and the world. In the beginning of the fifties she was called to testify in front of the McCarthy subcommittee. She engaged herself in the fight for human and civil rights and was a known social figure. Some of her most successful plays are The Children's Hour (1934), The Little Foxes (1939), Another Part of the Forest (1946) and Toys in the Attic (1960). After a few unsuccessful plays and film scripts she became famous with her memoirs, An Unfinished Woman (1969), Pentimento (1973) and Scoundrel Time (1976).
Most foreign literary critics believe that the plays of Lillian Hellman are not works of political propaganda despite her political involvement. In her plays she revealed the corruption of modern society and treated themes such as free will and the responsibility of an individual (Rollyson 12). The critics also praised the excellent development of her characters, the sharp dialogue and effective realism on stage (Schäfer 89). Lorena Holmin found in Hellman's work the influence of Ibsen and Chekhov, as well as parallels to Odets' social protest and Faulkner's interest in the South (9-10).
The Little Foxes was not her first work, but I will deal with it first, since it was performed in Slovenia before The Children's Hour. The Little Foxes was produced in 1939 and was well received also because of the excellent cast (Tallulah Bankhead as Regina) and it had 410 performances. At the beginning of the twentieth century in the American South the Hubbard family, Ben, Oscar and their sister Regina, the representatives of the rising middle class, attempt to build a cotton factory as investors of half of the building cost, the rest being provided by a businessman from the North. The only problem is that Regina's husband Horace, who returns from the hospital under the pretext of being missed by his wife and daughter, refuses to get involved. Regina tries to force him into the deal and when she fails she lets him die. In the meantime Oscar and his son steal Horace's shares and at the end Regina blackmails them and wins her way. The only person who decides to stand up against them is Regina's daughter Alexandra. The main theme of the play is greed and its negative consequences, which can be seen in the Hubbard family, and the guilt of the people who surround them and passively watch their destructive march. There has been a difference of opinion among the literary critics whether the play is mainly a drama of social protest or drama of characters. Loren Holmin thought that the play shows the effect of greed on the society as well as on the individual (63-4); meanwhile Rollyson's opinion politics does not play a visible role in this drama, but nevertheless Hellman presents the Hubbards as representatives of modern evil (131). Jürgen Schäfer (91) and Joseph Krutch (12) also think that the author attacks modern American society as
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a whole, although the latter does not perceive it as an effective accusation.The aforementioned critics also found in Hellman's play elements of melodrama, especially some flat characters, stolen shares, threats and blackmail, but they praised the excellent characterization and the relations between the Hubbards, particularly of Regina and Ben. Lillian Hellman herself reflected on the opinions of the audience and the critics and realized that her intentions with the play had been misunderstood or lost to some extent.
I had meant to half-mock my own youthful high-class innocence in Alexandra, the young girl in the play; I had meant people to smile at, and to sympathize with, the sad, weak Birdie, certainly I had not meant them to cry; I had meant the audience to recognize some part of themselves in the money-dominated Hubbards; I had not meant people to think of them as villains to whom they had no connection. CPentimento, 180)
The play was staged by three theatres in Slovenia, under the title Kobilice. On April 23rd 1949 the Šentjakobsko Theatre in Ljubljana presented the play under the direction of Milan Petrovčič. The play had thirty-nine performances in that and the following seasons. The Slovene National Theatre in Trieste staged it on March 10th 1950 under the director Modest Sancin. The play had only nine performances.The last production followed at the Slovene National Theatre in Maribor, on January 6th 1951, with the guest director Jože Babič. It had thirteen performances.
Theatres in Maribor and in Trieste introduced in their theatre programmes the author as a progressive writer and they defined the play as a blunt attack on cruel capitalism, a work which demolishes the audience's illusions about the peaceful harmony of the capitalistic middle-class family (Dolar 24-6). The director Jože Babič praised the sharp psychological analysis of the characters and the writer's frankness in exposing their actions and relationships (Peršak 375-6).
Two accounts of the production at the Šentjakobsko Theatre were found; the Šentjakobsko Theatre celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 1952 and Jože Mahnič in the literary magazine Obzornik (208-213) summed up the performances, including '' Kobilice'', which he introduced as a modern American drama with deep psychology and progressive social thought. He believed that the work teaches socialism with life itself. Vladimir Frantar in his presentation of the Šentjakobsko Theatre (Živo gledališče II, 39) emphasized the first performance of the play in Yugoslavia and its success at the theatre as well as on tours. According to him the critics in the press mostly praised the director, the entire cast, especially the lead actors.
All three critics who wrote about the staging in Trieste in 1950, Vladimir Bartol in the newspaper Primorski dnevnik (2, 5), J. K. in the newspaper Ljudski tednik (13) and an unknown author on Radio Trieste (Jože Peterlin, Slovensko tržaško gledališče 28-30) generally made positive comments on the production, especially about the director and his work. All three critics agreed this play to be one of the best performances at the Slovene theatre in Trieste by then. It is interesting that the author of the radio also viewed Hellman critically; he did not see her as an especially important author in modern American drama, but he valued the general human thought in her
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work. He wondered whether the writer remained an artist with a refined sense for human rights and freedom or if she developed into a fighter for some kind of ideology. According to him The Little Foxes is not a declaration of a cultural fight; it only reveals an egoistic and rotten society.
The production of the play in Maribor was written about by two critics, Srečko Golob in the newspaper Vestnik (4) and Branko Rudolf in the literary magazine Nova obzorja (604-8). They both praised the whole performance as one of the best after the war, especially the director and the entire cast and found a few faults in the presentation of some roles. Golob was bothered by the director's emphasis of the psychological element and neglect of the social area. Babič achieved that by omitting several scenes, which show the economic background, according to this critic the essential element in the play.
The Children's Hour was written in 1934 and was based on an account of a true story, which Hammett advised Hellman to read. In the play a spoiled young girl Mary tells a lie to her rich and powerful aunt, Mrs Tilford, about her two teachers, Martha and Karen, being lesbians. The aunt believes the girl and the two women lose their battle against her slander in court. Their lives are ruined and Martha commits suicide. At first sight the taboo of lesbianism seems to be in the centre of this play, but in fact the play deals with the conflict between a lie and the truth. The two teachers are not the victims of the lie, but of the gullible righteous society, presented by Mrs Tilford, which accepts the lie for the truth and acts in her blind conviction of justice. The play became controversial because of the motif of the lesbian love. The audience and the critics of that time understood Mary as a completely negative character (Holmin 26); they commented on the third act where the shift is made from Mary, whom they received as a main character in the play, to the two teachers (Lederer 29) and they did not like the ending, especially Martha's death. Katherine Lederer also emphasised the true theme of the play, which is the damage people cause with their selfishness and hypocritical judgements. She also explained the shift of the attention in the play; Mary is just a carrier of the lie, and as soon as the lie is public, she disappears, while further damage is caused by the reactions of people to this lie. (31-2) Both Lederer and Carl Rollyson (68-75) agree about plausible characterization of Mary and the lack of depth and background in the characters of Martha and Karen; according to Christopher Bigsby Mrs Tilford's remorse and calm reaction of people present at Martha's death are questionable. He thinks that the play deals with the persistence at any cost of being innocent and its destructive effect. (275-6)
The play was produced at The Slovene National Theatre in Ljubljana, on April 20th 1955. It was directed by young Balbina Barabovič, and was performed twenty times.
The play was discussed by Bratko Kreft in the theatre programme (173-4), according to whom the play deals with a delicate area of women's sexuality, which the society condemns. Later in his article he pointed out the central core of the play, namely slander, which is the worst sin of the moralizing and narrow-minded society. Kreft praised the smooth dialogue and realistically presented characters, as a special quality he pointed out the writer's compassion for Karen and Martha, who are destroyed by the society's slander as well as their own nature. The important effect of the
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play is the shock the audience experiences, which is one of the main tasks of drama according to Aristotle. He also stated that one of the reasons for choosing this play was the opportunity for several actresses to be involved in the play. Before the premiere Jože Tiran in the newspaper Slovenski poročevalecn (4) introduced Lillian Hellman as a gifted writer, who in her later works dealt with the social relations in America, but in her first play she showed the provincial milieu, where the ordinary people succumb to powerful forces which act under the influence of a lie.
Several critics published their thoughts about the play and its performance in newspapers and two literary magazines (.Beseda and Naša sodobnost). Vasja Predan in Ljudska pravica (April 26th 1955, 6), Marjan Jerše in Slovenski poročevalec (5) and Miklavž Prosenc in Beseda (362-75) rejected the artistic value of the play itself, while Jamar in Ljubljanski dnevnik (6) and Vladimir Kralj in Naša sodobnost (376-8) found certain values in this work. They questioned the choice of the theatre to produce the play and were certain of The Little Foxes being a much better selection for the central Slovene theatre. According to the critics the director followed the script too closely and failed in the starting scene and the dull end.
Clifford Odets (1906 - 1963) grew up in the Bronx and left school at the age of seventeen to try breaking through as an actor. He came into contact with Theatre Guild and joined the Group Theatre in New York. He played minor roles and started to write, but the Group Theatre did not choose any of his works. He became famous in 1935 with a one-act play Waiting for Lefty, which he wrote for a competition, sponsored by the New Theatre League and the magazine New Masses. Thus a myth was born that Odets wrote his first play because of the reward. Gerald Weales on the contrary believes that Odets wanted to contribute his work to charity. The play had enormous success and was performed in thirty different cities all over America, but was also attacked for its revolutionary views (11-36). Odets had four plays on Broadway in the winter of 1935, Waiting for Lefty, Awake and Sing, Till the Day I Die, and Paradise Lost. He received offers from Hollywood, wrote a few film scripts and eventually moved to California. People in New York resented his connection to Hollywood and saw it as a betrayal. Odets' other successful plays were Golden Boy (1937) and The Country Girl (1950).
The literary critics of that time and later valued Clifford Odets either as a promising playwright who did not bring his talent to full effect or as a writer of the thirties (Miller 1). Most of his plays do not contain a political programme and are not works of propaganda, although the plays written in the thirties show the reality of the Depression. Working at the Group Theatre was a very influential and valuable experience, and is shown in several characters that Odets puts into the centre of his plays (Weales 31-2). In his plays Odets wanted to express his love for the people and his praise of the human spirit; he pointed to the tension in the individual, in the USA and in the world; he dealt with the search for happiness and fulfilment and the characteristics of the American society (Miller 2-3). According to Bigsby love is the central force in Odets' plays, but it is destroyed by corruptibility and harsh materialism (180). An important element in his work is language, the use of slang, the language of New York and of immigrants, which makes his characters real individuals and unique.
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Golden Boy is a drama about a young man Joe, the son of an Italian immigrant, who is a talented violinist but decides for a career in boxing. He eventually succeeds but in the process loses himself and dies in a car crash with his girlfriend Lorna. In this play two worlds are confronted. The first is the modern world of cruel and corruptive business, dominated by the greed for money, materialism, and making profit. This world is presented by the characters, such as the boxing manager Moody with his reminiscences of the golden twenties, and the gangster Fuseli, who buys a part of Joe's profit. The other is the old world with values like inner human happiness and satisfaction with a humble way of life, presented by Joe's father Bonaparte. The play shows the downfall of a young, talented individual in a world which dehumanizes him into its property. Though successful as a boxer Joe does not find happiness and fails to see any possibilities for it in the future. He wants to run away from both worlds and the question of his suicide remains in the mind of the reader.
The play was written in 1937, when the Group Theatre was in crisis. It was a great success and it ran for 250 performances. It was directed by Harold Clurman, while the production on the West coast by Stella Adler. The play was also staged in Paris and London and a film version was completed in 1939, with a happy ending.
In Gabriel Miller's opinion there are two main themes in the play, the desire of a soul for a safe haven and the close connection of success and death. He also found the elements of a gangster film in the play (173-84) According to Bigsby Joe is a flat character, constructed by the author for his dramatic purposes; he lacks self-recognition and knowledge of other people, and runs from the cognition of his own identity (182).
They play was staged in Slovenia at The Municipal Theatre in Ljubljana, on March 26th 1955, the director being Jože Babic.
In his presentation of the play Miloš Mikeln in the theatre programme (199-201) summarized Harold Clurman's article. He emphasized that the boxer's story is a symbolic image of the great fight in which we all take part. Joe in his strife for society's acceptance neglects his true artistic essence, becomes a killer, a defeated man and has to die. Mikeln exposed Joe's brother Frank as a free man, opposite to Joe.
The three critics, Jože Javoršek in Slovenski poročevalec (1955,4), Miloš Mikeln in Ljubljanski dnevnik (2), and Primož Kozak in Beseda (145-55) expressed interesting thoughts about the author and the play in their articles. According to Javoršek the play condemns violence and expresses the author's hope for democracy. Mikeln defined the play as mediocre and unpretentious work and doubted the value of the writer's dramaturgy, although he did find a certain amount of quality in it. Kozak on the other hand rejected the play as a literary work of art and only saw its educational and pedagogical purpose. The critics disagreed about the success of the direction; Javoršek praised it, Mikeln saw its weakness in the building of the characters, and Kozak thought that the style of staging should be light, and not as serious as it was. The critics praised the actors of the side roles and found imperfe ctions in the lead roles.
The Country Girl deals with an older actor Frank Elgin, who is given another opportunity by Bernie Dodd, a director in one of the New York's theatres. He offers Frank a lead role, but can hardly convince him to take it. Frank's wife Georgie, who had been preparing her things to leave, finally persuades him to try it. Frank tells
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Bernie about Georgie's suicide attempts and makes him believe that Georgie wants to ruin Frank's chances at succeeding at this project. Bernie and Georgie thus get into conflicts until the truth is finally revealed in the morning when Frank, drunk, oversleeps at the theatre. Bernie sees that Frank has been lying but in the end he keeps him in the play and Frank triumphs in his role. Although Bernie falls in love with Georgie she decides to stay at Frank's side. The scene of this play is the world of the theatre, which many times shows its cruel side; the producer Cook fights for success and profit, while the director Dodd strives for the artistic creation. In this world an individual is given another chance to prove himself, to find self-confirmation and the praise of others. Frank is a personality with psychological problems, low self esteem, a drinking problem and entirely dependent on his wife. Through the play we see Georgie's self-sacrifice and courage in her relationship with her husband and in her fight against Bernie's accusations, but also a certain amount of resignation.
The play was performed in 1950 and it was performed 235 times. It was staged in London under the title Winter Journey, and also filmed.
The critics Edward Murray and Jean Gould emphasized the absence of the social element, characteristic of Odets' previous plays. Murray praised above all its deep psychological characterization (241-49).
The Country Girl was staged at three Slovene theatres, under the title Premiera v New Yorku. The Municipal Theatre in Ljubljana was the first to present it on March 31st 1956, the director was Igor Pretnar. It ran seventeen performances. On September 20th 1958, it was performed at the Primorsko Drama Theatre in Nova Gorica, and directed by Janez Drozg. In 1959, on June 20th, it was staged at The Slovene People's Theatre in Celje, under the direction of Andrej Hieng. It was performed only five times.
The work was presented by Igor Pretnar in the theatre programme (257-9), where Pretnar stated his perception of the play's main idea, namely the fight for humanity and man's nobleness, which has to end victoriously. In his opinion the basic conflict lies in Frank himself, the alcoholism and as its result Frank's depraved character, against which Bernie and Georgie fight. The brightest point in the play is its optimistic end, which is not typical of Odets as well as of other writers of modern American drama, who deal with the themes in an "ideologically progressive" manner. But on the contrary they depict the gloom and hopelessness of the American life, ending their plays pessimistically and tragically. According to Pretnar the play requires a neutral presence of the director, like Wyler's direction, and poetically realistic acting.
There was also a concrete reason for choosing this particular play for this theatre. The actor Miro Kopač wanted to celebrate his thirty-five years of acting that season and together with the stage manager Dušan Moravec (1998) they decided for this play, with which the National Theatre from Belgrade toured in Ljubljana in 1955.
According to two critics, Miklavž Prosenc in Ljudska pravica (6) and Simon Fras in Ljubljanski dnevnik (7), the performance of the play in Ljubljana was successful. Both praised the work of the director Igor Pretnar. Prosenc was especially enraptured with a new viewpoint that the director had found in Frank's personality, namely his moral freedom and responsibility for his own actions; in the play the psychology of an individual and not of the milieu was accentuated, and that presented a small but
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important step forward for the critic. According to Fras the director wanted to express the ethical idea of the play, which was the importance of a fight for the humanity in a man. Both critics commended the lead roles.
There was only one article published about the performance in Nova Gorica. The unknown author (ib.) in Ljudska pravica (6) praised the young cast in a supportive way and did not mention any deficiencies in the performance. His critique is superficial and does not show the true picture of the performance and its success.
The theatre in Celje presented the play in a newspaper Celjski tednik, since its play bill was not being published at that time. The theatre changed its programme three times, because they could not get the Slovene translations in time, so their last choice was Odets' work. The unknown author of the article stressed the familiarity of the story to the people (May 15th 1959). The performance in Celje was the last one in that season and a successful one too. The critics H. S. in the newspaper Celjski tednik (4) and Tine Orel in the magazine Nasa Sodobnost (857-63), praised it as an accomplished creation owing to a good direction and persuasiveness of the actors in playing their roles.
William Inge (1913 - 1973) studied English at the University in Lawrence, Kansas, was involved in drama productions and wanted to succeed as an actor in New York, but was without financial means after having finished his studies. He continued with postgraduate studies and received his Master's degree. After five years of lecturing Inge worked as a critic at a newspaper in St. Louis during the Second World War. In 1944 he interviewed Tennessee Williams after his first successful play The Glass Menagerie and their meeting proved to be a crucial moment in Inge's life. Within three months he wrote his first play, Farther Off from Heaven, with the production of which Margo Jones opened her Theatre 47. Afterwards he wrote four successful plays, all produced on Broadway: Come Back, Little Sheba (1950), Picnic (1953), Bus Stop (1955) and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957). He also wrote some successful film scripts and novels. His later plays were not well received and caused in a sensitive writer disappointment and depression.
Some literary critics place Inge alongside Williams and Miller as an important American postwar playwright (Schäfer 139), although he later could not repeat his success of the fifties. The themes of loneliness, love, the loss of youth, innocence and promises prevail in his plays. According to Bigsby he presented provincial America as a picture of life, where human efforts and possibilities are destroyed, and the relationships between people unsuccessfully die away into bitterness (1992: 153). The critics praised his masterful presentation of women characters.
The story of Come Back, Little Sheba evolves in a small town in the Middle West, the home of a childless couple, Lola and Döc Delaney. A free-minded student Marie lives with them as a tenant and has a well-shaped boyfriend Turk. Lola grieves over her lost dog Sheba, while her husband Doc tries to stay sober, but eventually, triggered by his fancy for Marie and contempt for Lola's admiration of Turk, fails, gets drunk and is taken to hospital. After his return he begs Lola to stay with him and she does. In this play Inge deals with the need for love and the consequences of its absence in human life and relationships. Doc and Lola got married young because Lola was
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pregnant but she later lost the baby. Since then they have lived their lives without genuine love, physical or psychical, intimacy and communication. Lola cries for her lost youth and expresses her unsatisfied sexual desire through observing the young couple and admiring T\irk's muscles, while Doc tries to repress his disappointment with drinking.
The play had 190 performances, and the film version proved even more popular, being judged in Cannes as the best film, and Shirley Booth was awarded with Oscar for the leading role.
Come back, Little Sheba was staged at the Slovene People's Theatre in Celje, on December 20th 1955, for the first time in Yugoslavia. It was translated and directed by Dušan Tomše. It was only performed nine times, the least of all plays in that season.
Herbert Griin wrote an interpretation of the play for the theatre programme (14951). He discussed many aspects of this play, from alcoholism, disillusionments of life, the picture of drab everyday life in provincial America, to the absurdity of life, which are intertwined in this play. As the most important theme he pointed out alcoholism and justified its treatment in literature.
In the article, published by Oton Župančič in the same theatre programme, the critic introduced the author and the opposing criticism by literary theoreticians and critics about his work. There are critics, who compare Inge to Chekhov, while others reject the comparison and claim that Inge does not reach Chekhov's depth of idea. Some critics renounce Inge as a quality writer because his plays were written according to the American concept, while others favour him as an important creator of new literary ways. In Zupančič's opinion Inge moved the reader with his simplicity and the unobtrusive symbolism of his characters.
The performance in Celje and particularly the choice of the author and his play caused rather turbulent reactions in the press, similar to the opinions abroad. Articles were published in five different newspapers and magazines. Tine Orel in Celjski tednik (5), and Bruno Hartman in Večer (4), did not see anything new, exciting and worth presenting in the idea and the theme of the play and in Inge's dramaturgy as a whole. Jože Javoršek in Slovenski poročevalec (1956 4) wrote that the theme of the play was not close to the Slovene taste. Miloš Mikeln in Ljubljanski dnevnik (1956 4) and Vasja Predan in Ljudska pravica (1956 6) on the other hand praised the author and his work. In Mikeln's opinion Slovene theatres did not know how to perform this kind of plays. Predan rejected the condemnations of the unoriginality of American drama and defined Inge's play as a fine modern play. Regarding the performance critics believed that the lack of success was partly due to the impression of a successful film, shown at the cinema a short time ago, and because the director could not create the typical atmosphere, present in Inge's plays. The critics praised mostly the creations of the side roles and found several faults in the two lead roles.
Picnic was written and produced in 1953. Flo Owens, her daughters Madge and Millie, and their neighbour Helen Potts live in a small town in Kansas. Madge, a very beautiful, sensitive girl, dates Alan, a wealthy student, and Flo has high hopes for them marrying. This way Madge could enjoy a well-provided life. But Madge does not share her enthusiasm; she feels that Alan admires her as a beautiful object and not as a real person. One morning their lives are shattered by the arrival of a tramp Hal, who
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was actually Alan's colleague at college and is in search of a good job. Hal and Madge are drawn to each other from the start, which does not appeal to Flo. Rosemary, a teacher who lives at Helen's, is also disturbed by Hal, when she realizes that she is not young anymore and cannot wait for the love of her life forever and has to trap Howard into marriage if she does not want to end up alone. After a night spent together Hal wants Madge to come with him, and Madge, having experienced real bodily love and powerful feelings for the first time, follows him against her mother's will. The dominant themes in this play are the need for love, seen in all the characters in a different way, the search for one's own identity and one's place in the world, mainly expressed in the wandering Hal and Madge. Picnic is a drama of characters, around which the author unties a story. Rosemary is one of the best drawn of Inge's women characters.
The play was developed from one-act play Front Porch. During the try-out outside Broadway Inge had to change the ending into a happy one and make the character of Hal more likable. The play received the Pulitzer price, the New York Drama Critics' Award and the Outer Critics' Circle Award.
Picnic was directed by Miloš Mikeln and produced at the Prešeren Theatre in Kranj on October 7th 1955. It was performed nine times. Later it was staged at the Tone Čufar Theatre in Jesenice on May 31st 1970, under the direction of Jože Vozny, where it had the same number of performances.
The author and the play were introduced by Radoslav Jan and Miloš Mikeln in the Prešeren Theatre Programme. Jan (37-39) saw some similarity to Chekhov in Inge's work. Both writers show melancholy at the realization of the tragedy of human existence on one hand and the beauty of life on the other. Inge's characters continue living and hoping in spite of the fact that they are aware of the tragic life. Picnic was written to enlighten and ridicule and it showed humanity, and for these reasons it was also chosen by the theatre. Jan hoped that the play would have a successful run and also for the production of Inge's Bus Stop planned for the following season. In Mikeln's opinion (40-43) the play draws the reader with its simple and true philosophy and with its presentation of genuine life in all its coloured images. He too mentions Inge's affinity to Chekhov, and thinks that Inge is his most intimate modern heir. Mikeln points to the problem they came across during the staging of the play, which was the absence of colloquial language on Slovene stages.
Three critics reacted to the performance in Kranj. Dušan Zeleznjov in Slovenski poročevalec (4) was pleased with the discovery of a new writer, whom he superficially compared to Chekhov. Jože Šircelj in Ljudska pravica (5) praised the play's formal perfection, but objected to its shallow idea. The most enthusiastic was again Vasja Predan in Ljubljanski dnevnik (4), though he felt that the performance did not correctly present the work. According to him the director did not catch the characteristic atmosphere of the play. All three critics believed that the actresses played their roles well and contributed to the partial success of the play. Their opinions about the success of the whole performance vary. Železnjov thought it very successful, Šircelj was more reserved, and Predan observed that the performance did not achieve the effect of the dramatic text itself.
There was no critique after the performance in Jesenice, but the announcement about the play was published in the newspaper Železar, where the author -nj- (12)
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presented the play as a comedy of ordinary American people, who strive for a better life, and also as a picture of American society, which has lost its sense for the basic relations between people.
Bus Stop was written and produced in 1955. In a modest tavern by the roadside an interesting group of bus travellers is gathered because of the snow storm. There is a young woman Cherrie and a green cowboy Bo, who kidnapped her and wants to make her his wife, his companion Virgil, Dr. Lyman, a former professor, who likes young girls, a young girl Elma, the owner of the place, Grace and Carl, the bus driver, who have an affair upstairs, and the sheriff Will. During their stay Bo tries to win Cherrie by force, but fails, gets into fight with the sheriff and repents. He realizes he knows nothing about women but knows that he wants Cherrie. Cherrie gets to know his gentle side and assents to going out with him. The central theme is again love and the search for it. The play is distinguished for its dialogue between the characters, which are, with a few exceptions present on the scene, and the attention is shifted from one couple to another.
Bus Stop developed from a one-act play People in the Wind. It had 480 performances and was followed by a successful film version. Baird Shuman defined the play as a romantic comedy, which analyzes different kinds of love. In his opinion the dominant element is sexuality, out of which love is born (59-70).
The play was presented at the Preseren Theatre on April 5th 1957, with Mire Kragelj as the director. It had eighteen repetitions.
This play was also introduced by Rado Jan in the theatre programme (1957: 9599). He defined Inge as of "the most American authors of modern drama'' on account of the important role of landscape and its atmosphere in his plays. This play shows characters travelling, which is reminiscent of the pioneer times of the formation of the USA and has a romantic connotation to every American. Most of the characters in this play are types from American romanticism, and experience a certain change at the stop in the tavern. In Jan's opinion the core of the play is the necessity of a fellow human being for man's redemption.
The unsigned author of the article in Slovenski porocevalec (5) acknowledged Inge's popularity in the world on the ground of the simplicity and romantic features of his work, but he believed Inge to be one of the Americans who return to Europe with techniques of European naturalism. In the critic's opinion the play offers nothing new, but it reveals certain qualities, especially Inge's mastery of the stage space and time, and his excellent presentation of everyday events and ideas. The performance could not catch the necessary atmosphere, but he praised the cast.
Conclusion
At the beginning of the 1950s Slovenia began to open itself to the world, and among other changes in the political as well as cultural sphere, more works by American dramatists were staged. The theatres produced various American plays, among them plays by Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, as well as by Irwin Shaw and other authors, such as James Gow and Arnaud D'Usseau, comedies by Norman Krasna,
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John van Druten and others. The critics valued serious plays and accepted the necessity of light plays, which were popular among the audiences of the time. The choice of plays was based in part on their success in American and European theatres, as well as on the contacts of Slovene stage managers and directors with the film versions or productions shown by foreign theatres in Slovenia. But the most important factor was simply the availability of texts.
The first theatre to present a play by Lillian Hellman was the Šentjakobsko Theatre in Ljubljana in 1949, eleven years after the premiere of The Little Foxes in the United States. The play was then performed in two subsequent seasons in Trieste and Maribor. The last theatre that performed her work was the National Theatre in Ljubljana in 1955. The Municipal Theatre in Ljubljana was the first that presented Clifford Odets and his two plays, the latter having been performed at two theatres, where the same translation was used. The Prešeren Theatre obviously liked and accepted the works of William Inge. In two years they presented two of his plays.
Lillian Hellman was received with enthusiasm as a politically progressive playwright. The reason for the staging of her play The Little Foxes in 1949, as well as in two subsequent seasons in three Slovene theatres was certainly the social criticism expressed in her work, which the theatres and critics as well perceived as an attack on the corruption and evils of capitalism. American critics, meanwhile, generally agreed about her attack on the modern society as such. However, regarding the political situation in Slovenia in the years after the Second World War, the understanding and the exaggeration of Slovene public is quite logical. All three productions in Slovenia were successful. On the other hand, her play The Children's Hour was rejected by the critics four years later, and the production received negative reviews as well.
The theatres and critics were not enthusiastic about Clifford Odets, although they found some value in his work. His Golden Boy was most likely chosen for the production in Ljubljana because of its social-critical theme dealing with the corruption and wealth of the business world, and also because of its renewed production on Broadway in the same year. The production was rather successful. The Country Girl was first staged in Ljubljana in 1956 in order to celebrate the 35th career anniversary of the actor Miro Kopač and it was successful as well. The production in Celje, two years later, was also well received, whereas in Nova Gorica its success cannot be objectively determined owing to lack of data and reviews of the production. Assuming that Clifford Odets was chosen because if his progressive ideas, it is interesting that the theatres did not pick his earlier plays, especially his most ideologically pointed play, Waiting for Lefty.
The work of William Inge received rather opposite opinions in Slovenia. Some producers and critics valued and liked his work, while others rejected him completely. Human problems, dealt with realistically, were the impetus behind the production of Come back, Little Sheba, which was only partly successful, particularly when compared with a fine film version of this play. His Picnic was selected because of the comic element and human warmth, which was also the reason for the production of the play Bus Stop. The production of Picnic in Kranj was very successful according to some critics, artistically weak according to the others, and Bus Stop in the same the-
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atre received average reviews. For the production of Picnic in Jesenice there were no reviews to be found.
Although the production of these plays did not have such an influence as the works of Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller they had a refreshing impact in the dramaturgical policy of Slovene theatres, due to their light-hearted approach to life. In some cases Slovene critics pointed out their critical attitude to American social and economic system, but such criticism did not prevail. The fact that these plays are not of the highest aesthetic merit can be seen in the limited run these plays had not only in Slovenia but also in America.
Maribor
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-nj-. "'Piknik' na jeseniškem odru". Železar, May 29 1970: 12. Odets, Clifford. The Country Girl. New York: Viking Press, 1951.
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_. Srečni fant. prev. Mira Mihelič. Arhiv Slovenskega gledališkega muzeja (Mestno gledališče
ljubljansko), 1955.
_. Dekle z dežele, prev. Ivan Črnagoj. Arhiv Slovenskega gledališkega muzeja (Mestno
gledališče ljubljansko), 1956. _. Dekle z dežele, prev. Ivan Črnagoj. Arhiv Primorskega dramskega gledališča v Novi Gorici,
1958.
Orel, Tine. "Vrni se, mala Sheba". Celjski tednik, December 30 1955: 5.
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_. "Beležke o celjskem gledališču". Naša sodobnost, 1959, II: 857-863.
Peršak, Tone. Med stvarnostjo in domišljijo. O režiserju Jožetu Babiču. Ljubljana: Knjižica Mestnega gledališča ljubljanskega 88, 1982.
Predan, Vasja. "Zakaj Hellmanova? Popremierski zapiski ob uprizoritve 'Dekliške ure' v ljubljanski Drami". Ljudska pravica, April 26 1955: 6.
_. "William Inge: Piknik; Po gostovanju Prešernovega gledališča iz Kranja". Ljubljanski
dnevnik, November 15 1955: 4.
_. "W. I.: Vrni se, mala Sheba!". Ljudska pravica, January 5 1956: 6.
Pretnar, Igor. "Drama o borbi za človeka" Gledališki list Mestnega gledališča v Ljubljani, ed. Dušan Moravec. VI, 1955/ 1956. 9. Ljubljana: uprava MG, 1956: 257-259.
Prosenc, Miklavž. "Letošnja gledališka sezona v ljubljanski drami". Beseda. 1955.3-4: 362-375.
_. "Letošnja gledališka sezona v ljubljanski drami II". Beseda. 1955. 7. 438-446.
_. "Clifford Odets: Premiera v New Yorku; Novost v ljubljanskem Mestnem gledališču". Ljudska
pravica, April 5 1956: 6.
Rollyson, Carl. Lillian Hellman, Her Legend and Her Legacy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.
Rudolf, Branko. "O delu mariborskega gledališča v sezoni 1950-1951". Nova obzorja, 1951: 604608.
S., H. "Konec dober - vse dobro; Odetsova 'Podeželanka' na celjskem odru". Celjski tednik, June 26 1959: 4.
Schafer, Jtirgen. Geschichte des amerikanischen Dramas im 20. Jahrhundert. Verlag W. Kohlhammer GmbH, 1982.
Šircelj, Jože. "Williama Inga 'Piknik'; Drugo gostovanje Kranjčanov". Ljudska pravica, November 9 1956: 5.
Tiran, Jože. "Hellmanova vnovič na slovenskem odru". Slovenski poročevalec, April 20 1955: 4.
Voss, Ralph F. A Life of William Inge. The Strains of Triumph. Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1989.
Železnjov, Dušan. "William Inge: Piknik; druga premiera Prešernovega gledališča". Slovenski poročevalec, October 15 1955: 4.
Župančič, Oton. "William Inge". Gledališki list Slovenskega ljudskega gledališča v Celju. ed. Herbert Griin. 1955-56, X, 4. Celje: uprava SLG, 1955-56: 152.
Weales, Gerald. Odets, the Playwright. London: Methuen, 1985.
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UDK 821.111(73).03.09 Steinbeck J.=163.6
CENTENNIAL REFLECTIONS ON STEINBECK'S REPUTATION
IN SLOVENIA
Danica Cerce
Abstract
Since the late 1920s and his first novel. Cup of Gold (1929), there has been little consensus about John Steinbeck's work, and he has often been praised or dismissed for the wrong reasons. In the wake of the novels with the sweeping reach and social consciousness of In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), and The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and despite the prodigious and startlingly diverse output of his career, Steinbeck was generally regarded as one of America's foremost engaged artists. However, the truth is that he was as much a postmodernist and a modernist, as a traditional proletarian writer. And though he made a significant contribution to the perception of the problems of his time by writing with empathy, clarity and a strong sense of justice about the downtrodden, the exploited, and the defenseless, which contributed to his immense public success, Steinbeck's novels lose none of their richness and power when removed from their historical context. With the human dilemmas on many levels of personal, philosophical, and socio-economic existence, and their deep humanistic, philosophical and ecological message, conveyed through numerous Biblical, Arthurian, and literary allusions, his works are as relevant today as they were when they were written.
Appropriate enough, and given that this year marks the centennial of John Steinbeck's birth, celebrated with a year-long series of events taking place throughout the United States and paying tribute to the winner of the O. Henry Short Story Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, and the Nobel Prize for Literature by examining his legacy in American literature, film, theatre and journalism, and providing new information about the enduring value of his writing, this paper aims to capture the writer's reputation in Slovenia. The plan is to briefly analyse the most illustrative examples of Steinbeck criticism accompanying Slovene publications of his works; then to loosen the hold of deeply entrenched positions of Slovene reviewers, and to highlight the importance of considering Steinbeck's texts from new, insightful and politically unbiased perspectives of contemporary critical engagement. And last but not least, this discussion might hopefully induce Slovene publishers to new printings and translations of Steinbeck's works.
In the 1958 issue of Nasa zena, a popular read for many Slovenes interested in social and cultural issues, there appears this revealing passage:
It was not long ago when each book reaching Slovenia from across the Atlantic was a great sensation. Today, we can safely claim that American literature is far from being unknown to Slovenes, and John Steinbeck in
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particular has become our dearest acquaintance. We have read his novels The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, In Dubious Battle and been amused by his Tortilla Flat. No wonder we reach for his latest novel, East of Eden, in the most genuine expectation of meeting a friend with a lot to give. And Steinbeck will most certainly not let us down! (322)
So wrote Rapa Šuklje, one of the most active voices of what may be called the first generation of Steinbeck critics in Slovenia, following the first Slovene-language edition of Steinbeck's novel East of Eden (Vzhodno od raja), published by Cankaijeva založba in 1958. At the very outset it should be pointed out that such friendly and warm-hearted critical views as cited above had accompanied almost every Slovene translation of Steinbeck's novels since the writer first received the attention of the Slovene reading public in the early 1940s, and that it was not until Steinbeck's involvement in the Vietnam War that his popularity started to fade a little. There is no doubt that interest in American literature in Slovenia increased widely when Steinbeck began to produce his penetrating working-class novels, which burst on to the American scene from 1936 through 1939. It is also important to note that past social and political circumstances in Slovenia accounted for the general acceptance and appreciation of Steinbeck's work, especially of The Grapes of Wrath, which was crucial to Slovene understanding of the working-class experience in America, and made Steinbeck a household name.
To attribute the writer's appeal in Slovenia to the seeming simplicity of his writing and to the daring sincerity of its content that stemmed from the intensity of his involvement in the contemporary agriculture labour situation is only half the story. We need not look closely to find that Steinbeck's texts about the downtrodden and the have-nots of society enabled Slovene readers to draw many parallels between the workers' economic and social conditions in the two countries prior to the wartime socialist revolution. And more than that; politically committed activists exploited the author's anger and his sensitivity to human problems for propagandistic purposes. Other reasons accounted for the fact that Steinbeck was considered a sympathetic spokesman for the workers' cause, and held up as a model of social realism in Slovene literature; for example, his socially enlightened views and the evocative power of his art, to say the least. Steinbeck's influence is noticeable in the work of the outstanding Slovene representative of this genre, Lovro Kuhar-Prežihov Voranc; he also had a considerably great impact on the prominent Slovene realist writer, Ciril Kosmač.1 However, this is not to deny the fact that Steinbeck did not entirely satisfy some dogmatic left-wing critics, who believed that his work lacked a more distinctive political synthesis; nor is it to diminish the significance of their attempt to present him as a "class traitor" and an "opportunist", as he was referred to in an anonymous article "Književnost v ZDA" (Literature in the USA), printed in the 31 March 1949 issue of Slovenski poročevalec, as this discussion will have indicated, when the writer abandoned the Depression era as a subject (10). From what has been said, and judging from both the sheer number of Slovene translations and the prevailing enthusiasm behind the critical voice of Slovene
1 Steinbeck's influence is seen particularly in the novel Jamnica (1945), written by Lovro Kuhar-Prežihov Voranc, and in Ciril Kosmac's collection of novelettes Sreča irt kruh (1946).
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reviewers discussing Steinbeck's fiction, it is understandable that in past decades, and in the 1950s and 1960s in particular, Steinbeck was arguably one of the most popular American writers in Slovenia.
However, and in spite of a string of Slovene editions of Steinbeck's novels up to the latest third printing of his Tortilla Flat (translated by Ciril Kosmač as Polentarska polica and published by Mladinska knjiga in 1995), it is surprising that the writer has elicited a rather poor response from Slovene literary critics. That is, with the exception of a handful of more in-depth forewords to some Slovene editions of Steinbeck's novels, his art was predominantly assessed in periodical and newspaper articles whose authors, in great part book reviewers and journalists, only exceptionally managed to go beyond a cursory description of his fables. It is hard to believe, but there has not yet appeared a full-length study in book form of Steinbeck's work, and only a few broader, well-researched studies on this topic have until very recently seen the light of day. This is even more curious given that the first news about Steinbeck reached Slovenia as early as 1938, and that the Slovene version of his major novel, The Grapes of Wrath, entitled in its first translation by Rudolf Kresal as Sadovi jeze (Ljubljana: Založba Plug, 1943), was published only four years after being issued in the United States.2
Another paradox is that, regardless of the numerous proofs that Steinbeck's later fiction clearly shows the writer's departure from proletarian themes and his move to more sophisticated views on human existence, his literary reputation in Slovenia still to a very large degree rests on his socially-conscious novels of the 1930s, and most of Steinbeck's mid- and post-war works until very recently remained undeservedly marginalized. Instead of accepting aesthetic criteria as the only standard of a book's value, Slovene critics were primarily preoccupied with the demands laid down by social realism, which became the reigning literary theory in Slovenia after 1930, and viewed Steinbeck's literary achievements mainly from this perspective. Not surprisingly, then, they did not manage to perceive the ironic undertones in the writer's wording, let alone to unravel the complexity of mythical and literary allusions that add multiple layers of meaning to his seemingly simple and very readable stories. Similarly, most Slovene reviewers paid scant regard to Steinbeck's bent for ceaseless technical and stylistic experimentation, and uncritically equated the writer's exploration of new experience in his later years of writing with a decline in his artistic power.
To further illustrate this point, it should also be noted that the emergence of a whole new generation of fiction scholars worldwide, attracted to Steinbeck and exploring his writing, has so far only to some extent sparked a revival of interest in Steinbeck in Slovenia. Perhaps more than the fact that the translating of studies on Steinbeck criticism has so far been altogether ignored in Slovenia, the readers of this paper will be intrigued by the statistic that none of Steinbeck's works from his early and mid-war years of writing, including the novels Cup of Gold, The Pastures of Heaven, To a God Unknown and The Moon Is Down, is available to the non-English speaking population of Slovenia. The same holds true for his novels The Long Valley, The Wayward Bus, Burning Bright, and The Short Reign of Pippin IV, and for most of Steinbeck's
2 Most of the Slovene translations of Steinbeck's novels were printed after a considerable lapse of time, for example, Sweet Thursday appeared as late as 1979.
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non-fiction work, as evident from the list of Slovene publications of Steinbeck's works in the Appendix. If further proof is needed, and I think it is not, that there are huge gaps to be bridged in the field of Steinbeck studies in Slovenia, it should also be remembered that the only Slovene editions of the novels Of Mice and Men and In Dubious Battle date from as early as 1951 and 1952 respectively, and thus "hardly deserve to be found anywhere else than on the most remote and the dustiest shelves of some Slovene libraries", as they do, and as I regretfully indicated in "Kritiška presoja Steinbeckovega pripovedništva na Slovenskem" (Slovene Criticism on Steinbeck's Fiction) in the 2000 issue of the literary journal Dialogi 9-10 (98).
There are many explanations for the one-sided approach to Steinbeck's fiction and for the lack of both Slovene critical judgement and translations of the writer's work. However, it is not within the scope of this paper to dwell much longer on this issue, but to present the prevailing image of the writer as conceived by the Slovene general public and literary critics over a period of six decades of Steinbeck's presence in Slovenia, encompassing both the most illustrative critical material and a brief overview of Slovene translations. Let us now turn to details.
The first three critical articles on Steinbeck appeared in Jutro, a liberal daily newspaper. In its 2 February 1938 issue, Griša Koritnik discusses the writer in the context of broader reflections on American literature and familiarizes Slovene readers with the publication of Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men. Also merely informative and dealing with contemporary American literature, are Janko Debeljak's review for the following year's issue, and the anonymous "Zapiski" (Notes), published on 6 June 1940. The 29 July 1943 news in the Slovenec newspaper, that a Slovene publishing company, Plug, was about to bring out a translation of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, "one of the strongest indictment of social ills", must have struck both the general and academic readership in occupied Slovenia, for it was a marked deviation from the tendencies and trends in the Slovene publishing business (12). Given the controversy surrounding Steinbeck's best-known novel and its divergence from the preconceptions relating to the themes and ideology of the books published in Slovenia during the occupation, this is not hard to comprehend. As for the publisher's decision, it might simply have been that they saw Slovenia as an eager market for a novel that had been banned for its rebellious topic. As expected, the book sold prodigiously, but the event hardly elicited any critical discussion of it. With regard to the assertions made in connection with Slovene orthodox critics, it is interesting to note the anonymous position advocated in "John Steinbeck: 'Grozdi jeze'" (John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath), in the 25 August 1944 issue of Slovenec, namely that "a work which arouses in its readers a desire to fight against existing social injustice should also show the way to attain this change" (8).
Some other antagonistic voices were heard on Steinbeck' s fiction from 1947 onwards. Firstly, the literary periodical Novi svet (1947) published Mile Klopčič's translation of a study by the Russian critic, A. Starcev, whose position regarding communal trends in the development of social realism in the United States and the progress of Steinbeck's literary career in particular is characteristic of the prevailing Slovene reception of Steinbeck's fiction. In his "O socialnem realizmu v ZDA" (Social Realism in the United States), Starcev asserts that Steinbeck, the author of The Grapes of Wrath,
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certainly was a daring social critic of his country, while, on the other hand, his novels, The Moon Is Down and Cannery Row, show him as a "skeptical individualist whose art does not go beyond the sheer preoccupation with itself' (133). Equally unfavourable ideas were repeated two years later in the already mentioned Slovenski poročevalec essay, "Književnost v ZDA'" (American Literature), where an anonymous author depicts Steinbeck as "an ardent supporter of the system he had previously attacked" (10).
A significant contribution to the Slovene reception of Steinbeck is undoubtedly that of Janez Gradišnik, the author of periodical overviews of contemporary American literature in the literary periodicals, Novi svet and Nova obzorja. In his 1950 Novi svet essay, "Pogledi na ameriško književnost v letu 1951" (Views on American Literature in 1951), for example, he gives information about the heated disputes among American critics over the artistry of Steinbeck's post-war fiction, and briefly mentions their lukewarm if not unfavourable opinion of the novel Burning Bright. An equally illustrative example of how rapid was the flow of information tracing Steinbeck's artistic career is a short anonymous review of The Wayward Bus, "Najnovejši Steinbeckov roman" (The Latest Novel by John Steinbeck) in Ljudski tednik, as early as 17 July 1947, worth noting here solely for this reason.
Given the up-to-date reporting of the Slovene press, either about the writer's growing popularity in the Unites States, or about the change in his thematic orientation and the subsequent discussions surrounding the quality of his writing, some comment must be made about the field of translation, where the situation was considerably different. It was not until 1951 that a veritable outburst of Slovene translations of Steinbeck's novels began. In the 1950s, for example, Slovene bookstores were stocked with Slovene-language versions of Of Mice and Men (1951), The Pearl (1952), In Dubious Battle (1952) and East of Eden (1958). Considered together, the views accompanying these publications show that the novels were affirmatively accepted both by popular readers and by literary critics. However, most of these critical evaluations concerned themselves merely with factual information about Steinbeck and his work, rather than providing more comprehensive, analytical insights. Somewhat different, but still relatively limited in scope, was a study dealing with Of Mice and Men, "John Steinbeck: 'Ljudje in miši'," by Ivan Skušek in the 8 March 1952 issue of Ljudska pravica. Skusek's response to his own question about the reason for the unprecedented success of this novel is that this may be found in Steinbeck's "caring and compassionate portrayal of the common people" (18).
Another article worth mentioning in this paper mainly because of its effect on subsequent criticism, is Rapa Šuklje's critical evaluation of In Dubious Battle, in the August 1954 issue of Naša žena. She advances a very positive view of the novel, founding her judgement on her belief that the novel "announces a bright future with justice, equality and humanity" (173). Her impassioned reflections culminate in her assumption that "Steinbeck and his heroes make you believe that such a future can not be far ahead" (174). Although her idealistic and limited views are a denial of the complexity of the novel, we can speculate that they, nevertheless, significantly contributed to the popularity of Steinbeck in Slovenia. Viewed from this angle, it is even more surprising that the 1952 edition of Aljoša Furlan's and Rado Bordon's translation of In Dubious Battle, printed by Slovenski poročevalec, has not been reprinted.
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Several Slovene reviewers commented on Tortilla Flat, published in Slovene translation as late as 1953, all of them positively. Dušan Mevlja is a good example. In his 23 November 1953 review for Večer, Mevlja points out Steinbeck's "genuine humanity", which he posits as the most acceptable explanation for the book's success in Slovenia (17). In his opinion, the novel is "a hymn to chivalric ideals such as friendship, loyalty, simplicity, and bohemianism" as opposed to the distorted values of the materialistic bourgeoisie (17). My purpose is not to argue the point, but beneath the reviewer's passionate judgement one cannot overlook his rigidly sociological position towards the novel, which undoubtedly contributes its own illumination to the story. Janez Menart, on the other hand, seems to have been fully aware that many readers are unlikely to grasp what Steinbeck intended to say in Tortilla Flat. His view in the 1953 issue of Knjiga suggests that the writer is conveying a great and simple truth to a worldwide audience, namely, "what makes people happy and gives meaning to their existence is a generous heart, not material gain" (296).
Also, observations made on the occasion of the first Slovene publication of East of Eden in 1958, indicate the reviewers' friendly and appreciative position toward the writer - as pointed out at the very beginning of this paper. In a four-page-long afterword, "Steinbeck in njegov raj" (Steinbeck and His Eden), Jože Turk, for example, describes the book as "one of the most beautiful literary gifts ever available to Slovene readers" (541).Taking into account his initial assertion, that "in times of international crises Steinbeck, who is a writer of high repute, always attentively listened to President Tito's opinion" (540), one sees that political views underlay the critical evaluation of this book, too.
However, the comments after Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for literature reveal passions at both ends of the spectrum: the majority of Slovene reviewers overtly supported the writer, each with his or her own explanation of why Steinbeck had deserved the award. For example, in Tedenska tribuna of 30 October 1962, Rapa Šuklje began her "Nobelovec Steinbeck" (Steinbeck Awarded the Nobel Prize) by emphasizing the writer's overall importance, namely his influence on European literature and his contribution to the European perception of American society and culture. She broadened the topic by suggesting that Steinbeck should have received the prize already after writing The Grapes of Wrath, which she saw as the "cream of American literature" (7). Very similar ideas are also expressed in her 1963 John Steinbeck: Nobelov nagrajenec (John Steinbeck: Nobel Prize Winner), a thin volume, containing only fifteen pages of quotes arranged as a compilation from Steinbeck's novels and accompanied by a few lines of her commentary. On the other hand, Stane Ivane signalled his out-right disapproval already in the pejorative title of his 4 December 1962 Tedenska tribuna article, "Steinbeck - 80 let prepozno" (Steinbeck - 80 Years Too Late), and supported his unappreciative position by referring to "outraged French critics" who had - according to Ivanc - denounced Steinbeck for his false portrayal of communism and denied his reputation as a social-realist writer. Ivanc ironically concluded that Steinbeck must have won the Nobel Prize for his "belated realism" (7).
Such mutually exclusive positions did not influence subsequent criticism, nor did they prevent Slovene publishers from further printing Slovene versions of Steinbeck's novels. On the contrary, from 1963 through 1965, there was a real explo-
50
sion of his books, including Travels with Charley (1963), East of Eden (1964), The Red Pony (1964), Cannery Row (1965), and The Winter of Our Discontent (1965), and they seemed to have lost none of their fascination for Slovene readers. Similarly productive activity can be noticed in the field of criticism. I do not intend to present a complete survey of critical material on these novels; however, a good starting point is Marija Cvetko's evaluation of Travels With Charley on 24 March 1964 in Tedenska tribuna. Although taking pains to show the lack of intensity of Steinbeck's critical insight and his sentimentality, Marija Cvetko believes that the book is a unique piece of travel writing. In her words, not so much for its artistic quality as for its "sparkling wittiness" and "genuine reflections, which cannot hide the writer's caring and painful engagement with the issues discussed" (7). Around the same time, Slavko Rupel praises this novel's topical theme and its interesting, straightforward technique in Primorski dnevnik. What he particularly admires in Travels with Charley is Steinbeck's sincere and progressive stand towards life, either when discussing American foreign policy or such topics as racism, urbanization, consumerism, and so forth. Rupel concurred, two years later, when evaluating The Winter of Our Discontent. In his review for Primorski dnevnik of 12 March 1966, he describes the novel as "the most powerful social protest after The Grapes of Wrath", which, on the other hand, retained "very little of the old traditional novel" (22). As an example, Rupel draws attention to its "fragmented narrative", which demands extremely "attentive reading" (22).
A far from exhaustive, but considerably more complex presentation of Steinbeck's career was provided in Rapa Suklje's introductory study, "John Steinbeck," to the Cankarjeva založba reprint of East of Eden, in 1964. After giving a short account of Steinbeck's life, she surveys all Steinbeck's works, examining them for content and form. Although she does not hesitate to point out some apparent flaws, such as sentimentality and one-dimensional characterization, her sympathies are undoubtedly always on the writer's side. When discussing East of Eden, she agrees, that "judged by purely artistic standards, the book is not among Steinbeck's best achievements, but it is much liked by the readers, and this counts, too" (39). One may be surprised to know, that the Cankarjeva založba publishing company printed Suklje's study again in its third and fourth editions of East of Eden, in 1977 and 1987 respectively, without any revisions or up-dated information.
It was not until over two decades later, when Steinbeck already lost some of his appeal for Slovene readers, that Janko Moder provided what was until very recently the most elaborate critical study on Steinbeck in Slovenia. His concise thirty-three pages, "Spremna beseda o avtoiju" (About the Author) in the 1983 second printing of The Grapes of Wrath, this time by Cankarjeva založba and under a different title, Grozdi jeze, can be accounted among the most extensive presentation to date.3 With his susceptibility to such peculiarities of Steinbeck's fiction as its allegorical dimentions, symbolic, connotative values, and biological perspective, and his appreciation of the experimental elements he encountered in the writer's books, Moder gets at the essential Steinbeck, beyond the realist and reporter. By focusing our attention on Steinbeck's allusive statements, and his accomplished and varied diction and style, this study
3 Moder's title is a word-for-word translation, while the title Sadovi jeze, provided by the first translator of this novel, Rudolf Kresal, bears the meaning of 'fruits, results, consequences'.
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certainly challenges us with fresh insights into Steinbeck's creative process. However, and although Moder did not explicitly take the side of those who were in pursuit of the social aspects of Steinbeck's art, he saw Of Mice and Men primarily as a "remarkable social protest against the existing agricultural labour situation in California" (593).
The considerable lapse of time between the two critical publications was not due to some inexplicable coincidence. Rather, it was conditioned by Steinbeck's political engagement in Vietnam. It should be borne in mind that the year 1967 was an important milestone in the stature of Steinbeck's reputation in Slovenia, and that his political activity resulted not only in an uncompromising critical response in the late 1960s, but also in the subsequent lack of serious critical interest in Steinbeck's work. The sharpest attacks on the writer came from Blaga Dimitrova's "Odprto pismo gospodu Steinbecku" (A Public Letter to Mr. Steinbeck)4 in the March 1967 issue of Naša žena, accompanied by two anonymous accusations in the first and the fourth issue of Naši razgledi (1967), "Steinbeck v Vietnamu" (Steinbeck in Vietnam) and "Resnica Johna Steinbecka" (The Truth About John Steinbeck), taking a direct cue from the criticism levelled against Steinbeck in the United States.5 Excluding brief notices following the writer's death and the Slovene publication of Sweet Thursday (1979), it was not before 22 March 1993, that the Delo newspaper published an anonymous informational overview of Steinbeck's career, "John Steinbeck je spet v modi" (John Steinbeck Is In Again), written from a moderately balanced point of view, rather than showing disapproval and reservation.
This brings us to the most recent studies, written by myself. To begin with, "The Function of Female Characters in Steinbeck's Fiction," in Acta Neophilologica 1-2 (2000: 85-91), is concerned with gender roles in Steinbeck's fiction, and provides a new insight into a supposedly minor character in the novel Of Mice and Men. New viewpoints are reflected also in my unpublished doctoral dissertation "Dražbenokritična funkcija slogovnih figur v prozi Johna Steinbecka" (Stylistic Figures in John Steinbeck's Fiction in the Function of Social Criticism) (Ljubljana University, 2001), an investigation into Steinbeck's personal and literary life. In addition to providing a much more meticulous presentation of the reception of the writer in Slovenia than I am doing here, and than I have done in "Steinbeck in Slovenci" (Steinbeck and the Slovenes), published in the academic literary journal, Slavistična revija 4 (2000: 459-472), the latter gives a concise account of past and contemporary criticism on Steinbeck's work in the United States, and traces the writer's influence in the works of the Slovene realist writers. And most importantly, by delving beneath the guise of simple fables and unravelling a veritable orchestra of characters, themes, symbols, subtexts and allusions in Steinbeck's novels, the dissertation aims to create a new awareness of the books' value and serve as a reminder that they are an enduring source of inspiration well worth discovering. To this end, in other words, as a reminder that many issues discussed in Steinbeck's novels are still unresolved, and continue to engage us in the 21st century, my 27 May 2002 article, published in the newspaper Delo, about the
4	Blaga Dimitrova, a Bulgarian writer, first published her article in the Bulgarian periodical, Literarna fronta. It was translated into Slovene by Katja Špurova.
5	The articles in Naši razgledi refer to The New York Herald Tribune, without providing any other information regarding the source.
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lasting quality of The Grapes of Wrath, and honoring the Steinbeck centennial, was headlined '"In zloma ne bo, dokler se bo strah spreminjal v jezo'" (The break would never come as long as fear could turn to wrath), quoting from the book's twenty-ninth chapter (592).
From what has already been said, it would not be unreasonable to expect that the winds have also changed in the Slovene publishing. However, it fruitfully continued until the mid 1990s, with three editions in the 70s, five in the 80s, and one in the mid 90s. Interestingly, twelve of Steinbeck's novels have been translated into Slovene; and yet, if one were to ask the average Slovene reader to think of Steinbeck, they would invariably think of his novel East of Eden. One may also be surprised to learn that, since its first publication in 1958, there have been five Slovene editions of this book -published either by Cankaijeva zalozba or Mladinska knjiga - compared to other Steinbeck's novels, which have been reprinted twice at most.
It would be interesting to discuss how Steinbeck's stories have been dealt with by Slovene translators. However, this is not the place to fully develop a comparison between the Slovene versions and Steinbeck's originals. For the purposes of this discussion, the most significant fact is that some of the translations - especially Of Mice and Men and In Dubious Battle - are not only inaccurate and tailored to the needs and expectations of their publishers, but they do not immerse the readers in their stories half as much as the authentic texts. Putting aside numerous discrepancies in the meaning of certain words, only a few translators have managed to preserve the meanings of Steinbeck's allusive statements, symbols and metaphors, and to produce the heterogeneous combinations of styles characteristic of the originals. Another insurmountable obstacle for many translators is Steinbeck's language. Instead of dialect and slang, Slovene translators far too often employ literary language, or simply delete the parts deemed too "vulgar" (as Meta Gosak did in Of Mice and Men).
To conclude, this brief overview suggests that, with few exceptions, Slovene critics primarily focused on Steinbeck's social activism as demonstrated in The Grapes of Wrath, while readers loved him for his sincere and profound concern for the common people, for his optimism and celebration of life. And it also suggests that Steinbeck's works do deserve new readings and new critical approaches. Not only because of the spiritually limited horizons of those who reflected upon the issues discussed in these works, and showed no interest in the endless variety and subtlety of Steinbeck's writing, but also because they undoubtedly communicate to a worldwide audience, and even decades after their inception, show us a way of viewing the world, others, and ourselves.
WORKS CITED
Anonymous. "Zapiski." Jutro 6 June 1940: 12.
_. "John Steinbeck: "The Grapes of Wrath.'" Slovenec 25 Aug. 1944:8.
_. "Najnovejši Steinbeckov roman." Ljudski tednik 17 July 1947: 4.
_. "Književnost v ZDA." Slovenski poročevalec 31 Mar. 1949:10.
_. "Steinbeck v Vietnamu." Naši razgledi 1 (1967): 13.
_. "Resnica Johna Steinbecka." Naši razgledi 4 (1967): 25.
53
Cvetko, Marija. '"Potovanje s Charleyem.'" Tedenska tribuna 24 Mar. 1964: 7.
Čerče, Danica. "Steinbeck in Slovenci." Slavistična revija 4 (2000): 459-472.
_. "The Function of Female Characters in Steinbeck's Fiction." Acta Neophilologica 1-2 (2000):
85- 91.
_. "Kritiška presoja Steinbeckovega pripovedništva na Slovenskem." Dialogi 9-10 (2000):
96-100.
_. "Družbenokritična funkcija slogovnih figur v prozi Johna Steinbecka." Diss. Ljubljana U,
2001.
_. '"In zloma ne bo, dokler se bo strah spreminjal v jezo.'" Delo (Književni listi) 27 May
2002: 3.
Debeljak, Janko. "Današnja ameriška književnost." Jutro 19 July 1939: 12.
Dimitrova, Blaga. "Odprto pismo g. Johnu Steinbecku." Trans. Katja Špurova. Naša žena Mar. 1967: 91-93.
Gradišnik, Janez. "Pogledi na ameriško književnost v letu 1951." Novi svet 5 (1951): 377.
Ivane, Stane. "Steinbeck-80 let prepozno." Tedenska tribuna 4 Dec. 1962: 7.
Kuhar, Lovro. Jamnica. Ljubljana: Slovenski knjižni zavod, 1945.
Kosmač, Ciril. Sreča in kruh. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, 1946.
Koritnik, Griša. "Angleški roman v preteklem letu." Jutro 2 Feb. 1938: 15.
Menart, Janez. "John Steinbeck: 'Polentarska polica.'" Knjiga 10 (1953): 296.
Mevlja, Dušan. "John Steinbeck: 'Polentarska polica.'" Večer 23 Nov. 1953: 17.
Moder, Janko. After-word. The Grapes of Wrath. Trans. Janko Moder. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1983. 587-610.
Rupel, Slavko. "John Steinbeck: 'Potovanje s Charleyem.'" Primorski dnevnik 12 Jan. 1964: 11.
_. "Dva romana sodobne ameriške proze." Primorski dnevnik 12 Mar. 1966: 22.
Skušek, Ivan. "John Steinbeck: 'Ljudje in miši.'" Ljudska pravica 8 Mar. 1952: 18.
Starcev, A. "O socialnem romanu v ZDA." Trans. Mile Klopčič. Novi svet 1-2 (1947): 130-137.
Šuklje, Rapa. "John Steinbeck: 'Negotova bitka.'" Naša žena August 1954: 173-174.
_. "John Steinbeck: 'Vzhodno od raja.'" Naša žena August 1958: 322-323.
_. "Nobelovec Steinbeck." Tedenska tribuna 30 Oct. 1962: 7.
_. John Steinbeck: Nobelov nagrajenec. Ljubljana: Prosvetni servis, 1963.
_. Introduction. Vzhodno od raja. By John Steinbeck. Trans. Jože Türk. Ljubljana: Cankaijeva
založba, 1964.
Türk, Jože. After-word. Vzhodno od raja. By John Steinbeck. Trans. Jože I\irk. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1958. 540-543.
APPENDIX
Slovene editions of Steinbeck's works (Listed in chronological order):
Steinbeck, John. Sadovi jeze (The Grapes of Wrath). Trans. Rudolf Kresal. Ljubljana: Založba Plug, 1943.
_. Ljudje in miši {Of Mice and Men). Trans. Meta Gosak. Ljubljana: Slovenski knjižni zavod,
1951.
_. Biser (The Pearl). Trans. Jože Župančič. Ljubljanski dnevnik, 1952.
_. Negotova bitka (In Dubious Battle). Trans. Aljoša Furlan and Rado Bordon. Ljubljana:
Slovenski poročevalec, 1952.
_. Polentarska polica (Tortilla Flat). Trans. Ciril Kosmač. Ljubljana: Cankaijeva založba,
1953.
_. Vzhodno od raja (East of Eden). Trans. Jože TUrk. Ljubljana: Cankaijeva založba, 1958.
(Introduction by Jože Tbrk.)
54
Potovanje s Charleyem (Travels With Charley). Trans. Meta Gosak. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, 1963.
_. Vzhodno od raja (East of Eden). Trans. Jože Hirk. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1964. (Introduction by Rapa Šuklje.)
_. Rdeči konjiček (The Red Pony). Trans. Alenka Moder. Maribor: Založba Obzorja, 1964. _. Ulica ribjih konzerv (Cannery Row). Trans. Jaro Komac. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1965. (Introduction by Božidar Borko.)
_. Zima naše nezadovoljnosti (The Winter of Our Discontent). Trans. Janko Moder. Maribor: Založba Obzorja, 1965.
Polentarskapolica (Tortilla Flat), Ulica ribjih konzerv (Cannery Row). Trans. Ciril Kosmač and Jaro Komac. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1974. (Introduction by Iztok Ilich.)
Vzhodno od raja (East of Eden). Trans. Jože Tbrk. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1977. (Introduction by Rapa Šuklje.)
_. Sladki četrtek (Sweet Thursday). Trans. Valentina Duša. Ljubljana: Prešernova družba, 1979.
Vzhodno od raja (East of Eden). Trans. Juš 1\irk. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1980. _. Vzhodno od raja (East of Eden). Trans. Juš Tbrk. Mladinska knjiga, 1982. .. Grozdi jeze (The Grapes of Wrath). Trans. Janko Moder. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1983. (Introduction by Janko Moder.)
.. Vzhodno od raja (East of Eden). Trans. Juš T\irk. Ljubljana: Cankaijeva založba, 1987. (Introduction by Rapa Šuklje.)
_. Sladki četrtek (Sweet Thursday). Trans. Valentin Duša. Ljubljana: Prešernova družba, 1989. .. Polentarska polica (Tortilla Flat). Trans. Ciril Kosmač. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1995.
55
56
UDK 821.lir04.09 Chartier A.
ALAIN CHARTIER AND THE DEATH OF LYRIC LANGUAGE
Helen J. Swift
Abstract
The fifteenth-century poet Alain Chartier uses the courtly contexts of his lyric, narrative and debate poems as enabling fictions to support his interrogation of the validity of courtly language and his metapoetic questioning of the rhetoric of his own, inherited poetic discourse. This mise en question is performed through several, interacting ironic strategies, which may most fruitfully be elucidated in terms of Linda Hutcheon's theory and politics of irony expounded in Irony's Edge (1994). Thus 'meta-ironically functioning signals', together with intertextual, 'relational' irony and the 'oppositional' irony constituted by his Belle Dame sans mercy's pro-feminist discourse, articulate Chartier's esprit critique regarding 'la.parole' as both the general unit of human communication and the specific resource of poetic creativity. A satirical reading of his ouvre enables us to appreciate how the rhetorical play in which Chartier engages functions as an indictment of the courtly code's hermeneutic disintegration: its obsolescence results from a divorce between ethics and aesthetics as its language has lost the capacity to mean.
Alain Chartier's Débat du herault, du vassault et du villainone of the poet's characteristic pseudo-political debate poems, stages a debate between three protagonists: a young nobleman - the Vassault - whom the Herald catches berating a Villain with quite inappropriate language. The Herald expresses his disapproval, but the Vassault is at first quite unrepentant: after all, in a world where valiance is depreciated, is there any point in chivalry and in observing the linguistic "offices" of valiance? The Villain, however, will have none of either of them: "Tout ne vault ung bouton de haye. / Vous ne parlés point de la taille" (DHW, vv. 333-4) - and they finish on a note of despairing resignation: "Tout se pert/...Tout se perdra/Perdra? Mais est il ja perdu!" (vv. 388-93). This (near) stichomythic exchange neatly encapsulates the theme of this paper: at one level, of course, what has 'died out' or is to be 'lost' is a world of chivalry, but at another - and this is certainly what the Villain is scornfully dismissing - what is lost is the very language of chivalry and courtliness.
1 Which was previously known as the Débat Patriotique, and which is addressed to Chartier's fellow poet, Pierre de Nesson. The title I use here is the one preferred by Chartier's most recent editor, James C. Laidlaw. All quotations (excepting Le Lay de Plaisance and La Response des Dames) will be taken from J.C. Laidlaw (ed.), Poèmes d'Alain Chartier (Paris: Union Générale d'Éditions, 1988).
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The succession of opinions expressed by the Vassault, the Herault and the Villain may be interpreted as pointing both to the death or "perte" itself and to the semi-ludic mode of mise a mort suffered by the conventional language of fin 'amors and performed by Alain Chartier in his poetic ouvre. The loss the triumvirates lament appears as a leitmotiv for Chartier's 6?e««7-stricken narrators; in Le Livre des quatre dames "Je n 'ay que deuil" (v. 52) and, particularly in La Belle Dame sans mercy, the Acteur embraces his state of mourning: "Au dueil...il fault que je soye/Le plusdolent" (vv. 3-4). This presumed necessity of extreme grief is undercut by La Dame who points up the wilfulness of L'Amant's douleur: "II a grant fain de vivre en dueil" (BDSM, v. 233). "Mourning" begins to accrete a metaphorical value as the Lady implies that, by committing himself to an outdated code of language, L'Amant is willing his own fate - his figurative "veuvage"2 from La Dame and thus from poetic creation since La Dame rejects the courtly code and thereby refuses to exist as the matere for his poetic art. As La Dame herself expounds, hinting at the alternative possibility of griefs resolution and of the recoverability of the "bien" of poetic skill: "Qui par conseil ne se desmeut, /Desespoir se met de sa suite;/Et tout le bien qu 'il en requeult, /C'est de mourir en la poursuite" (BDSM, vv. 509-12).
Irony is present in both the Belle Dame's and the triumvirates' discourses. In the former it appears incisive and explicitly critical, if intended as constructive advice. In the latter it appears more overtly ludic in the dynamic interplay of present, future and past perfect verb tenses of "se perdre"; however, this lighthearted appearance is only semi-ludic since the perte or death of a language's validity is a serious matter indeed and revelatory of weaknesses and flaws present, if not lamentably inherent, in what we rely upon as the fundamental means of effective human communication - la parole itself.
I therefore wish to demonstrate how, in his poetic ouvre, Chartier employs numerous, interacting ironic strategies in order to point to the contemporary fifteenth-century crisis of the conventional lyric language as used by fervent adherents to the code of fin 'amors exemplified by the Lover of La Belle Dame sans mercy, a crisis which resulted, under Chartier's pen, in the mise en question and voiding of significance of the established discourse of courtly love poetry.
The focus on language of Chartier's irony is two-fold, as both means of expression and principal target of ironic intent. Linguistic irony pervades his ouvre in diverse manifestations and we are therefore called to address the central question: "How do we deduce that a poet is being ironic through his use of language?" or, phrased differently by Linda Hutcheon in her book on the theory and politics of irony, Irony's Edge\ "What triggers you to decide that what you heard is not meaningful alone, but requires supplementing with a different, inferred meaning?" (p. 2)3 The answer lies, to employ Hutcheon's terminology, in the poet's judicious use of "meta-ironically functioning signals" which frequently function conjointly to "signal the possibility of
2	See Chartier's rondeau 'La mort me tolly ma maistresse' (Poèmes, p. 158), v.6. It is "je" L'Acteur whose state of "dueil" is literal.
3	Linda Hutcheon, Irony's Edge: The Theory and Politics of Irony (London and New York: Routledge, 1994).
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ironie attribution" (p. 154) to an utterance. In Chartier's Lay de Plaisance,4 the "structuring signal" of "change of register" operates with effects of "repetition"5 to project a satirical portrait of the self-absorbed narrator. The otherwise unequivocal shift in tonality between "mainte dame estrenee" (LP, v. 3) and "je" who "doy bien piteusement plourer" (v. 16) is accompanied by a corresponding shift in movement. The affirmative, directional movement of parallel reiterated purpose clauses - "Pour commenced' (v. 1), "Pour plus s'enamourer"(v. 5), "Pour...parer" (v. 8) - is halted by the abrupt negation of v. 9 which rejects the content of the preceding lines: "Mais aux amans ne me vueil comparer". However the narrator proceeds to engage in precisely such a comparison, intratextually foregrounding this ironic act by "echoic mention"5 of his opening discourse on lovers: "Dame qui soit ne sera huy penee /Pour m'estrener, ne moy pour dame nee" (LP, vv. 14-15).
Having established the "How?" and the "What?" of ironic deduction we should now address the "Why?" - the reason for the use of such ironic techniques. They serve in the Lay to destabilise the reader's perspective, to undercut our confidence in the "je" as reliable and univocal narrator and to critically deconstruct the lyric rhetoric this narrator rehearses: the cluster of first person, object or emphatic pronouns within the first 22 lines of his self-centred discourse: "ne me vueil" (v. 9), "ne me fut donnee" (v. 10), "m'estrener" (v. 15), "moy mener" (v. 21) thus suggests, not uncritically, a certain narcissism. The signal of repetition indicates a self-conscious operation by the author to project a self-indulgent lyric persona intended to be held at an ironic and critical distance6 from Alain Chartier poète. Elsewhere, in Le Livre des quatre dames, and again through use of repetition, the poet creates his own "meta-ironically functioning signal" operating similarly upon the melancholy-consumed narrating persona. A pattern is imposed upon the narrator's responses which serves to evince their ironic treatment; as in Le Lay de Plaisance a change in register of emotion works concomitantly to enhance the effect. The narrator's initial, positive response to the locus amoenus in which he finds himself - "Ainsi un pou m'esjoyssoie, //Et hors de la tristour yssoie" (LQD, vv. 105-7) - is rapidly undercut by his return to "mon tourment" (v. 115). Irony is generated by repetition of this pattern of reaction upon sighting the eponymous quatre dames: "Quant ces dames choisy a I'oil, / Un pou entr'oubliay mon doil" (vv. 165-6) - an optimistic observation immediately subverted by the subsequent digressio focussed upon the very "doeil" he claims momentarily to have forgotten (vv. 167200). The repeated linguistic detail "un pou" becomes signalised as a marker of ironic reversal of humour in the narrator promoting, in turn, an esprit critique in the reader who suspects a narrator constantly invalidating his own discourse. Our presupposition as to the unmarked nature of an 'innocent' adverb is overthrown and this "re-evaluative" aspect of irony will be of primordial importance in considering, what Hutcheon
4	J.C. Laidlaw (ed.), The Poetical Works of Alain Chartier (Cambridge: CUP, 1974), pp. 147-54. Quotations for this poem are taken from this edition.
5	Linda Hutcheon, op. cit., p. 156. She enumerates "in verbal terms" "generally agreed-upon categories of signals that function structurally" which include "various changes of register" and "repetition / echoic mention."
6	Linda Hutcheon, op. cit., p. 47. In her diagram relating the functions of irony (Figure 2.1), she refers to the "distancing" function as "offering a new perspective" which translates in La Belle Dame as the implied extratextual perspective of Chartier 'poète' upon Chartier 'Acteur'.
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terms, the "oppositional"7 function of irony operating through the anti-fin'amors discourse of the Belle Dame herself which serves as another means of deconstructing the male-generated conceits of courtly language.
Attribution of irony - the supplementing of a particular discourse with inferred meaning - thus appears to work through miratextual inter-relation of signals. However, Hutcheon's principle of the "relational aspect of irony" (p. 58) functions equally on an miertextual level and I believe Chartier adhered implicitly to the principle made explicit by Hutcheon that "irony is a semantically complex process of relating, differentiating, and combining said and unsaid meanings - and doing so with some evaluative edge" (p. 89). Such an "edge" is particularly pertinent to the representation of the figure of la dame sans merci in Chartier's ouvre - a figure whose "meaning" must be inferred both with and without irony, its attribution being determined by an "intertextual context" (p. 144) of "relating...meanings". Within La Belle Dame sans mercy itself we find La Dame introduced as speaking "amesureement" (v. 220), a quality assimilated by contemporary continuators of the poem to her alleged "cruauté".8 However, "mesure" is precisely the quality insisted upon by Chartier as a cardinal chivalric virtue in his Breviaire des nobles, particularly in the context of "droitture": "Raison, équité, mesure, /Loy, Droitture / Font les puissances durer; / Et honneste nourreture, /par nature, / Fait bon cuer amesurer" (vv. 114-9).
Furthermore, on an intertextual level, we find an interesting parallel between the dialogic situations of the Lover and Lady in La Belle Dame sans mercy and the Lover and Sleeper in Le Débat de reveille matin; both L'Amant and L'Amoureux lament their dames "bonne[s] et beliefs] // Fors que pitié n'est pas en elle [s]" (vv. 118-20) to a critical audience - the Belle Dame herself or Le Dormeur. If we allow the latter to act as a gloss upon the former, we discover a discourse to exonerate the Belle Dame. Le Dormeur defends her right - her "droit" - to maintain franchise: "Merci de dame est un trésor, // Si ne l'a pas chascun trésor /Qui a voulenté de l'aquerre" (DRM, vv. 24952), and thus releases her from the configuration of "cruelle femme", releasing also the potential for a non-ironic, non-critical and thus proto-feminist reading of her self-exemption from the courtly code's obligation to bestow "merci." Conversely, when viewed in intertextual context, L'Amant and L'Amoureux are drawn into focus as targets of the ironist's intention. The philosophy of an irresponsible surrender of the self that they represent, and that the courtly discursive system articulates, is held up for scrutiny - for "evaluation". Le Dormeur challenges L'Amoureux: "Puis que vous estes si avant /Savez vous comme il en yra?" (DRM, vv. 281-2) while La Dame exhorts L'Amant: "Ostez vous hors de ce propos/Car, tant plus vous vous y tendrez, //...jamais a bout n'en vendrez"(BDSM, vv. 649-652).
It is indeed the "propos", the very language, of L'Amant which the Belle Dame targets as focus for her re-evaluation of the doctrine of fin 'amors since, as Joseph
7	Linda Hutcheon, op. cit., p. 47. In Figure 2.1, she characterizes the "oppositional" function as being "transgressive" and "subversive" in its "positive articulation", "insulting" and "offensive" in its "negative articulation."
8	See Achille Caulier, La cruelle femme en amour and Baudet Herenc, Le parlement d'amour, wherein it is decreed that : "Mais doit estre femme clamee / Cruelle et plaine de faux tours" (vv. 407-8). Both poems are published in Antoine Vérard's Jardin de plaisance et fleur de rethoricque, Reprod. enfacs. de l'éd. publ. vers 1501 (Paris : Firmin-Didot, 1909), t. I, ff. cxlii-cxlviii and ff. cxxxix-cxlii.
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Brami has noted, L'Amant embodies the discourse of this code as "une sorte de métamorphose des "je" lyriques qui l'ont précédé" (p. 57).9 She thus proceeds to demystify the metaphoric rhetoric of love-sickness, countering the maxim bewailed by L'Amant: "Qui plus tost meurt en languist moins" (BDSM, v. 264) with the pithy, pragmatic rejoinder: "Si gracieuse maladie / Ne met gaires de gens a mort" (vv. 2656) wherein the clichéd courtly adjective and litotic negation serve to enhance her ironic interrogation of the value of the proffered proverbial wisdom. A direct assault upon the Lover's discourse is signalled by the Lady's subversion of the courtly tenet of espoir, redefining it as "foul espoir" (v. 623) and thereby undermining the code upon which it rests. Through similar operation of semantic devaluation she undercuts the feudal vow of fealty, replying to L'Amant's avowal of "ommage" (v. 295) "que mon service vous plaise" (v. 278) with the pejoration that such protestations are but "un peu de plaisans bourdes / Confites en belles parolles" (vv. 299-300). In dynamic interaction with the language of her interlocutor, the Belle Dame - the conventionally silent lyric dompna given voice - undermines with this voice the language and thus the ethos of the lyric mode, redefining the central tenet of binding "courtoisie qui...semont / Qu'amours soit par amours merie" (vv. 407-8) to accord with her enlightened perspective of "courtoisie...si aliee / D'Onneur.../ Qu'el ne veult estre a riens liee" (vv. 409-11).
The 'combined' counsels offered by La Belle Dame and Le Dormeur possess a particularly 'cutting' "evaluative edge" in that they carry a moral weight which extends the ironist's intention to the "événements extérieurs" (p. 23)10 of courtly poetry. Arthur Piaget11 and Janet Ferrier12 both deny that "real thoughts"13 can be expressed in the "pauvre idée" of poetry, which was regarded universally (so Piaget alleges) as mere "passe-temps'"4 in the fifteenth century. However, it is C.S. Shapley who rightly perceives the "serious" potential of a ludic technique: "The lightness of tone present in several of his poems, far from being frivolous or blindly conventional, represents a critical wit at work on serious concerns in an individual way" (p. 34).15 Through "relation" with the so-called "mature" (Ferrier) prose works, we find the discourse of La Belle Dame to be imbued with political resonance since there is interesting correlation between La Dame's, portrayal of losengiers as the "Male Bouche" of "faulx amoureux" who corrode fin 'amors from within by "gouliardye" (BDSM, St. XC) and France's reproach of her enfants in Chartier's moral treatise Le Quadrilogue Invectif. "Mes...
9	Joseph Brami, "Un lyrisme du veuvage: Etude sur le je poétique dans La Belle Dame sans Mercy," Fifteenth Century Studies 15 (1989), pp. 53-66.
10	Arthur Piaget, "La Belle Dame sans merci et ses imitations," Romania 30 (1901), pp. 22-48.
11	ibid., pp. 23-4.
12	Janet M. Ferrier, "The Theme of Fortune in the Writings of Alain Chartier," Medieval Miscellany Presented to Eugene Vinaver (Manchester; New York: Manchester Univ. Press; Barnes and Noble, c. 1965), pp. 124-35.
13	Janet M. Ferrier, op. cit., p. 126: "If we are to find his real thoughts we must look to the prose works which mark his maturity as a writer."
14	Arthur Piaget, op. cit., p. 22: "Chartier, qui se faisait de la poésie la même pauvre idée que ses contemporains, ne voyait en elle qu'un passe-temps à l'usage des hautes classes de la société."
15	C.S. Shapley, Studies in French Poetry of the Fifteenth Century (The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1970).
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ennemis... me guerroient au dehors par feu et par glaive et vous par dedans me guerroiez par vos couvoitises et mauvaises ambitions" (p. 11,11.16-19).16
Hutcheon remarks that "...in the corrective function of satiric irony...there is a set of values you are correcting toward... satire is ameliorative in intent" (p. 52). The particularised, satirical portrait of the self-indulgent lyric narrator opens onto the universal moral issue of refusing personal responsibility; in both courtly and political domains Chartier advocates the same ideal set of values. L'Amant surrenders himself to abstract destinai forces, claiming that "Fortune a voulu que je tieigne / Ma vie en voustre mercy close," (BDSM, vv. 453-4), for which La Dame reproves him, with her humanist imperative - "De vous mesme juge soyez" (v. 764) - serving to direct him towards his true source of salvation, namely asserting responsibility for his own condition. Semantic inter-relation occurs with the Quadrilogue as France instructs her enfants: "Tournez vos yeulx et convertissez vostre jugement sur vous mesmes" (p. 11, 11.30-1).
Although it appears that Chartier 'l'auteur' espouses the "set of values" promulgated by his Belle Dame character, thereby implying her words to be "meaningful alone" without "supplementation", it is evident that the focus of his "ameliorative intent" is primarily linguistic rather than ethical since the impasse in communication between his fictional interlocutors indicates both courtly and anti-fin 'amors discourses are subject to ironic treatment. Douglas Muecke remarks: "Marking an ironical text means setting up...some form of perceptible contradiction, disparity, incongruity or anomaly" (p. 365).17 In L'Amant's case his "contradiction" of his professed code is manifested in his sudden, merciless, verbal assault upon La Dame: "Ha, cuer plus dur que le noir marbre/ En qui Mercy ne puet entrer,/ Plus fort a ployer q'un gros arbre, / Que vous vault tel rigueur moustrer?" (BDSM, vv. 689-692), while the lyric language he voices is marked as "anomalous" - as having, to quote Hutcheon, "the 'critical' dimension in its marking of difference at the heart of similarity" (p. 4): the sincerity of his postulations is set in doubt by the "incongruous" overload of rhyme stemming from the same root word "servir" in his first direct address to La Dame as feudal servitor:
Ja soit ce que pas ne desserve Voustre grace par mon servir Souffrez au moins que je vous serve Sans voustre mal gré desservir, le serviray sans desservir En ma loiauté observant, Car pour ce me fist asservir
Amours d'estre voustre servant (BDSM, vv. 209-216).
"Ce langage" (v. 217) is profoundly distrusted by the Lady who concludes it to be evidence of "foul pensement" (v. 221) with the result that the couple remain entangled in debate. While L'Amant urges that "voustre bonté voit et treuve / Que j'ay fait I'essay et la prouve / Par quoy ma loyauté apert" (vv. 548-50), La Dame rejoins with
16 Alain Chartier, Le Quadrilogue invectif, ed. E. Droz (Paris : Champion, 1923).
" Douglas C. Muecke, "Irony markers," Poetics 1 (1977), pp. 360-72.
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suspicion "Qui encor poursuit et requiert / N'a pas loyauté esprouvee" (vv. 557-8) and it is the "misunderstanding...and lack of clarity in communication" (Hutcheon, p. 48-9) upon which Chartier insists in this confrontation between the speakers' conflicting theories of language which evaluate differently the assertion of a verbal pledge as proof of loyal intention; he foregrounds "negatively valued ambiguity" (ibid.) through La Dame's nominalist scepticism that "mal emprunte bien autruy nom" (BDSM, v. 426) such that the "values" that he seeks to "correct toward" are those of validating word by deed in both courtly and political spheres: "Pensee.../preuve sesparolles par euvre" (vv. 311-312); should this tripartite equation of "pensee...parolles...euvre" be ruptured at any point, "parolles" become voided of all value as a means of effective human communication.
While the contemporary continuators18 of La Belle Dame sans mercy clung to the conviction that a single "vray sens", to quote La Response des Dames19, lay in the "parolles" of Alain Chartier, the poet himself actively rejects such univocity and seeks, in his ouvre, to discourage an interpretation that is closed to the potential for ironic supplementation. He achieves this by undercutting the reader's "semantic security of 'one signifier : one signified'" (Hutcheon, p. 13) in both the structure and the poetic voice of his poems. As William Calin remarks, in La Belle Dame sans mercy "the order and stability of the courtly ideology are mirrored in the order and stability of the literary form - debate and frame constituting precisely one hundred huitain stanzas and totaling precisely eight hundred lines" (p. 256).20 However, such formal stability is specious, being subverted by the equivocal content - the disorder of ineffective communication; to quote Zumthor: "Ce sont là des facteurs arithmétiques et géométriques qui remplacent la cohérence interne perdue" (p. 310).21 In terms of poetic voice, as it is at best 'unclear' for whose discourse Chartier claims responsibility between his characters, it is equally 'unclear' as to whether "je" l'auteur claims responsibility for the "parolles" of "je" "L'Acteur"since the narrating personality is subject to ironic treatment in its multivocity, complicated further by the subsequent Excusación aux dames, and in its selfrcontradictory discourse. Such self-contradiction is manifested most pertinently, as regards the reflexive nature of the poet's concern with language, in Chartier's use of the topos of melancholic inability to compose: "Si suis desert, despointé et deffait / De pensee, de parolle et défait" (vv. 25-6) claims the narrator of La Complainte, while "le plus dolent des amoureux" (v. 4) of La Belle Dame commences his "livre"22 paradoxically with the rejection of his narrative purpose: "...II fault que je cesse/ De dieter et de rimoyer " (BDSM, vv. 9-10). That an "edge" is to be attributed is revealed "perceptibly" by the fact that both poems are composed despite their narrators' renunciation of their artistic task.
18	See nöte 8.
19	La Response des Dames faicte a maistre Attain, in Piaget op. cit., Romania 30 (1901), pp. 31-5: "...le vray sens de ton double langaige/Nous donroit tost aultrement blasme et honte" (vv. 63-4).
20	William Calin, The French Tradition and the Literature of Medieval England (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1994).
21	Paul Zumthor, Essai de poétique médiévale, (Paris : Seuil, 1972).
22	"Livre" is the term applied to La Belle Dame sans mercy by L'Acteur in L'Excusacion aux dames, v. 193.
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Each narrating persona projected by the poet-auteur engages in what Régula Meyenberg terms a "discours réflexif qu'Alain Chartier mène... sur la rhétorique de son discours" (p. 156).23 Chartier's near obsession with the capabilities and weaknesses of courtly rhetoric - of his own poetic language - is explored most exuberantly in his Complainte. The poem demonstrates what Zumthor calls "mouvance",24 its twelve stanzas being differently ordered in each of four extant manuscripts. This indicates that Chartier conceived of his poem not on a referential level as a faithful transcription of the poet's pains of grief, but on a representational, experimental level as a 'theme and variations' - and a 'theme and variations' not so much exploring the emotional facets of "dueil" (v. 41) themselves, but rather exploring the language expressive of this state. In the third stanza,25 he focuses upon the rhetoric of despoilment in his obsessive repetition of "de" as prefix and preposition: "Si suis desert, despointé et dèffait/De pensee, de parolle et défait, /De los, de joye et de tout..." (vv. 25-26). The eleventh stanza25 exploits the semantic field of "partir" to contrive an eight-fold repetition of the term, its compounds and homophones, in rhyme position in order to highlight the pitch of the narrator's psychological turmoil provoked by separation from his Dame:
Trop dur espart est sur moy esparty,
Quant esgaré me treuve et departy
D'un per sans per, qui oncques ne party
En faintise n'en legier pensement.
Oncq ensemble n'avions riens parti
Mais un désir, un vouloir, un parti,
Un cuer entier de deux cuers miparti, (vv. 153-159)
.....tout ce mal m'est avenu par ti,
Dont je renonce a tout esbatement, (vv. 164-165) Disant: « Mon cuer, pourquoy ne se party? » (v. 168).
This artistic tour de force, exploiting lyric rhetoric almost adabsurdum to stretch its expressive capacities to the limit, may be said to illustrate the divorce that has finally occurred between the ethic of courtliness and the diction that used to embody this now outmoded code; a mere aesthetic play of language is all that remains, as our Herald, Vassault and Villain first acknowledged in their recognition that "tout est ja perdu" and that redundant rhetoric is not worth a bean.
In conclusion, therefore, while Chartier was clearly concerned by the contemporary fifteenth-century moral decline implied in his courtly verse which, itself, functions metatextually as a critical mise en question of the ethic of fin'amors, we may conjecture that the fin 'amors contexts of his poems operate principally as enabling fictions for the study of linguistic activity and of the paradox innate in human comrau-
23	Régula Meyenberg, Alain Chartier prosateur et l'art de la parole au Xve siècle, (Zurich: Francke Berne, 1992).
24	Paul Zumthor, op. cit.: "mouvance: « le caractère de l'œuvre qui, comme telle, avant l'âge du livre, ressort d'une quasi-abstraction, les textes concrets qui la réalisent présentant, par le jeu des variantes et remaniements, comme une instabilité fondamentale»."
25	Stanza featuring "third" and "eleventh" in the order adopted by Laidlaw in the edition cited.
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nication. Through La Belle Dame's "oppositional" discourse, countering the realist linguistic certainties that uphold the courtly code, Chartier dramatises the hermeneutic difficulties entailed by verbal negotiation in an obsolete linguistic currency. It is in this light that we may re-evaluate the succession of exclamations "Tout se pert/... Tout se perdra/Perdra? Mais est il ja perdu"', it functions both as a warning, "ameliorative in intent", to guard against invalidating the equation of "pensee-parolles-euvre" and as a question expressing Chartier's anxious uncertainty as to the validity and efficacy of language in general and, more specifically, to quote Brami, as to "les limites du langage poétique de son temps" (p. 61).
Magdalen College, Oxford
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UDK 821.133.1.09 Montaigne M.E. de
MONTAIGNE: EINFÜHRUNG IN OUVRE UND GEIST
Jamil George Barcha
Abstract
Dieser Beitrag will eine kurze Einführung in Michel de Montaignes Essais geben, gleichzeitig versucht er eine Antwort auf Montaignes historische und heutige Bedeutung anzubieten, die sich auf mehreren Ebenen manifestiert, beispielsweise literarisch, literaturwissenschaftlich, historisch, philosophisch und nicht zuletzt ideengeschichtlich. Naturgemäß kann darauf nicht in extenso eingegangen werden, schon gar nicht in diesem Rahmen; eher will der Beitrag Impulse für die Weiterbeschäftigung mit dem französischen citoyen du monde liefern.
„Ich bin voll Gier,mich bekannt zu machen; und gleichgültig, wie vielen, wenn es nur wahrhaftig geschieht."
1. Problematische Standortsuche: Der Essay als Form
Obwohl er als literarisches Phänomen an sich nichts Neues ist, kam der Essay sehr spät zu seinem Namen. Seine Wirkungsgeschichte läßt sich bis in die Antike verfolgen. Daß schon Seneca und Cicero, Plutarch und Plinius in ihren Schriften immer wieder Form und Geist des Essays getroffen haben, ja daß sogar schon Piaton der erste und größte Essayist gewesen sei, wird man wiederholt lesen können. So erweist sich Piatons Werk nicht nur als Sternstunde der Philosophie, sondern auch der Essayistik. So will es zumindest Georg Lukäcs (24; vgl. auch Rohner, 595 ff.), der Piaton den „größten Essayisten" nennt, „der je gelebt und geschrieben hat, der dem unmittelbar vor ihm sich abspielenden Leben alles abrang und so keines vermittelnden Mediums bedurfte; der seine Fragen, die tiefsten, die je gefragt wurden, an das lebendige Leben anknüpfen konnte."
Zu Lukäcs' platonischer Apotheose ist anzumerken, daß zwar auch andere von Verbindungslinien zwischen antiker und essayistischer Literatur zu berichten wissen, doch bleiben diese in ihrer Wortwahl bescheidener; oft ist hier die Rede von antiken Vorformen des Essays (grundlegend: Schon).
Der Essay scheint sich einer formal-logischen Festlegung zu entziehen, was seine Stärke und Schwäche ausmacht: Er kann vieles sein, und doch wieder nicht. Bisweilen schafft er es, schwarz und weiß zugleich sein. „Er ist", notierte Adorno (26) einen
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dieser antinomistischen Züge, „offener und geschlossener zugleich, als dem traditionellen Denken gefällt."
Dem Essay eine Begriffsbestimmung zu geben, fällt schwer, zumal sich entsprechende Definitionen widersprüchlich bis sich widersprechend anmuten. Wesentlich leichter fällt es, den Spuren seines Gattungsnamens nachzugehen.
2. Die Geburt eines Genres
Das entscheidende Jahr für die „Geburt" des Essays begann 1570, als sich der französische Edelmann Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-92) für einen Rückzug aus der Politik entschieden hatte. Zehn Jahre später erschien die erste Ausgabe seiner Essais.1
Als Montaigne zur Feder griff, beabsichtigte er keineswegs, ein neues literarisches Genre zu kreieren. Daß er letztlich seinen Aufzeichnungen den Titel Essais gab, sollte deren geistesexperimentellen Charakter unterstreichen. Als entschiedener Opponent geistigen Stillstandes wandte er sich schon zu einer Zeit, die doch noch immer stark unter Einfluß des scholastischen Arbeitsprinzips gestanden ist, „wider den Methodenzwang" (P. Feyerabend).
[...] essai geht auf das mittellateinische exagium , Versuch' zurück, und Montaigne hat sie bewußt als Gegenentwurf zu der Traktatliteratur seiner Zeit konzipiert, die, von einer festen Prämisse ausgehend und mit Hilfe einer präetablierten Beweisführung die noch vorherrschende scholastischdeduktive Systematik bestätigt hat: , Montaigne hat einen Widerwillen gegen die nach wer, was, warum, nach erstens, zweitens, drittens nach der syllogistischen Schrittfolge gegliederten Traktatstruktur. (Weissen-berger, 107)
Systematik und Wahrhaftigkeit schließen sich bei seinem [Montaignes] Experiment aus: ein Denken oder ein Stil, der sich einer Disziplin unterwürfe, würde aufhören, ganz unmittelbar und unvermittelt sein eigen zu sein. (Lüthy, 11)
Daß die Essais eine weltliterarische Wirkung erfuhren, war weder vom Autor konzipiert noch abzusehen; auch waren sie ursprünglich nicht für die breite Öffen-
1 Zur editorischen Geschichte vgl. Haas 1969,12 f. Das erste und zweite Buch der „Essais" erschienen 1580 in Bordeaux, eine zweite (korrigierte) Neuedition erfolgt zwei Jahre später. Die dritte überarbeitete Auflage wurde 1587 in Paris verlegt, ebendort die vierte verbesserte und um das dritte Buch erweiterte Ausgabe (1588). Die erste deutsche Übersetzung besorgte 1753 Johann Daniel Tietz; eine Neuausgabe als Faksimile liegt im Diogenes-Verlag dreibändig vor: Michel Eyquem de Montaigne. Essais [Versuche], nebst des Verfassers Leben. Nach der Ausg. von Pierre Coste ins Dt. übers, von Johann Daniel Tietz. -Zürich: Diogenes 1992. In dieser Arbeit wird, falls nicht anders angegeben, nach folgenden zwei Übersetzungen zitiert: Montaigne, Michel de. Essais. Erste moderne Gesamtübersetzung von Hans Stilett. - Frankfurt a. M.: Eichborn 1998 sowie Montaigne, Michel de. Essais. Ausw. u. Übers, von Herbert Lüthy. - Zürich: Manesse 1953. Es bleibt Geschmacksache, für welche Übersetzung man sich entscheidet. Stiletts Vorteil liegt darin, daß er die erste (!) moderne Gesamiübersetzung besorgt hat.
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tlichkeit gedacht, sondern für seine Freunde und Vertraute.2 Umso erstaunter fragt man nach den Gründen des Erfolges: Was macht dieses Werk aus, und welcher Geist spricht aus ihm?
Diese Fragen ließen sich mit Nachdruck wiederholen, hörte man Nietzsche (348) von Montaigne schwärmen: „Dass ein solcher Mensch geschrieben hat, dadurch ist wahrlich die Lust auf dieser Erde zu leben vermehrt worden." Und etwas später eine Spur pathetischer: „Mit ihm würde ich es halten, wenn die Aufgabe gestellt wäre, es sich auf der Erde heimisch zu machen. -"
Um auf die Frage nach Geist und Zeitlosigkeit dieses Opus versuchsweise Antwort zu erhalten, ist es nützlich, einen kurzen Blick auf Montaignes Zeitalter zu werfen.
3. Zeitalter der „konfessionellen Zerrissenheit"
Als Michel de Montaigne 1533 auf die Welt kam, gehörte er zur ersten französischen Generation, „die keine Erinnerung mehr an die Welt vor der Reformation hatte" (Burke, 9).3 Es war also eine Zeit des Umbruchs; die alte Ordnung, bislang vielfach durch die Heilige Römisch-Katholische Kirche verkörpert, konnte nicht länger alle überzeugen. Große Teile Europas wurden von Glaubenskämpfen erfaßt, ebenso und insbesondere Frankreich.
Die Reformation bestimmte bald Montaignes Leben. Sein Amt als Parlamentsrat von Bordeaux (1557-1570), das er drei Jahre nach dem Studium der Rechte angetreten hat, bestand primär darin, Konfessionspolitik zu betreiben und zwischen den Bürgerkriegsparteien zu verhandeln. Darüber hinaus machte die „konfessionelle Zerrissenheit" (Friedrich, 15) auch vor der eigenen Familie nicht halt.4
Nach 13 Jahren Parlamentsrat entschied sich der Politiker aus Bourdeaux für einen Rückzug aus der Öffentlichkeit; der Bürgerkrieg hatte ihn müde gemacht, die Politik zehrte an seinen Kräften.5 Montaigne wollte die ihm noch vergönnte Zeit auf seinem Schloß in Muße verleben. Dort begann er auch 1572, bezeichnenderweise im Jahre des Pariser Gemetzels, mit seinen Aufzeichnungen.
2	Vgl. Montaignes Vorrede „An den Leser", Lüthy, 51; Stilett, 5. Bei Montaigne ist man, wie noch zu sehen sein wird, vor Widersprüchen nie gefeit. Wo er hier den Gebrauch seiner Essais für Angehörige und Freunde bestimmt, bekennt er anderswo: „Ich bin voll Gier, mich bekannt zu machen; und gleichgültig, wie vielen, wenn es nur wahrhaftig geschieht"(Lüthy, 678). Eine detaillierte Antwort auf die komplexe Publikumsfrage der Essais gibt Friedrich, 309 ff.
3	In folgender Darstellung folge ich Burke und Lüthy.
4	Laut Burke (9) konvertierten eine Schwester und zeitweise ein Bruder zum Calvinismus, Friedrich (15) und Lüthy (27 f.) dagegen nennen drei Geschwister, die den Pfad des katholischen Glaubens verlassen hätten.
5	Über die wahren Gründe dieses relativ frühen Rückzugs rätselt die Fachliteratur. Burke (12) verweist, daß es im 16. Jahrhundert opinio communis war, sich mit vierzig als alt zu betrachten. Friedrich (18) meint allerdings, das „frühe Alter dieses Rückzugs war für ein Mitglied des Amtsadels ziemlich ungewöhnlich" und nennt u.a. „politische Enttäuschungen, Überdruß an der Amtstätigkeit sowie Trauer um den weggestorbenen Freund La Boetie" als denkbare Ursachen für Montaignes Entschluß. Im übrigen folgte Montaigne in den zwei Jahrzehnten, die ihm das Schicksal noch zu verleben gegönnt hatte, immer wieder dem Ruf der Politik.
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Montaigne begann seine Essais im Jahr der Pariser Bluthochzeit zu schreiben, der Bartholomäusnacht, die das Signal zur Schlächterei in ganz Frankreich gab und die als unauslöschliches Brandmal des Verrats, der Niedertracht und des Meuchelmords im Namen der höchsten Glaubensgewißheiten in die Geschichte eingegangen ist: die Mordnacht von Paris und das Te Deum laudamus der großen Dankmesse, mit der sie in Rom begrüßt wurde. (Lüthy, 27)
Die im Namen Christi verübten Massaker ließen Montaigne auch in seiner Abgeschiedenheit nicht ruhen: Mit Ausnahme weniger Momente waren die zwei Dezennien, in denen er sich den Essais widmete, „zwanzig Jahre des Bürgerkriegs" (Lüthy, 28).
4. Selbstbezug und (Selbst-)Erkenntnis
Wenn Montaigne sein Ich zum Gegenstand seiner „Essais" macht, dann nicht losgelöst vom damaligen historischen Rahmen im Frankreich des 16. Jahrhunderts (Bürgerkrieg, Intoleranz, soziale und ökonomische Umschichtungen, andere Krisen). Freilich sei damit nicht das Wort herbeigeredet, die Essais glichen somit einer französischen Historiographie. Es bleibt dabei: So sehr diese am Puls der Zeit bleiben, so sehr sie sich sozialer und politischer Themen aus verschiedenen Himmelsrichtungen annehmen, so umkreisen sie letztendlich eine Frage: Michel de Montaigne.
Wenn Montaigne jemanden zitiert, so vor allem, um über sich zu sprechen. „Was die anderen sagen, führe ich nur an, um desto mehr über mich zu sagen" (Stilett, 81). Wenn Montaigne über Gott und die Welt schreibt, dann will er auf neuem Wege von sich erzählen. In seiner berühmten Vorrede ,An den Leser' bekennt er augenblicks:
Dies hier ist ein aufrichtiges Buch, Leser. Es warnt dich schon beim Eintritt, daß ich mir darin kein anderes Ende vorgesetzt habe als ein häusliches und privates. Ich habe darin gar keine Achtung auf deinen Nutzen noch auf meinen Ruhm genommen. [...] So bin ich selber, Leser, der einzige Inhalt meines Buches; (Lüthy, 51).
Und dennoch: Wer Montaignes Selbstthematisierung bloß als Memoiren oder Autobiographie liest, sie ohne distinctiones in die Tradition der Bekenntnisliteratur (wie wir sie von Augustinus oder Rousseau kennen) einreiht, sie als gemeines Tagebuch auffaßt oder gar in den Bezirk der „hypertrophe(n) Egozentrik" (Schlaffer6, 140) ansiedelt, wird ihr Genus verfehlen.
Montaignes Essais bleiben einzigartig, in Form und Formung. Sie sind weit davon entfernt, sich einem herkömmlichen Klassifikationssystem unterzuordnen. Davon war selbst ihr Verfasser überzeugt: „Es ist das einzige Buch in der AVeit von seiner Art, und von einem wüsten und ausschweifenden Vorhaben eingegeben." (Lüthy, 369)
6 Schlaffers Montaigne-Rezeption fällt positiv aus, dennoch bleibt der auf „Montaignes Selbstauslegung" gemünzte Ausdruck „hypertrophe Egozentrik" problematisch, da er in seiner heutigen Bedeutung unvorteilhaft verstanden wird.
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5. Brüche und Widersprüche als Lebensspiegel
„Montaigne war", heißt es bei Burke (8), „kein systematischer Denker. Er stellte seine Ideen im Gegenteil absichtlich auf unsystematische Weise dar. Deswegen warten auch auf denjenigen, der es unternimmt, eine systematische Darstellung seiner Gedanken zu geben, ernste Gefahren."
Wer sich von dieser Warnung dennoch nicht entmutigen läßt, wird sehr möglich in seinem Versuch einer systematischen Annäherung an den Franzosen nicht weiter kommen als der große Pascal. Schon der stellte verwundert fest: „Montaigne gegen die Wunder; Montaigne für die Wunder" (zit. nach Lüthy, 12).
Ein Widerspruch? Gewiß, aber kein Widerspruch bei und für Montaigne: Sein Werk lebt und liebt den Widerspruch, und es ist, so Friedrich (9), als ob Montaigne „sich erst im Genuß der Allwidersprüchlichkeit so recht wohl fühlte." So nimmt es kein Wunder, wenn jede Partei eine Facette an ihm finden konnte, mit der sie sich identifizieren konnte (vgl. auch Rohner, 34 f.):
Den Frommen war er ein Frommer und den Freigeistern ein Freigeist, den Heiden ein Heide und den Christen ein Christ; für die Nachfahren der Stoa war er der stoische Tugendlehrer, für die Epikureer der hohen wie der niederen Gattung ein Epikureer ihrer Gattung; die Aufklärer haben seine Urteile über Hexen- und Wundergeschichten mit unermüdlicher Begeisterung zitiert, ihre Widersacher pochten auf die Sebundus-Apologie und ihre Entthronung der Vernunft. Die Konservativen fanden bei ihm die Verteidigung des Hergebrachten, der alten Gesetze und der angestammten Ordnung, die Naturrechtler die Kritik des positiven Rechts, der Konventionen und Tünchen der Zivilisation; die Romantiker liebten seine Unordnung, seine guten Wilden und seine natürliche Pädagogie, und mit gutem Recht haben ihn alle Pragmatiker und Positivisten für sich in Anspruch genommen. (Lüthy, 9)
Wer von so konträren Ideologen vereinnahmt werden kann, muß sich den Vorwurf gefallen lassen, sich klarer Aussagen zu enthalten. Erst Montaignes widersprüchliche Aussagen nämlich erlaubten diversen Strömungen, ihn für sich zu zitieren. Andererseits trug jede Partei eben jene Passagen vor, die ihrer Ansicht dienlich waren.
Dennoch: Montaigne war sich seiner Widersprüche und der damit verbundenen Gefahren durchaus bewußt, mehr noch: Er glaubte an die Widersprüchlichkeit des Lebens. Insoweit kam es ihm nicht in den Sinn, Gegensätzliches zu decken, Brüche zu glätten. „Er denkt in Brüchen, so wie die Realität brüchig ist, und findet seine Einheit durch die Brüche hindurch, nicht indem er sie glättet." Dieser von Adorno (25) generell auf den Essay bezogener Satz trifft vorzüglich auf seinen (Namens-)Schöpfer.
Die kontrastierenden Positionen, die Montaigne zusammenstellt, wollen nicht in ihrer Opposition aufgelöst werden, ihr Ziel ist es, den Leser in „Denkbewegung" (vgl. Haas 1969,11 f.) halten. Das ist auch die Quintessenz der Essais: die Möglichkeiten des Möglichen durchzudenken, das Spektrum des Denkbaren zu ergründen, oder, um es mit Lüthy (12) zu artikulieren: „Möglichkeiten und Reichweiten des menschlichen Denkens auszukundschaften".
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6. Kompaß des Geistes: der Zweifel
Montaigne lädt ein, sich einer Frage immer wieder und von möglichst allen Blickwinkeln aus zu nähern, selbst und gerade dann, wenn ihre Antwort (apriori) als logisch oder unumstößlich erscheint. „Ich sträube mich sogar gegen Wahrscheinliches", so der Franzose in seiner antidogmatischen Art, „wenn man es mir als untrüglich hinstellt. Ich liebe vielmehr Ausdrücke, welche die Unbesonnenheit unsrer Behauptungen mildern und mäßigen, also: vielleicht und gewissermaßen, ein wenig und man sagt, ich denke und dergleichen." (Stilett, 518)
Ähnlich vernunftkritisch heißt es anderswo, es sei „eine törichte Yermessenheit, alles herablassend als falsch abzutun, was uns unwahrscheinlich vorkommt" (ebd., 97), und es sei „eine gefährliche und folgenschwere Anmaßung [...], alles, was unsre Vorstellung übersteigt, für nichts zu achten" (ebd., 98).
Montaigne, der möglichst alles durchdacht wissen will und so die ,Möglichkeitserwägung zum Prinzip seiner Essais und zur Grundstruktur essayistischen Sprechens" (Haas 1996, 623) macht, lehnt es ab, etwas auszuschließen, weil er nur an eine Konstante des Lebens glaubte: „Nichts ist gewiß, soviel ist sicher."7
Mit dieser Überzeugung ist zumindest die Intention bekundet, sich auf kein Verdikt einzulassen. Ein anderes Mal drückt er sich in diesem Sinne direkt aus: „Ich enthalte mich des Urteils."8
Der Franzose hebt die kathartische Funktion des Zweifels hervor und macht diesen zum Kompaß seines Denkens - eine kühne Leistung für eine Zeit, in der Wahrheitspachter und Dogmatiker mehr denn je Konjunktur hatten: Die eigene Skepsis nicht zu verhehlen, war, wem sein Leib teuer war, schon vor der Reformation lebensgefährlich genug. Gleichwohl entscheidet sich Montaigne für den nicht ungefährlichen Weg des Zweifels, womit wir beim ideengeschichtlichen Kern der Essais gelangt sind: dem Skeptizismus.
7. Skeptizismus
„Que sais-je?" Was weiß ich? - Dieser berühmte Satz schlägt den Ton an, der Montaignes Leben und Werk durchklingt. Es war 1576, als er diese Frage auf einem Medaillon schlagen ließ, dessen Kehrseite metaphorisch das gleiche ausdrückte: eine ausbalancierte Waage (vgl. Burke, 25).
Montaigne ließ sich in seiner Skepsis vom griechischen Philosophen Sextus Empiricus leiten, der lehrte, ,„man müsse jeder Aussage eine andere gegenüberstellen', und sich des Urteils zwischen beiden enthalten, weil der Mensch nicht erkennen könne, was wahr ist." (Ebd.).9
Mit dieser Grundeinsicht wird die Wirklichkeitserkenntnis in Frage gestellt. Da jeder von uns die Welt mit seinen Sinnen wahrnehme, könne die Wirklichkeit nur
7	Diesen Spruch hat Montaigne an die Deckenbalken seiner Bibliothek malen lassen (vgl. Burke, 25).
8	Ein weiterer Spruch, der Montaignes Bibliothekswand schmückte (vgl. ebd.).
9	Auf die Hauptideen des Skeptizismus nach Sextus Empericus gehen Burke (25 ff.) und Friedrich (123 ff.) detailliert ein, denen ich auch hier folge.
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individuell-subjektiv erfaßt werden; hinzu komme noch, daß jeder Mensch, je nach Kulturprägung, Situation und Lebensabschnitt, zu neuen bzw. unterschiedlichen Ansichten neige. So heißt es bei Montaigne treffend:
So vermag ich den Gegenstand meiner Darstellung nicht festzuhalten, denn auch er wankt und schwankt in natürlicher Trunkenheit einher. Deshalb nehme ich ihn jeweils so, wie er in dem Augenblick ist, da ich mich mit ihm befasse. Ich schildere nicht das Sein, ich schildre das Unterwegssein [...] Dies hier ist also das Protokoll unterschiedlicher und wechselhafter Geschehnisse sowie unfertiger und mitunter gegensätzlicher Gedanken, sei es, weil ich selbst ein andrer geworden bin, sei es, weil ich die Dinge unter andern Voraussetzungen und andern Gesichtspunkten betrachte. Daher mag ich mir zwar zuweilen widersprechen, aber der Wahrheit [...] widerspreche ich nie. (Stilett, 398 f.)
Realität, verstanden als Summe subjektiver Erfahrungswelten, schließt naturgemäß eine von allen gleichermaßen wahrgenommene Welt und in der Folge objektive Erkenntnis aus. Dementsprechend geht es Montaigne nicht länger darum, „das Maß der Dinge zu erkennen, sondern das Maß seiner Augen." (Lüthy, 12).10 Das mag auch der Grund, warum er sich selbst zum Inhalt seines Buches wählt und seine Selbstthematisierung dennoch nicht zum Selbstzweck gerät. „Er greift nur zur Selbstdarstellung, weil er kein anderes Bezugssystem der Erkenntnis findet. Im Schwänken der Wahrheiten setzt er sich selbst als festen Punkt, und indem er sie zu sich in Beziehung setzt, findet er seinen eigenen Standort: denn in Bewegung bleibt beides." (Ebd., 18)
Montaigne war sich als Mensch selber ein dunkles Terrain, auf das er mit einer Lampe - seinen Essais - etwas Licht werfen wollte. In seiner Selbstreflexion mochte er nicht allein gelassen werden - auch hier wieder ein „Widerspruch" (Lüthy): Er bedurfte eines Auditorium, eines Feedbacks, er brauchte den „unbekannten Leser" (ebd., 25), weil er es allein nicht vermochte, die Sehnsucht nach Selbsterkenntnis zu stillen; nach ihm gelinge Selbstbezug erst in der Interaktion mit dem anderen:
Denn dies ist der letzte Widerspruch: es gibt keine Selbsterkenntnis, die sich nicht zu erkennen gibt, und keine Wahrhaftigkeit ohne Mitteilung. ,Wer nicht ein wenig für andere lebt, der lebt kaum für sich.' Das Selbstbewußtsein, das stumm und ohne Ausdruck bleibt, kann sich seiner selbst nicht bewußt werden: es muß sich hervorbringen als Werk seiner selbst, um Wirklichkeit zu gewinnen. (Ebd.)
8. Ausblick
In der Tat müssen Montaignes Essais als einzigartig genannt werden, dementsprechend die Warnung, in ihnen bloß jenes Profil zu sehen, welches andere literarische
10 Lüthy (388) spielt hier wohl auf folgenden Satz aus den Essais an: „Was ich darüber meine, dient denn auch dazu, das Maß meiner Wahrnehmung zu geben, nicht das Maß der Dinge."
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Formen - etwa Autobiographie, Memoiren, Bekenntnis, Tagebuch - gleichermaßen aufweisen. Desgleichen ist es abzulehnen, hinter diesem „persönlichste(n) Buch der Weltliteratur" (ebd, 17)" die Realisierung eines narzistischen Konzepts zu vermuten. Montaignes Selbstdiskurs ist die Reflexion eines kritischen Weltbürgers, der die individuelle Unversehrtheit zum gültigen Maßstab erhebt.
Dieses Oeuvre kann mit Recht in jeder Hinsicht ein Unikat genannt werden, obwohl es an Nachahmern nicht gerade gemangelt hat; gleichwohl läßt sich nur schwer, wenn überhaupt, von Nachfolge sprechen. Großartig und pathetisch zugleich sagt Herbert Lüthy (18 f.), weshalb dem so ist:
[...] weil alle Nachfolge belastet ist. Bei Montaigne fehlen alle uns gewohnten Motive der Selbstdarstellung. Er hat nicht aus einem Bewußtsein seiner eigenen Ungewöhnlichkeit, seines „Andersseins" oder seiner Beispielhaftigkeit, weder im Guten noch im Bösen, geschrieben [...] So ist er den Gefahren aller gewollten Selbstdarstellung entgangen, der Gefahr der Selbsterhöhnung und der vielleicht noch größeren Gefahr der Selbsterniedrigung, jener .listigen Demut' der Bekenntnisbücher, deren Verfasser sich selbst mit Füßen treten, um zu zeigen, wie hoch sie sich über sich selbst erhoben haben. Da ist nichts von Weltschmerz, Reue, Auflehnung, Anklage, Zerrissenheit, Leiden an andern und an sich selbst, nichts von all dem, was seit Rousseau so viele Mißratene dazu treibt, sich der Welt ins Gesicht zu speien, so viele Gescheiterte, ihr De Profundis zu schreiben, so viele Sünder, die Welt zum Jüngsten Gericht über sich zu laden, so viele Genies, ihr Genie zu behaupten statt zu beweisen.12
Das also macht die Singularität dieses Werkes aus. Was aber erhält es aktuell? Es ist vielleicht doch seine Liebe zur Widersprüchlichkeit und, nicht weit davon entfernt, Montaignes Einladung zum Widerspruch, zum „audiatur et altera pars" (auch die Gegenpartei soll gehört werden). Dabei weist Montaignes Skepsis über die Unduldsamkeit seiner Zeit hinaus; sie gehörte nicht, wie zu anderen historischen Epochen, einem nihilistischen Relativismus an, der alle möglichen Ansichten aus Gleichgültigkeit nebeneinander gelten läßt, sondern der Einsicht in die blutigen Verstrickungen eines fanatischen Dogmatismus. Seine Skepsis ist nicht so sehr Ausdruck einer vermeintlichen Unparteilichkeit als viel mehr eines unabhängigen Geistes, der einem Humanismus entstammt und auf eine mögliche historische Stufe verweist (vgl. auch Horkheimer).
Es wurde bereits auf die Bedeutung des Skeptizismus des Sextus Empiricus für Montaigne hingewiesen, der bekanntlich die Wahrheitserkenntnis durch den Menschen dezidiert negiert. Politisch hat diese Philosophie eine doppelte Sichtweise. Erstens, sie erklärt Montaignes Konservativismus, denn seine Treue zum Bestehenden begründet sich vielfach im Mißtrauen gegen das Neue; hier zeigt sich einmal mehr die Macht der
11	Ähnlich Friedrich (13), wenn er vom „intimsten Buch, das bis dahin entstanden war", spricht.
12	Anders als Lüthy kommt Friedrich (20 ff.) zum Ergebnis, daß Selbsterniedrigung für die Essais sehr wohl typisch ist und wichtige Funktionen erfüllt, u.a. dient sie als Trick, kühnen Aussagen „die gefährliche Spitze zu nehmen" (ebd., 23).
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Gewohnheit. „Nach ihm", so Max Horkheimer (250) in seiner Studie zu Montaigne, „hat niemand recht, es gibt kein Recht, sondern Ordnung und Unordnung."
Montaignes Festhalten am Bestehenden, wie dies aus derselben Analyse deutlich hervorgeht, resultiert also nicht aus ideologischen, sondern primär aus pragmatischen Überlegungen. „Die Menschen handeln nicht aus absoluten Einsichten heraus, die es gar nicht gibt, sondern zumeist aus Vorurteilen und Gewohnheit. Da keine Ansicht einen Vorzug vor der anderen hat, so ist es auch niemals ratsam, den gegebenen Sitten und Einrichtungen entgegenzuwirken." (Ebd., 242)13. Horkheimer (ebd.) bringt es dann auf die allgemeine Formel, wenn er folgert: „In der Praxis bedeutet die Skepsis Verständnis für das Hergebrachte und Mißtrauen gegen jede Utopie."
Diese untätige Skepsis läßt Montaigne suspekt erscheinen, ist aber als epistemologische Konsequenz erklärbar. Das ist die eine politische Dimension eines solchen Skeptizismus.
Die andere Sichtweise bringt Montaigne in Gefahr, weil er seinerseits gefährlich wird. Denn die negierte Wahrheitserkenntnis impliziert Kritik an jeder Form von Dogmatismus. Ohne in den politischen Status quo eingreifen zu wollen, wird der Wahrhaftigkeitsanspruch der Machtelite - und somit ihre Legitimation - in Frage gestellt (vgl. auch Lüthy; Friedrich). So sehr er sich gewählt und diplomatisch ausdrückt, so sehr fällt er nicht zurück in eine unverbindliche Sprache, die eher geeignet ist, die wirklichen Zustände zu vernebeln denn zu durchleuchten. Solche Authentizität in Denken, Sprache und Lebensweise eines Menschen, der freilich nicht an der historischen Realität und Notwendigkeit seiner Zeit vorbei lebt, vermag vielleicht die Frage nach Montaignes zeitloser Aktualität zu beantworten.
Universität Ljubljana
LITERATUR
Adorno, Theodor W. „Der Essay als Form." Gesammelte Schriften. Ed. Rolf Tiedemann. Unter Mitw. Von Gretel Adorno.... Bd. 11. Noten zur Literatur. 4. Aufl. - Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp 1996.
Burke, Peter. Montaigne zur Einführung. 2., Überarb. Aufl. - Hamburg: Junius 1993.
Friedrich, Hugo. Montaigne. Zweite, neubearb. Aufl. - Bern; München: Francke 1967.
Haas, Gerhard. Essay. - Stuttgart: Metzler 1969.
_. „Essay." Ricklefs, Ulfert (Ed.). Fischer Lexikon Literatur A-F. - Frankfurt a. M.: Fischer
1996.
Horkheimer, Max. „Montaigne und die Funktion der Skepsis." Gesammelte Schriften. Eds. Alfred Schmidt und Gunzelin Schmid-Noerr. Bd. 4. - Frankfurt a. M.: Fischer 1988.
Lukäcs, Georg. „Über Wesen und Form des Essays: Ein Brief an Leo Popper." Ders. Die Seele und die Formen. Essays. Sonderausgabe. - Neuwied; Berlin: Luchterhand 1971.
Lüthy, Herbert. „Dass man bei Montaigne nicht suchen soll, was er nicht hat." Der. (Übers.):&.sa/.s
Montaigne, Michel de. Essais. Auswahl und Übersetzung von Herbert Lüthy. - Zürich: Manesse 1953.
13 Auf die Ursachen und Funktionen des religiösen und politischen Konservativismus bei Montaigne
geht Friedrich (105 ff.; 183 ff.) detailliert ein.
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_. Essais. Erste moderne Gesamtübersetzung von Hans Stilett. - Frankfurt a. M.: Eichborn
1998.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. „Unzeitgemäße Betrachtungen. Drittes Stück: Schopenhauer als Erzieher." Sämtliche Werke. Kritische Studienausgabe in 15 Bänden. Eds. Giorgio Colli und Mazzino Montinari. Bd. 1. - München (et al.): Dt. Taschenbuch-Verl, (et al.) 1980. Rohner, Ludwig. Der deutsche Essay. Materialien zur Geschichte und Ästhetik einer literarischen
Gattung. - Neuwied; Berlin: Luchterhand 1966. Schlaffer, Hannelore. „Der kulturkonservative Essay im 20. Jahrhundert." Dies./Heinz Schlaffer.
Studien zum ästhetischen Historismus. - Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp 1975. Schon, Peter M.: Vorformen des Essays in Antike und Humanismus. Ein Beitrag zur
Entstehungsgeschichte der Essais von Montaigne. - Wiesbaden: Steiner 1954. Weissenberger, Klaus. „Der Essay." Ders. (Ed.). Prosakunst ohne Erzählen. Die Gattungen der nicht-fiktionalen Kunstprosa. - Tübingen: Max Niemeyer 1985.
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UDK 81'42:821.133.1.09 Sartre J.P.
Communication with the Other in Jean-Paul Sartre's L'Âge de raison: A Discourse Analysis
Rosalind Silvester
Abstract
The article analyses conversation between the main characters, Mathieu and Marcelle, in Jean-Paul Sartre's L'Âge de raison (1945). Interpretation of the material involves recent methods of discourse analysis and takes into consideration cognitive schemata and the pragmatic intentions of speech acts. A constant objective is to establish whether the interlocutors manage to attain either a metaphysical or moral liberty when they communicate and whether they are able to maintain this for any length of time. In Sartre's terms, this achievement would mean that each participant keeps his/ her reflective quality without becoming an unreflective object for the Other. Communication, in this case, would be considered successful.
The various approaches of discourse analysis and pragmatics in the last twenty to thirty years support the idea that dialogue may be interpreted in two general and compatible ways. Firstly, the 'structure' of discourse above the level of the sentence can be described, including the unwritten 'rules' which people observe in conversation. Secondly, one can explore how utterances are understood in context, giving meanings for them which are different from the sense of the individual sentences which comprise them. The intention of this paper is to show that by understanding the underlying principles of dialogue in a text, we are able to make an accurate appraisal of the relationship between characters, and are equally able to discern a whole philosophical reasoning which explains these examples of social interaction.
The text under study is L'Âge de raison (published in 1945), which constitutes the first volume of a planned tetralogy called Les Chemins de la liberté. However, Sartre only completed three volumes and published fragments of the fourth in the journal Les Temps modernes (November and December 1949). The meanings negotiated by the couple, Mathieu and Marcelle, in L'Âge de raison adumbrate a particularly interesting struggle for social power. Various linguistic stategies are employed either to promote the speaker to a position of control, where the pour-soi (for-itself) reaches fulfilment, or to reduce the addressee to the en-soi (in-itself) quality of objects. Their
I would like to thank the publisher Rodopi for allowing the publication of this article which is based an a chapter of my forthcoming book Seeking Sartre's Style.
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attempts at communication produce recurrent linguistic patterns which convey how the simple virtues of human intercourse become forms of insincerity in Sartre's novel. As Murdoch wrote, '[o]nly reflection and freedom are desired as ends and yet these turn out to be without content'.1 Since the full meaning of the language of discourse cannot be dealt with on the level of text-internal semantics, I will also turn to the findings of pragmatics which enables sense to be made of the extra-linguistic motivations and cognitive assumptions of language users. These are based on the notion that linguistic expression involves certain deeds, not merely words, and the identification of the functional intention of such speech acts.
Before embarking on an analysis of dialogue in L'Âge de raison, it is essential to comprehend the existential conflict deemed by Sartre to be at the heart of human relationships. This centres on what Sartre called etre-pour-autrui (being-for-others). The only way to become an object for oneself is to cease to be a subject, by losing one's essential character as self-conscious observer; in other words, by losing 'la présence a soi' .2 Referring summarily to the first part of Sartre's La Transcendance de l'ego, it is evident that this philosopher conceives of the self as an en-soi entity, outside of consciousness. Only pour-soi consciousness is transcendental, free and able to reflect, but it is simultaneously impersonal — a quality which is incompatible with any conception of the 'self. So if Sartre's pour-soi has constant contact with other pour-soi in the world, it encounters the problem of recognising the rights and freedom of others: 'ce projet d'unification est source de conflit puisque, tandis que je m'éprouve comme objet pour autrui et que je projette de l'assimiler dans et par cette épreuve, autrui me saisit comme objet au milieu du monde et ne projette nullement de m'assimiler a lui. Il serait donc nécessaire [...] d'agir sur la liberté d'autrui'? To Sartre's mind, as Aronson points out, 'reflective consciousness, which distinguishes man from the animals', depends upon situations, whether involving communication or action, to build a 'framework within which and in relation to which man can exercise his freedom'.4 But transcendental freedom is as elusive as other types of freedom in the novels, in view of the fact that the freedom of the Other is incompatible with one's own. Two pour-soi entities cannot meet without a collision, since each is free, and each will seek to use its freedom to interpret, define, delineate the Other, who, being free, will resist being interpreted, defined, delineated.
We will now consider how these abstract philosophical notions can be transposed into concrete concepts on the pages of Sartre's novel. The first substantial conversation of L'Âge de raison occurs between Mathieu and Marcelle (Folio edition, 1996, pp. 12-25) and provides a suitably dramatic opening: the revelation of Marcelle's unplanned pregnancy could either lead to dissension or cooperation, to the breakdown or survival of a human relationship.
-	Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas? demanda-t-il à voix basse.
-	Mais ça va, dit Marcelle à voix basse, et toi, mon vieux?
-	Je suis sans un; à part ça, ça va. [...]
1	Murdoch, I., Sartre. Romantic Realist, (Brighton: Harvester, 1980), p. 52.
2	Sartre, J-P., L'être et le Néant, (Paris: Gallimard, 1982), p. 115.
3	Ibid., p. 415.
4	Aronson, R„ J-P Sartre: Philosophy in the World, (London: Verso, 1980), p. 88.
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-	Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça? demanda Mathieu. [...]
-	C'est moi, dit Marcelle sans lever la tête. [...]
-	Où as-tu trouvé ça?
-	Dans un album. Elle date de l'été 28. [...]
-	Tu regardes les albums de famille, à présent?
-	Non, mais je ne sais pas, aujourd'hui j'ai eu envie de retrouver des choses de ma vie, comment j'étais avant de te connaître, quand j'étais bien portante. Amène-là. [...]
-	J'étais marrante, dit-elle. [...]
-	Tu le regrettes, ce temps-là? Marcelle dit sèchement:
-	Ce temps-là, non: je regrette la vie que j'aurais pu avoir. [...]
-	J'ai grossi, hein?
-	Oui. [...]
-	Il y a dix ans de ça. [...]
-	Qu'est-ce que tu as fait hier? TU es sortie? Marcelle eut un geste las et rond:
-	Non, j'étais fatiguée. J'ai un peu lu mais maman me dérangeait tout le temps pour le magasin.
-	Et aujourd'hui?
-	Aujourd'hui, je suis sortie, dit-elle d'un air morose. J'ai senti le besoin de prendre l'air, de coudoyer des gens. Je suis descendue jusqu'à la rue de la Gaîté, ça m'amusait; et puis je voulais voir Andrée.
(pp. 12-14)5
Out of Mathieu's first ten speech acts above, eight are questions. It is he who takes the initiative to open up topics and to direct the discussion, thereby exhibiting
5 'What's wrong?' he asked, in a low tone.
'Nothing', said Marcelle under her breath. 'Are you all right, old boy?'
'I'm broke: otherwise all right'. [...]
'What's that?' asked Marcelle, without raising her head. [...]
'Where did you find it?'
'In an album. It was taken in 1928'. [...]
'Do you still look at family albums?'
'No, but I had a sort of feeling today that I'd like to remind myself of those times, and see what I was like before I knew you, and when I was always well.. Bring it here'. [...] 'I was a scream in those days', she said. [...] 'Do you regret those days?'
'No', replied Marcelle acidly: 'but I regret the life I might have had'. [...] 'I've got fatter, haven't I?' 'Yes'. [...]
'That's ten years ago'. [...]
'What did you do yesterday?' he asked her. 'Did you go out?'
Marcelle waved her hand wearily and answered: 'No, I was tired. I read for a bit, but Mother kept on interrupting me about the shop'. 'And today?'
'I did go out today', she said, gloomily. 'I felt I ought to get some air and see some people in the street. So I walked down as far as the Rue de la Gaité, and enjoyed it; and I wanted to see Andrée'.
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some characteristics of a powerful speaker as defined by Wardhaugh,6 Brown and Yule.7 Marcelle's questions are dictated by politeness, seeking reciprocal information ('et toi, mon vieux?' p. 12 line 10 ('and how are you, old boy?'), 'Et toi?' (p. 14 line 14) ('and you?') or confirmation ('J'ai grossi, hein?' p. 13 line 26) ('I've got fatter, haven't I?'). Her comments err on the side of distraction, and it is not long before Mathieu acts on these linguistic signals to inquire after the source of her worries: 'Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas?' (p. 12 line 9) ('What's the matter?'). Instead of answering truthfully, Marcelle flouts the maxim of quality by giving a short, insufficient reply and then turns the focus away from herself.8
The conversation having taken a nostalgic turn, Mathieu again shows that he is the more powerful speaker this time by embarking upon a less emotional, more neutral subject: how Marcelle spent yesterday. She recounts her activities in enough detail and, in line with the rules of turn-taking, asks about Mathieu's movements.9 When Mathieu mentions an encounter with Ivich, a rival for his affections, Marcelle is brought out of her inattention and threatens the smooth continuance of the dialogue because she herself feels threatened (pp. 15-16). Indeed, an unexpectedly sharp reaction takes the form of a twelve line harangue on Ivich, including two exclamative sentences and two rhetorical questions. Her nervous state (p. 16 line 13) has propelled her into a stronger position, but this is short-lived because Mathieu regains control through an imperative, 'Regarde-moi' (p. 16 line 19) ('Look at me'), and a frank question, 'Qu'est-ce que tu as?' (p. 16 line 22) ('What's the matter?'). Again Marcelle breaks the maxim of quality by replying untruthfully: 'Je n'ai rien [...]' (p. 16 line 23) ('Nothing').
As if to escape from the intense matter in hand, from the oppressive 'coquillage'10 ('sea shell'), Mathieu physically liberates himself through movement, getting up and going to the cupboard, and once more tries to diffuse tension by changing subject. On this occasion meaningful behaviour realised by bodily movements ('kinesic behaviour') combines with a change in topic in an attempt to regain control over the situation. But even this inoffensive anecdote about the tramp encountered on the way to Marcelle's acts as another catalyst for Marcelle who remarks 'Ta vie est pleine d'occasions manquees' (p. 17 line 13) ('Your life is full of missed opportunities'), a blunt observation which constitutes an affront to his positive face.11 Significantly, in
6	Wardhaugh, R., How Conversation Works, (Oxford: Blackwell, 1986).
7	Brown, P. and Yule, W., Discourse Analysis, (Cambridge: C.U.P., 1983).
8	The maxim of quality consists in saying what one believes is true. It is one of four instances of conversational behaviour observed by H. Paul Grice in the 1970s. The other three are the maxim of quantity, pertaining to the appropriate amount of information being given to the listener; the maxim of relation which demands that the utterance is relevant; and the maxim of manner requires speech to be clear and concise. See Grice, H.P., 'Logic and conversation', in Syntax and Semantics, III: Speech Acts, ed. by Cole, P. and Morgan, J.L. (New York: Academic Press, 1975), pp. 41-58.
9	Hirn-taking refers to the sequential nature of conversation . The interaction unfolds as contributions are added by participants. We can therefore see what an utterance is doing by the place it occupies in the conversation. Usually the most powerful speaker has the longest turns and initiates the sub-parts of conversations. Dialogue can be analysed as sequences of connected pairs of contributions, often called 'adjacency pairs', for example: initiation-response, question-answer, greeting-greeting.
10	The motif of 'coquillage' recurs throughout the novel, and indicates the impenetrable, unchanging nature of a particular situation. In this way, it is a symbolic form of the en-soi.
11	Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson describe the concept of face as one's public self-image. It needs to be maintained in the course of our dealings with others. 'Negative face' is the desire to be
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the middle of justifying his non-involvement with the tramp, Mathieu loses conviction and leaves a sentence unfinished: 'Ce qu'il y a ...' (p. 17 line 34) ('The fact is ...'). It is Marcelle who now holds the psychological power over a waylaid, unsure Mathieu, and is able not only to say condescendingly 'Mon pauvre vieux' ('Poor old boy'), but also categorises him, 'Je te connais bien la. Ce que tu as peur du pathétique!' (p. 17 line 39) ('That's very like you. You're so afraid of anything sentimental'), which is the ultimate disempowering act of rendering the Other a quantifiable object.
Again Mathieu alters the tone of the discussion at the height of their irritability. Consciously lowering his status in the conversation, he gives in by agreeing with Marcelle and then appeals to her positive face through the suggestion that she is a determining factor in his actions. Her unconvinced retort (p. 19 lines 5-12) is met with a simple, reasonable statement, but the accusatory tone increases still further in five lines (p. 19 lines 123-127) containing various second person singular pronouns: 'te' x 5, 'toi-meme' ('yourself'), 'ton' ('your') x 2, 'tu' ('you') x 5. Mathieu slows down the pace of verbal assault by repeating something Marcelle said, reflecting upon it, rejecting it, and re-explaining his intention. In a subsequent attempt to hurt the Other, Marcelle attributes to freedom, a concept dear to Mathieu, a negative property: 'c'est ton vice' (p. 19 line 31) ('It's your vice'). This at last has the desired effect of subordinating Mathieu's rationality to the raw emotion of anger: he poses a quasi-threatening question 'Que veux-tu qu'on fasse d'autre?' (p. 19 lines 32-33) ('What else can a man do?').
Even after the crescendo of criticism, Mathieu asks for the third time what is troubling Marcelle and, for the third time, she refuses to elaborate. To create greater intimacy and confidence, he moves closer to Marcelle, persisting in his search for the truth, not as before with an interrogative sentence, but with a declarative: 'tu vas me dire ce qu'il y a' (p. 21 line 7) ('You must tell me what's the matter'). When the revelation is finally made, it is in the simplest of forms, 'Ça y est' ('It has happened'), and when a course of action is needed it is requested directly, 'Qu'est-ce qu'on fait?' (p. 21 line 27) ('And what's to be done?'). Mathieu's automatic suggestion 'on le fait passer, non?' ('Well, I suppose one gets rid of it, eh?') is taken as a definitive indication of his preference, as a conversational implicature. Both characters harbour expectations based on assumptions about a particular situation, that of pregnancy, yet this macrocontext differs from the microcontext of what Mathieu actually says, of the presupposition embedded in his sentence. The tag word 'non?' conveys expectancy and a need to solicit confirmation, but it should be at this point that they seize the opportunity to 'reinvent' their choices, to modify past patterns of thinking and behaviour.
Despite the fluctuations of power between the speakers, each of them in the final sentences seeks assurances from the other: Marcelle needs to know that she is still desirable and lovable as an expectant mother, and Mathieu needs to be told that he
unimpeded in what one does. When one uses polite formulae, one is attending to the negative face needs of one's interlocutor, by trying to avoid or at least minimise the imposition made. 'Positive face' is the desire for approval, the need for at least some wants to be shared by others. In the text, Marcelle is not concerned with demonstrating her regard for Mathieu, or with making him feel at ease - just the opposite in fact. Refer to Brown, P. and Levinson, S., 'Universals in language usage: politeness phenomena', in Questions and Politeness: Strategies in Social Interaction, ed. by Goody, E.N. (Cambridge: C.U.P., 1978), pp. 56-289.
is not to blame for the pregnancy. The balance of conversational power seems to have settled down to an uneasy equality, with each partner able to maintain or destroy the felicity conditions for harmonious speech.12 Transcendental freedom at this point is on a precarious footing. Mathieu, especially, is skilled at anticipating the perlocutionary effects of his speech acts whether in order to placate the other or to lead her back to reason.13 However, in their next and last face to face encounter (pp. 335-345), Mathieu behaves in a different way, and at successive stages refuses doggedly to employ positive face strategies. In fact both characters approach the conversation with contrasting script assumptions,14 that is, they have antithetical ideas about the sequential progression of their dialogue: Marcelle wishes to marry and to keep the child, while Mathieu has acquired the money for an abortion. Being situated on a discourse level other than that of the characters, the reader already knows the minds of Mathieu and Marcelle, has noted the precursory signs of discord, and is prepared for the disappointing and unexpected reception of the maxims of conversational cooperation.
Right from the start of the last dialogue between Mathieu and Marcelle, the felicity conditions are not fulfilled. Marcelle's use of terms of endearment ('mon chéri'/ 'darling', 'mon vieux'/'old boy', 'mon pauvre vieux'/'my poor old boy'), her emphatic greeting ('Salut, salut!'/'hello, hello' p. 336 line 3) and caresses are not returned by Mathieu with warmth or enthusiasm. Her gesture of desired intimacy -drawing Mathieu to sit on the bed - is spoilt by the latter's inappropriate, unromantic remark 'Ce qu'il fait chaud, chez toi' (p. 336 line 30) ('It's very hot in here'). Then Mathieu's wounded hand, belonging to that set of hated things, objects, disrupts Marcelle's conceived set-up. From this moment, she plays at being an attentive wife, seeing to his bandage, light-heartedly scolding him, determining his whereabouts the night before (pp. 337-339).
-	C'est une vilaine plaie, comment as-tu fait ton compte? Tu avais un coup dans le nez?
-	Mais non. C'est hier soir, au "Sumatra".
-	Au "Sumatra"? [...]
-	C'est une fantaisie de Boris, répondit-il. Il avait acheté un surin, il m'a mis au défi de me le planter dans la main.
-	Et toi, naturellement, tu t'es empressé de le faire. Mais tu es complètement piqué, mon pauvre chéri, tous ces moutards te feront tourner en bourrique. Regardez-moi cette pauvre patte saccagée. [...]
-	Tu es bien avec moi? demanda Marcelle.
12	Felicity conditions are the criteria which have to be fulfilled for a speech act to be successful. Several kinds of felicity conditions have been distinguished, both social and linguistic: for example, speakers have to be sincere when they perform a speech act such as making a promise; asking a question presupposes that the other will answer. On speech acts see especially Searle, J.R., Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language, (Cambridge: C.U.P., 1969). Also Brown, P. and Levinson, P. discuss felicity conditions in Politeness, (Cambridge: C.U.P., 1987).
13	Perlocutionary effects are those effects brought about by an utterance in the particular circumstances in which it is uttered.
14	Schank, R. and Abelson, R. introduce the idea of sequentially and non-sequentially ordered information in Scripts, Plans, Goals and Understanding: An Enquiry into Human Knowledge Structures, (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1977), pp. 36-46.
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-	Mais oui.
-	Tu n'en as pas l'air. [...]
-	Donne la patte.
-	Lèche! [...]
-	Qu'est-ce que je vais faire de cette horreur? Quand tu seras parti, j'irai le jeter dans la caisse à ordures. [...]
-	Alors, Boris t'a lancé un défi? Et tu t'es massacré la main? Quel grand gosse! Est-ce qu'il s'en est fait autant?
-	Ma foi non, dit Mathieu. Marcelle rit:
-	Il t'a bien eu! [...]
-	Ivich était là?
-	Quand je me suis coupé?
-	Oui.
-	Non. Elle dansait avec Lola. [...]
-	La! Ça y est. Vous vous êtes bien amusés?
-	Comme ça.
-	C'est beau le "Sumatra"? Tu sais ce que je voudrais? Que tu m'y emmenes une fois.
-	Mais ça te fatiguerait, dit Mathieu contrarié.
-	Oh! pour une fois... On ferait ça en grande pompe, il y a si longtemps que je n'ai bien, on ira cet automne. C'est promis?
-	Promis.
Marcelle toussa avec embarras: pas fait de sortie avec toi. [...]
-	Tu veux? dit Marcelle.
-	Écoute, dit-il, de toute façon, ça ne pourrait pas être avant l'automne: ces temps-ci, il va falloir que tu te reposes sérieusement et puis, ensuite, c'est la fermeture annuelle de la boîte. Lola part en tournée pour l'Afrique du Nord.
-	Eh
-	Je vois bien que tu m'en veux un peu, dit-elle.
-	Moi?
-	Oui... J'ai été bien déplaisante avant-hier.
-	Mais non. Pourquoi?
-	Si. J'étais nerveuse.
-	On l'aurait été à moins. Tout est de ma faute, mon pauvre petit.
-	Tu n'as rien à te reprocher, dit-elle, dans un cri de confiance. Tu n'as jamais rien eu à te reprocher.
__(pp. 337-339)15
15 'It's a nasty wound, how did it happen? Have you been fighting?' 'Of course not. It was yesterday evening: at the Sumatra'. 'At the Sumatra?'[...]
'It was some nonsense of Boris's', he repeated. 'He had bought a dagger, and challenged me to stick it in my hand'.
'And you, of course, promptly did so. But you're completely dotty, my poor darling, these rotten friends of yours will make an utter fool of you if you aïen't careful. Look at that poôr ravaged paw'. [...]
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This time Marcelle is the primary actant: out of twelve speech acts when enquiring about the night club soirée, she asks ten questions, gives out three exclamations and utters two imperative sentences. Mathieu, meanwhile, answers succinctly and provides barely enough information to satisfy Marcelle's curiosity. The whole exchange is reminiscent of a domestic scene, an image which is confirmed by Mathieu's thought that a word uttered by Marcelle, 'une sortie' ('an evening out'), possesses conjugal connotations (p. 338 line 39). Eventually, Mathieu's lack of spontaneity in words and actions gives Marcelle the signal that he resents her, so bringing to the surface her old insecurities (p. 339 line 9). He withholds any 'mot tendre' ('word of affection') or 'mot de pardon' ('word of forgiveness') and this act of omission comprises a face threatening act.
Unwilling to bear the emotionally-charged atmosphere, Mathieu produces the scapegoat, the object in the form of money, which in one gesture silences Marcelle, makes her hesitant and disorientated. While she manages only to repeat 'Cinq mille francs' (p. 339 line 37) ('five thousand francs') or construct half a sentence (p. 340 line 7), Mathieu assumes power by telling Marcelle where to have the abortion, to guess the source of the money, and to come out of her silence.
'Are you loving me?' asked Marcelle. 'Of course'.
'You don't look as if you were'. [...] 'Give me your paw'. [...] 'Now lick that!' [...]
'What am I to do with this loathsome object? When you have gone, I'll go and throw it in the rubbish bin'. [...]
'So Boris challenged you, did he? And you made a mess of your hand. You silly old boy! And did he do the same?'
'Not he!' said Mathieu.
Marcelle laughed: 'So he made a pretty sort of fool of you!' [...] 'Was Ivich there?' 'When I cut myself?' 'Yes'.
'No. She was dancing wth Lola'. [...]
'There. That's all right now. Did you have a good time?'
'Not bad'.
'Is the Sumatra a nice place? I do wish you would take me there one of these days'. 'But it would tire you', said Mathieu rather irritably.
'Oh, just for once ... we would make an occasion of it, it's so long since I've had an evening out with you anywhere'. [...]
'Will you?' said Marcelle.
'Look here', he said, 'it couldn't be before the autumn anyway: you must look after yourself properly just now, and besides the place will soon be closed for the summer break. Lola is going on tour in North Africa'.
'Well then, we'll go in the autumn. Is that a promise?' 'Yes'.
Marcelle coughed with embarrassment. 'I can see you're a bit annoyed with me'.	.
'Annoyed?'
'Yes ... I was very tiresome the day before yesterday'.
'Not at all. Why?'
'Indeed I was. I was nervy'.
'Well, that was natural. It's all my fault, my poor darling'.
'You're not in the least to blame', she exclaimed cheerfully, 'you never have been'.
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Mathieu has the opportunity to reassure Marcelle, but he again fails to give it and indeed confirms that he no longer loves her (p. 343 line 37). In a reversal of the beginning of the conversation, Marcelle rejects Mathieu's touch and, as though she has acquired clear-sightedness through this harsh knowledge of the truth, she becomes more powerful, giving the orders 'Va-t'en' ('Go'), four times, and 'Reprends ton argent' (p. 344 line 39) ('Take your money with you'). Mathieu, due to guilty feelings and surprise, is the passive participant, allowing his sentences to be left uncompleted or interrupted by Marcelle (p. 344 line 12 to p. 345 line 3). It is interesting from the viewpoint of social intercourse that Mathieu, who initially occupied a position of power through money over the desperate, dependent, pregnant girlfriend, is the one turned away at the end, though it cannot be said that Marcelle in any way controls her 'destiny'.
The relationship between Mathieu and Marcelle breaks down in spite of several endeavours to minimise face threatening acts, to succumb to the Other's transcendental freedom which enslaves oneself. The desire to mean something, to have an essence, to possess the tranquillity of a Thing, led them both at particular stages of the two dialogues to permit the Other to solidify them, to fix them as an en-soi. Moreover, by feigning to 'se dire tout' ('tell each other everything'), they only avoid talking about nothing. Speech represents here a manner of keeping quiet which is more subtle, yet less sincere, than silence. In the words of Simone de Beauvoir:
Même au cas où les mots renseignent, ils n'ont pas le pouvoir de supprimer, dépasser, désarmer la réalité: ils servent à l'affronter. Si deux interlocuteurs se persuadent mutuellement qu' ils dominent les événements et les gens sur lesquels ils échangent des confidences, sous prétexte de pratiquer la sincérité, ils se dupent.16
In summary, the interactants fail to constantly ensure both the transcendental freedom of the self and effective communication which does not break down. Mathieu and Marcelle often resort to positive face strategies where one deliberately becomes an object for the other, in order to prevent the eruption of resentment which is part of the conversational undercurrent. Their exchanges are thus not entirely open or honest, and both feel trapped, whether through pregnancy or the thought of impending marriage. For want of space, I have not addressed here Marcelle's and Mathieu's respective relationships with Daniel, a third major character in the novel who decides to commit what he considers the ultimate liberating act for a homosexual, marrying Marcelle. But having studied the linguistic aspects of their encounters elsewhere,17 it is evident that alliances with Daniel do not fare well. He is a character whose sadistic tendency wills him to dominate others. Indeed, the model which restricts the liberty of the Other the most is that of Marcelle and Daniel, the latter dominating the former by means of multifarious linguistic tactics such as topic control, use of assumptions, and
16	De Beauvoir, S., La Force de l'Âge, (Paris: Gallimard, 1960), p. 29. 'Even in a case where words do convey information, they lack the power to suppress, sidetrack, or neutralize reality; their function is to confront it. If two people manage to convince themselves that they possess any power over the events or people which form the subject of their mutual confidences, then they are deceiving themselves'.
17	In the fifth chapter of my PhD thesis, entitled 'Language and Philosophy in Jean-Paul Sartre's Les Chemins de la liberté'.
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appeals to her positive face. With Mathieu and Daniel there is a propensity for negative face strategies where frankness is sought without much thought for the other person's feelings. Both endeavour to maintain a state of conscious reflectiveness, but this results only in hatred and the impression that the other is free rather than oneself.
The Sartrean character seems to be in an impossible position: no communication or silence cannot be a practical or desirable solution for life in society; a perpetual reflective state is unattainable for man, being reserved only for God; and to practise successful communication, one must win the collaboration of one's fellow conversationalist by safeguarding the individual's face, their public social value or self-image, whilst not forfeiting one's own subjectivity. The best that can be hoped for, if a conclusion is to be drawn from L'Âge de raison, is an improved version of the model of relationship between Mathieu and Marcelle, involving a pour-soi which flickers on and off. The implication is that one may have to accept, at times, the unreflective identification with some contingent Thing, so that the Other can in turn assert their power of transcendental consciousness and aspire through the medium of human interaction towards a temporary pour-soi condition. Although this resolution may not be wholeheartedly Sartrean, falling occasionally into self-deception, it comprises the only vaguely positive interpretation that relationships in L'Âge de raison offer.
In his theory of language, Sartre stated that social commitment through writing constitutes an action which is capable of preserving the autonomy of the pour-soi, and creates meaning in the world which does not involve the enchaining of another pour-soi: 'dans une collectivité qui se reprend sans cesse et se juge et se métamorphose, l'ouvre écrite peut etre une condition essentielle de l'action, c'est-a-dire le moment de la conscience réflexive'.18 Yet nowhere in L'Âge de raison, does Sartre demonstrate this relationship between individuals in society, commuting this programme instead to an abstract relationship between a conscious self and society as a whole. After Mathieu leaves Marcelle on hostile terms, renews his suspicions about Daniel's motives, realises that his courtship of Ivich is in vain and his attraction to Odette futile, he finds he cannot even depend on relationships with people representing sectors of society. He does not find total affinity with family in the shape of his brother, sanctimonious Jacques, or his long-time friend Brunet, a member of the Communist Party, or Boris, one of his student corps. What is left is an affiliation with society in general. The dialogues in L'Âge de raison show that the legitimate pursuit of one's own face needs, of one's reflective consciousness, often leads the characters to perform speech acts that by their very nature threaten the face needs and transcendental freedom of the Other. The true existentialist character thus sacrifices relationships with individuals for the rare collective benefit of the whole society, where the self can remain both transcendental and free.
Such is the situation in the first two volumes of Les Chemins de la liberté, where relationships are centred around Mathieu. In the second half of La Mort dans l'âme and in the unfinished Drôle d'amitié, Brunet's friendships come under scrutiny in a substitution of protagonist, which Olmeta refers to as one of the transformations char-
18 Sartre, J-P., Qu'est-ce que la littérature? (Paris: Gallimard, 1966), p. 195.
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acteristic of the cycle's 'cannibalisme littéraire'19 ('literary cannibalism'). Moreover, Olmeta is not the first commentator to remark upon the mostly positive presentation of relationships with others in the fourth novel, contrasting with the preceding works. Brunei, realising the despair and false hopes of his comrades, manages to reinforce principles which initially lift morale: 'Le P.C. est votre parti, il existe pour vous et par vous, il n'a pas d'autre but que de libérer les travailleurs, il n'a pas d'autre volonté que la volonté des masses. C'est pour ça qu'il ne se trompe jamais. Jamais! Jamais!'20 ('The C.P. is your party, it exists for and because of you, its only aim is to free workers, its only will is the will of the masses. For that reason it is never wrong. Never! Never! ') It would thus be relevant to our understanding of Sartre's view of language and social action conveyed in dialogue to turn to briefly Drôle d'amitié.
Speech acts in Les Chemins de la liberté have the potential to produce two perlocutionary effects, meaning the effects brought about by an utterance in the particular circumstances in which it is uttered. The performative acts of promising, committing, refusing, judging, defending, threatening, lying - as Sartre set down in his 1944 lecture on 'Le Style dramatique'21 - go beyond the normal, even trivial, sense in which dialogue furthers the action of a play, to achieve certain intended (liberating or oppressive) effects on the addressee-character. Verbal actions, like physical actions, are above all instrumental: they are actions which transcend the donné ('given') towards a chosen end.22 The first type of perlocutionary effect ensures 'everyday' freedom. It consists in rejecting speech acts which are motivated by external constraints, specific traits of character or unconscious drives. So when Mathieu knows he should say 'Je t'aime' ('I love you') to Marcelle in L'Âge de raison but actually does not express love, he ignores what is expected of him, what middle-class decency determines, and instead asserts through language an immediate, 'everyday' freedom. Similarly, his indifferent attitude to imminent war in a scene with Jacques in Le Sursis, elicits no words of engagement, but implies he does not care if the existing world of bourgeois values is destroyed. Brunei argues with Schneider in La Mort dans l'âme about the efficacy of Soviet Communism, expressing his doubts as a free and independent thinker rather than toeing the Party line. And when he continues to see the Party from the outside in Drôle d'amitié, unsettling possibilities come to mind in simple statements, such as '1'U.R.S.S. sera battue' (p. 1513) ('the U.S.S.R. will be beaten') and 'si le Parti a raison, je suis plus seul qu'un fou; s'il a tort, tous les hommes sont seuls et le monde est foutu' (p. 1515) ('if the Party is right, I'm lonelier than a madman; if it is wrong, everyone is on their own and the world is done for'). These attest again to his individualistic interpretation. All four novels of the cycle appear to achieve this first perlocutionary effect, where characters perform speech acts resulting
" Olmeta, M., 'Le cannibalisme littéraire dans Les Chemins de la liberté', in Études sartriennes VI, Université de Paris X, (1995), p. 114.
20	Sartre, J-P. Drôle d'amitié in Ouvres romanesques, ed. Contât, M. and Rybalka, M., (Paris: Gallimard, 1981), p. 1509. First appeared in Les Temps modernes in Oct/Nov 1949.
21	Reprinted in Un Théâtre de situations, ed. by Contât, M. and Rybalka, M., (Paris: Folio essais, 1992), p. 35.
22	Sartre, J-P., L'Etre et le Néant, (Paris: Tel Gallimard, 1998), p. 560. First published by Gallimard, 1943.
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in personal, momentary freedom but which do not necessarily lead to the freedom of the Other.
The second kind of perlocutionary effect produces a metaphysical and moral liberty which depends on the freedom of the Other, and this seems to be restricted to the final volume. In Drôle d'amitié, Brunei can be seen abandoning a predisposing complex of traditionally recognisable motives (orthodox Marxism) for 'free' acts of speech, involving pure reflection which reveals a new structure of motifs ('causes'), mobiles ('motives') and values. Chalais, a stalwart of the P.C., notices that comrades in the camp are repeating a collection of assertions contrary to Party teaching. He locates the source of these with Brunei:
-	Ils m'en ont dit de belles.
-	Quoi par exemple?
-	La guerre n'est pas terminée, l'U.R.S.S. écrasera l'Allemagne, les travailleurs ont le devoir de refuser l'armistice, la défaite de l'Axe sera une victoire pour le prolétariat.
Il s'arrête pour observer Brunet. Brunet ne dit rien. Chalais ajoute en forçant un peu son rire:
-	Il y en a même un qui m'a demandé si les ouvriers parisiens s'étaient mis en grève et si l'on tirait sur les Allemands dans les rues de Paris. Brunet ne dit toujours rien. Chalais se penche vers lui et lui demande doucement:
-	C'est toi qui leur as mis ces idées en tête?
-	Pas sous cette forme, dit Brunet.
-	Sous cette forme ou sous une autre, c'est toi?
Brunet allume sa pipe. Quelque chose est en train d'arriver.
-	Oui, dit-il. C'est moi.
(p. 1489)23
Later Brunet even assumes the responsibility of showing an alternative open to his fellow men - escape - thereby attenuating both his and their freedom, even though Schneider is shot in the attempt. This is consistent with the connection Sartre presents in L'Être et le Néant between the sphere of action (verbal/political/social action), 'la vie morale' ('moral life') and Te terrain du droit' ('the domain of law'). There, Sartre
23 'They told me corkers'.
'What for instance?'
'The war isn't over, the U.S.S.R. will conquer Germany, the workers have the right to refuse the armistice, the defeat of the Axis will be a victory for the proletariat'.
He stopped to look at Brunet. Brunet said nothing. Chalais continued, putting on a slightly forced smile:
'One of them even asked me if the Parisian workers had gone on strike and if Germans were being shot in the streets of Paris'.
Brunet still said nothing. Chalais leant towards him and asked gently:
'Was it you who put these ideas into their heads?'
'Not in that form', said Brunet.
'In that form or another, was it you?'
Brunet lit his pipe. Something was happening.
'Yes', he said. 'It was me'.
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defines 'authentic' action as a 'pure transcendance qui porte sa justification dans son existence meme, puisque son etre est choix'24 ('pure transcendence which carries its justification in its very existence since its being is a choice'). This assertion of one's rights through choice attains a social rdle as soon as the individual comes into contact with others. It is from the point of view of other people that an action is an 'objet donné d'appréciation morale'25 ('a given object of moral evaluation'). The Sartrean understanding of transcendence differs from Kant's definition, given that 'situation et motivation ne font qu'un'26 for Sartre. That is to say, motif ('cause'), mobile^ motive') and situation ('situation') are integrated into acts which, rather than following on from a prior system of values (Kant), themselves decide the fragile values comprising 'ce vers quoi un etre dépasse son etre' ('that toward which a being surpasses its being') or 'le sens et l'au-dela de tout dépassement'27 ('the meaning and the beyond of all surpassing'). The relationship between Brunei and Schneider in the fourth volume, as Murdoch suggests, is the closest any of the characters get to an experience of human companionship, 'un drôle d'amitié'28 ('a funny sort of friendship'). Language, fundamentally constituted in our etre-pour-autrui, is experiential and affective rather than cognitive in the last volume, until the death of Schneider at least. For Brunei, the source of meaning lies beyond himself, in Schneider: 'Autrui est toujours la, présent et éprouvé comme ce qui donne au langage son sens. Chaque expression, chaque geste, chaque mot est, de mon côté, épreuve concrete de la réalité aliénante d'autrui' .29 Communication with the Other is, fleetingly in Drôle d'amitié, the essential mode in which the subject seeks to captivate and assimilate the freedom of the Other in order to effectuate the (impossible) project of founding its own freedom.
Trinity College, Dublin
24	Sartre, J-P„ L'Être et le Néant, 1998, p. 572.
25	Ibid.
26	Ibid., p. 533.
27	Ibid., p. 129.
28	Murdoch, I., Sartre, Romantic Realist, 1980, p. 63.
29	Sartre, J-P., L'Être et le Néant, 1998, p. 414. 'The Other is always there, present and experienced as the one who gives to language its meaning. Each expression, each gesture, each word is on my side a concrete proof of the alienating reality of the Other'.
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90
UDK 821.134.2.091 Cervantes Saavedra M. de:821.111.091 Shakespeare W.
DON QUIJOTE Y HAMLET
Lúdovik B. Osterc
Abstract
El autor del ensayo compara los dos personajes y trata descubrir quién es mayor. Su base de investigación es el contenido de las dos obras, porque en cuanto la forma, las dos obras están más o menos en el mismo nivel artístico.
Con Shakespeare le impresiona su señorío de la expresión justa, el dialogo de Ofelia, lenguaje teatral, verso y la riqueza de su estilo. Con Cervantes le gusta su prosa narrativa (oro derretido), que consiste la complejidad y los distintos aspectos de Don Quijote que se reflejan en su léxico, la polifonía de la novela, su riqueza de estilo y las diversas funciones de los procedimientos del autor.
Despues pasa al cumbre de las obras y se pone questión qué representan los dos protagonistas. Hamlet está loco, es un alucinado que duda de sus propios sentidos. Para él existe sólo un lado negro de la existencia, su único objeto es llegar más pronto al descubrimiento del crimen. Es egocéntrico, ne cree en nada, eternamente mira en su interior, se alimenta en su desprecio de sí mismo y su sufrimiento es mucho más doloroso que aquel de Don Quijote. Don Quijote, al contrario, cree en el hombre y su futuro. Su ideal es implantar por la fuerza, la verdad, el bien y la justicia en la tierra. Para servir a su ideal, está dispuesto a sufrir todas las posibles privaciones. Representa la fe en la verdad. Es ridículo y quizás el más cómico tipo disenado jamás por un literato.
Hamlet es el hijo del rey muerte, mientras que Don Quijote está pobre. Se hace los enemigos imaginarios y lucha contra ellos, mientras que Hamlet no cree en las ilusiones (siempre duda), y tampoco no combatiría si supiera que son sinónimos de opresores.
Continua con la examinación de la actitud del pueblo o sus representantes hacia Don Quijote y Hamlet y viceversa. Polonio es el representante de las multitudes populares ante Hamlet, Sancho lo es ante su señor. El primero es de sano pensamiento y al mismo tiempo un viejo charalatán. Para él Hamlet no es tanto un loco como un nino y le parece inútil para la sociedad. Sancho Pansa está persuadido de que su señor está loco, pero le está leal hasta la muerte. Don Quijote simpatiza profundamente con el pueblo, pero la única persona con la que se entiende verdaderamente es Sancho Pansa (uno no puede vivir sin otro). La actitud de Hamlet es completamente diferente, él desprecia las multitudes populares, porque también desprecia a sí mismo.
En conclusión constata que Hamlet es un apático en el que se inicia una gran enfermedad social: el tedio, el hastio, el descontento de la vida, desorientación espiritual y la eclipse de la fe, mientras que Don Quijote encarna el mundo libre, bien estar y la felicidad de los seres humanos. Por eso y porque es un ideal el más humano, generoso, noble y elevado, el autor del ensayo decide que Don Quijote es la máxima creación de las letras universales de todos los tiempos y todos los pueblos.
Las obras cimeras del arte tienen el privilegio de sobrevivir, so sólo a los hombres y a los pueblos, sino a las culturas que les engendraron; más aún, tienen la ventaja de
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representar, asumir y sostituir a las culturas que las produjeron. Así, de naciones desaparecidas, civilizaciones y épocas históricas borradas de la faz de la tierra, quedan en pie, incólumes y perennes, hijos de la mente humana fucundada por el genio, mitos de arte de los que condensan, en la victoriosa eternidad de un símbolo, toda una edad del Mundo: un emblema de nuestra aspiración insaciable, un augurio de nuestro destino perdurable. Tan excelso tan asombroso es el milagro de la oración estética, que la consciencia humana; desde las edades más remotas, le otorgó la eternidad y prendió la auréola de la gloria en torno a la frente de los magnos creadores.
En las épocas antiguas, esos hijos de la mente y de la inspiración fueron dioses; ! diosos creados por el hombre ! Pero, los creadores de esos excelsos mitos de arte que resisten al paso de los siglos, más erguidos qie las cordilleras milenarias, son tan pocos, que casi pueden contarse por los dedos de un mano. Dicho de otro modo, los dioses que en la voluptuosa Grecia eran divinizaciones de la plástica hermosura de la carne y de los pecados de los hombres, no podían aspirar a más eternidad que a la de la belleza de la forma, y por ella sola sobreviven rientes y vacíos de epíritu.
En la antigüedad clásica los dioses y los demás seres de su mitología como las Ninfas o los Centauros, más bien representaban formas abstractas o semi-abstractas de la naturaleza o fuerzas de esta naturaleza, aspesctos bastante simplificados. No porque el espíritu griego fuese simplista ni mucho menos, sino al contrario, por su capacidad de abstracción y además, por una tendencia intelectualista que tenía la mente griega, y a la que debemos la raíz de la cultura occidental.
Pero cuando comparamos estos seres del Olimpo clásico greco-romano con los del Olimpo eropeo, notamos una considerable diferencia. Europa ha creado en su literatura, en sus artes, figuras moldeadas sobre los seres humanos corrientes, pero engradeciéndolos de una manera especial, es decir, dotándolos de un mundo espiritual y de ideas extraordinarios. A estos seres debe quizás Europa su mayor influjo en el mundo, ya que el influjo de las ideas abstractas no es tan fuerte como el de estas ideas, cuando aparecen encarnadas en seres concretos.
Las grandes figuras del Olimpo europeo, a mi modo de ver, son estos grandes personajes de la novelística y de la dramaturgia europeas: Fausto, Hamlet, Don Quijote, Sancho Pansa, Iván Karamázofy desde luego Don Juan. - Cumple hacer observar, (ya en principio de esta charla), que en nuestra galería de grandes tipos literarios europeos, figura espana de una manera excepcional. Si se reducen, verbigracia, por eliminación de los menos importantes, a cuatro los grandes protagonistas creados por Europa, se encontrará que hay dos españoles. Creo que nadie disputará que las quatro figuras más eminentes de la literatura europea son Hamlet, Fausto, Don Juan y Don Quijote. Y si restringimos todavía más el número de ellos, nos quedamos con sólo dos, es decir, con Hamlet y Don Quijote. ? cuál de los dos es la figura máxima?
Para poder contestar esta pregunta, procedamos a la comparación de ambas! Tanto Hamlet como la primera parte del Quijote aparecieron en el mismo ano, a comienzos del siglo XVII. Esta coincidencia me parece significativa. El parangó de estas dos obras maestras sugiere, por consiguiente, una serie de ideas.
Algunas de estas ideas puede ser que nos extranen, por ser poco corriente, pero la peculiar ventaja de las grandes obras poéticas consiste en que el genio de sus creadores les infundió vida inmortal, en que las opiniones sobre ellas, como sobre la vida en
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general, pueden ser muy diferentes. E inclusive contradictorias, pero de nunguna manera por igual justas. ! Cuántos comentarios se ha escrito sobre Hamlet y a qué diferentes conclusiones ha llevado el estudio de Don Quijote!
Sin embargo, como no hay dos soles, así no hay dos verdades, sino una sola. No pretendo, claro está, monopolizar dicha verdad por ser ésta relativa y no absoluta, pero sí quiero llamar su atención a los aspactos fundamentales de ambas obras y sus protagonistas: su contenido y su forma. Antes debo aclarar que me detendré mucho más en el contenido que en la forma, no sólo por ser aquél más impórtente que ésta, sino además, porque en la opinión de una gran parte de los críticos y hombres de letras ambas joyas literarias están más o menos al mismo nivel artístico.
Tanto Shakespeare como Cervantes usaron vocabularios por todo extremo extenso. Ambos poseen una fantasía exuberante, inmensa riqueza de recursos lingüísticos y literarios, brillantez de la más elevada poesía, profundidad y amplitud de la mente. La humanidad entera parece estar bajo al poder de los genios literarios. La poesía de Cervantes no es la poesía de Shakespeare, que asemeja a veces a un mar borrascoso, agitado por la furia de las pasiones humanas; su poesía es un río largo y profundo que corre tranquilo entre variadas orillas, y el lector, astraído por las olas cristalinas de este río se entrega con gozo a la épica de su corriente serena.
Lo que más impresiona en Shakespeare, es su señorío de la expresión justa. Su verso se reviste de piedras preciosas y se adorna de galanura incomparable. Su verbo no sólo se enjoya de pedrería, sino que esa exuberancia le sirve para ser asombrosamente exacto. Shakespeare dispara una tras otra sus andanadas tremendas y da siempre en el blanco. El mayor relieve de sus frases se concilia siempre con la más absoluta perfección. Y aún acierta dos veces, pues además y en todo momento , su lenguaje es ejemplo de lenguaje dramático, teatral. En el poeta inglés todo sucede por lo común frente al espectador, para quien logra expresar, al lado de lo más truculento y espectacular, lo más imponderable de los más ocultos estados de ánimo. No hay nada que no pueda transmitir con su falible instrumento escénico. En las partes no esenciales de la acción se admira la naturalidad de la expresión, que además retrata a cada personaje.
Se saborea espacialmente el dialogo de Ofelia. Todo cuanto ella dice en sus primeros diálogos con el padre, con su hermano Laertes y con el mismo Hamlet, describen y dan toda la gracia de esta adolescente, ingeniosa, de encantadora finura mental, limitada en su expresión por el papel de la mujer en la vida familiar; pero que de todos modos deja entrever su integridad, su carácter y también su indomable alegría juvenil, su picardía, su deseo de reír hasta tanto la vida no la ensombrece. Cuando Hamlet le hostiga con sus salidas, ella encuentra asimismo el tono justo que pone distancia y la protege sin abandonar por ello gracia y desenvoltura.
También en Hamlet se encuentran a veces hechos que no se ven, y entonces puede igualmente admirarse la fuerza de expresión de su lenguaje teatral. Veamos sólo un ejemplo: cuando en el cuarto acto la multitud amenaza el castillo del rey, un mensajero le anuncia: "Salvaos señor. El océano saltanio por encima de que diques no devora la tierra con más ímpetu que el que lleva el joven Leartes, cabeza de una airada turba y arrollando a vuestras gentes."
Se dirá, y no sin razón, que tiene poco sentido citar a Shakespeare en español. Pero precisamente quiero decir que Shakespeare sigue siéndolo aún en las peores
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traducciones a qualquier idioma. El verso y la riqueza de su estilo nos dicen que su grandeza es accesible a todos los pueblos en todas las lenguas.
Más, si Shakespeare domina a la perfección el verso, Cervantes no le va a la zaga en prosa con todos sus matices y variantes, propios de la época y de los personajes de la magna novela. La lengua española, dice Sbarbi1 resume en sí los términos más opuestos y nuestra nación es naturalmente inclinada a que el escritor emplee y combine tantos tonos en sus producciones. Nunca escritor alguno a obedecido a esa propensión, ni aprovechándose de semejantes recursos, con el acierto y superioridad que lo hiciera Cervantes. Rústico en el Cabrero, cortesano en Lotario Anselmo, rimbombante y ampuloso en la Dueña Dolorida, épico en el relato del desencanto de Dulcinea, popular y lleno de refranes en Sancho, picaresco en los galeaotes, noble y majestuoso en Don Quijote, ha sabido recorrer su autor todos los tonos de la escala del idioma castellano, siendo, por último arcaico también en el protagonista. La prosa narrativa de Cervantes es oro derretido, que fluye rutilante sonoro, reflejando todas esas cualidades de su corazón, de su fantasía, de su género. Las aventuras de Sierra Morena nos ofrecen un ejemplo típico de ella: dos hombres, dos mujeres, dos parejas, linajuda la una, más o menos plebeya la otra, se cruzan en sus pasiones amorosas, presentándonos los tipos de la ciudad y de aldea, de las gentes de abolengo y las gentes labradoras, con un enredo y un desenlace admirablamente dispuesto y felizmente tratados con la acción principal de las andanzas quijotescas. Cardenio es noble cordobés, elegante, cortés y poeta de raza. Su carta es un modelo de atildada y exquisita elegancia, de fino torneado, que recuerda el estilo simétrico y antitético de los sofistas y retoricos atenienses: "tu falsa promesa y mi cierta desventura me llevan a parte donde antes volverán a tus oidos las nuevas de mi muerte que las razones de mis quejas. Desechásteme, !oh! ingrata por quien tiene más, no por quien vale más que yo, más si la virtud fuera riqueza que se estimara, no envidiaría yo dichas ajenas ni llorara desdichas propias. Lo que levanto tu hermosura han derribado tus obras; por ella,entendí que eras ángel y por ellas conozco que eres mujer."2
La complejidad y los distintos aspectos de la figura de Don Quijote se reflejan también en su léxico. Por un lado, don Quijote es un imitador de los personajes de las novelas de caballerías. De ahila grandilocuencia y el énfasis que a veces aparecen en su lenguaje. Por otro lado, el caballero andante es el portavoz de las ideas humanistas del propio Cervantes y de ahí la excelsa poesía de su verbo, como son por ejemplo los discursos sobre la Edad de oro y sobre la guerra y la paz. Al propio tiempo , Don Quijote habita en una aldea y está en constante relación con el pueblo. De ahí el lenguaje popular que irrumpe imperiosamente en su torrente de palabras. Es interesante observar cómo, gracias a la convivencia de don Quijote y Sancho Pansa, se produce paulatinamente una interpenetración de sus modos de expresión: el habla de D. Quijote se "sanchifica", en tanto que la de Sancho se "quijotiza". Cabe señalar, además, la polifonía de la novela, su riqueza del estilo y de las diversas funciones de los procedimientos del autor. Por ejemplo, los arcaísmos sirven en distintos casos a Cervantes para diferentes fines: los utiliza en el plano puramente periódico, para conseguir un efecto cómico adicional o para expesar la mentalidad del protagonista.
1	El Refranero General Español, VI.
2	Cejador y Frauca, J.. La lengua de Cervantes. Introducción.
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He aquí un ejemplo de estilo periódico con fines burlescos: "los altos cielos que de vuestra divinidad divinamente con las estrellas os fortifican, y os hacen mercedora del merecimiento que merece la vuestra grandeza."
Pasemos ahora, al aspecto principal de las dos creaciones - cumbre, es decir, el aspecto de su contenido. ?qué representan los dos protagonistas? El notable crítico italiano, Giulio NAVONE, los caracteriza muy bien. Oigamos sus palabras:" Ámleto e un anomalo, un degenerato superiore e, per via de raffironto, puo venire considérate nell'arte como il prototipo d'una specie d'uomini, opposta ad un'altra specie, della quale, anche nell'arte, e prototipo don Chisciotte."3 Dicho en otras palabras: "Estos dos protagonistas representan dos tipos diametralmente opuestos de la naturaleza humana. Encontramos que todos los hombres partenecen, en mayor o menor grado, a uno de estos dos tipos: que cada uno de nosotros tiende bien hacia Don Quijote o bien hacia Hamlet."
Hamlet no aparenta su locura a tal grado que el hidalgo manchego. La aparición de la sombra de su padre, que comienza el drama y es la causa impulsora de todas las acciones del héroe resulta vista por varios otros antes del príncipe, y no puede, por consiguiente, tomarse como una alucinación. Aunque para aquellos que no conocen las revelaciones hechas a Hamlet por el espectro del rey sobre las trágicas circunstancias de su muerte, el prinipe es un loco, para él y su amigo Horacio su fingida locura tiene por único objeto llegar más pronto al descubrimiento del crimen. Tan lejos está Hamlet de ser un alucinado que duda de sus propios sentidos y de las palabras del difunto rey, tratando de buscar por otros medios comprobaciones de carácter más positivo que la mera afirmación de un fantasma. El terrible golpe mortal que recibe en la flor de sus anos lo convierte en melancólico y pesimista. No existe para Hamlet sino el lado negro de la existencia; para él ha terminado el amor cuando debía empezar; para él ya no hay alegrías en plena juventud; y como en su propia madre ha descubierto la bestia humana, hombres y mujeres inspíranle asco igual y desprecio de la vida, que considera como un paso horrible hacia la región inconmesurable y misteriosa de las sombras.
Hamlet es, por tanto, un formidable egocéntrico. Hamlet ni cree en nadie, excepto en sí mismo, y el creer sólo en sí es el medio seguro de no creer en nada. Quien hace de su "yo" el centro del universo y su única fe sin horizontes eternos ni apoyos afectivos, siéntese perdido como leve centella en la noche infinita: su ser, fugitivo momento entre dos nadas, es menos que la sobra de una sombra. "To be or not to be...", "ser o no ser, he aquí el problema." A quien empieza por durar si existe, ?qué le importa lo demás? La visión de su padre le ordena vengar su muerte. Pero... ?vio de verdad el espectro?
Más este "yo" en el que Hamlet mismo no cree, le es muy entrañable. Este es el punto de partida hacia el que el príncipe danés vuelve sin cesar, porque nada encuentra en el mundo que pueda ser querido por él con toda su alma. Es escéptico y constantemente se inquieta y se agita dentro de sí. Se encuentra permanentemente preocupado, no por su deber, sino por su posición. Toda la energía espiritual de Hamlet se disipa en cavilaciones, se evapora en caliginosas dudas, se disluye en palabras. Duda de todo, la tierra falta a sus pies, y el punto de apoyo su voluntad, y dudando de
3 Amleto e Don Chisciotte. P. 11.
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todo, no se perdona a sí mismo; su mente está demasiado desarrollada para satisfacerse con lo que halla dentro de sí, comprende su débil y nosotros sabemos que en toda autocomprensión hay una peqena fuerza. De aquí e?mana su ironía. Hamlet se deleita criticándose a sí mismo en demasía; continuamente se está observando; eternamente mira en su interior; él conoce hasta los mini detalles de sus defectos; se desprecia a sí mismo, y a vez puede decirse que ve, se alimenta de este desprecio. No cree en sí mismo y es vanidoso; no sabe que quiere y para qué vive, y está encadenado a la vida... "!Oh, Dios, Dios! Exclama él en la segunda escena del primer acto.! si tú, Juez de los cielos y la tierra no hubieras prohibido el pecado del suicidio!... !qué banal, vacía, superficial y miséra me parece la vida!" pero él no sacrifica esta vida superficial y vacía; él está sonando con el suicidio aún antes de la aparición de la sombra de su padre; antes de aquel terrible mandato que definitivamente destruye su ya quebrantada voluntad...; sin embargo, él no se mata. Su amor a la vida se refleja en estos mismos anhelos de muerte. Más, no seamos demasiado severos con Hamlet; el sufre y su sufrimiento es más doloroso y acerbo que los sufrimientos de Don Quijote. A esté le pegan los duros mozos de muías, arrieros y pastores. Hamlet se asesta a sí mismo heridas, él mismo se lacera; y en sus manos hay también una espada: la aguda espada de los filos del análisis. Pero, !qué contraste tan grande con el casi infantil optimismo del hidalgo español!
Para Don Quijote, vivir sólo para sí, preocuparse sólo de sí mismo, sería vergonzoso. Todo él vive- si cabe la expresión- fuera de sí, para los demás, para sus prójimos, para el aniquilamiento del mal, para oponerse a las fuerzas enemigas de la humanidad- hechiceros y gigantas,- es decir, los opresores y explotadoras. En él no hay huella alguna de egoísmo, él no se preocupa por sí, él es todo sacrificio, entrega y abnnegación-; él cree, cree firmamente y sin reservas, cree en el hombre y su futuro. De aquí proviene el que para D. Quijote miedo no exista, que sea sufrido, que se satisfaga con el escaso alimenteo, con la ropa más pobre. Todo esto a él no importa. Don Quijote está por entero penetrado de lealtad a su ideal y, para servir a ese ideal, está dispuesto a sufrir todas las posibles privaciones; a sacrificar la vida. Él estima su propia vida sólo en la medida que ella puede servir como medio para la realización de su ideal. ?Y cuál es su ideal? Él mismo lo define: "Sancho amigo, has de saber que yo nací, por querer del cielo; en esta nuestra edad de hierro, para resucitar en ella la del oro, o la dorada, como suele llamarase."4 (1,20) Su ideal consiste, por consiguiente, en implantar por la fuerza, la verdad, el bien y la justicia en la tierra.
Don Quijote representa, en consecuencia y ante todo la fe, la fe en algo eterno, inmutable y puro. En otras palabras, la fe en la verdad, que encontrándose fuera del individuo, no se le entrega fácilmente, exige de él servidumbre y sacrificio; la fe en la verdad, que es accesible por medio de la constancia en el servicio y por medio de la fuerza del sacrificio. Humilde de corazón tiene un espíritu grande y audaz; su piedad conmovedora no limita su libertad: ajeno a la vanidades, él no duda de sí, de su vocación, ni siquiera de sus fuerzas físicas:su voluntad es inflexible. Como un árbol secular, clavó profundas raíces en e?, y no es capaz de cambiar sus convicciones para nada del mundo. El caballero andante es el sujeto más moral del orbe. Y precisamente esta
4 Tbrguenief: Hamlet y Don Quijote.
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formidable firmeza moral confiere una fuerza especial y una grandeza excepcional a todas sus razones y discursos a toda su figura, a pesar de las situaciones cómicas y deprimentes en las que cae sin cesar... Don Quijote es un entusiasta al servicio de una idea y por ello está iluminado por el nimbo de esa idea.
Como figura periódica, Don Quijote es ridículo. Su figura quizás sea el más cómico tipo disenado jamás por un literato. A su solo recuerdo surge en nosotros la magra silueta angulosa, su cara de nariz aguilena, su esquéleto revestido de una caricaturesca armadura, montando en la flaca osamenta del pobre, siempre hambriente y golpeado Rocinante. Pero esta misma ridiculez del paladín de los menesterosos y oprimidos nos inspira simpatía y compasión. Por el contrario, el exterior de Hamlet atrás. Su melancolía, su pálida aunque no seca figura, su negra vestimenta de terciopelo, pluma en el sombrero, elegantes modales, indudable poesía en sus discursos, sus agudas ironías, todo en él nos agrada; todo nos atrae. De Hamlet nadie piensa en reírse; y precisamente en esto está su fatalidad, ya que amarle es imposible; sólo hombres como Horacio pueden querer a Hamlet.
Continuemos nuestra comparación. Hamlet es el hijo de un rey muerto por un hermano, usurpador del trono; su padre sale de la tumba para recomendarle su venganza, pero Hamlet titubea, trata de enganarse a sí mismo, siente placer en injuriarse y por fin mata a su pedrastro por causualidad. Profundo rasgo psicológico éste por el cual muchos, incluso personas inteligentes, se atraven a juzgar a Shakespeare. Don Quijote, empero, hombre pobre, sin medios ni relaciones, viejo soltero se impone el deber de enderezar entuertos y defender a los débiles en toda la superficie de la tierra. !Qué importa que su primer intento de liberar de opresores a inocentes caiga caiga caiga como una doble desgracia sobre el mismo inocente.! !Qué importa que pensando habérselas con peligrosos gigantes, Don Quijote cargue contra los molinos de viento! ... !Ló importante es luchar sin tregua ni descanso! La envoltura cómica de estas imágenes no debe desviar nuestra mirada del sentido en ella oculto. Si él que se arriezga en algo pensara primero, calculara y sopesará todas las consecuencias, todas las probabilidades en pro o en contra de su intento, no sería capaz de llegar a ninguna parte. Con Hamlet no puede suceder nada semejante; no es para él caer en tan simple equivocación. No, él no combatiría con los molinos de viento, él no cree en los gigantes... pero tampoco los atacaría si supiera que son sinónimos de opresores...
Examinemos ahora la actutud del pueblo o sus representantes hacia Don Quijote y Hamlet, y viceversa.
Polonio es el representante de las muultitudes populares ante Hamlet, Sancho Pansa lo es ante su Señor.
Polonio es activo, práctico, de sano pensamiento, aunque al mismo tiempo sea un viejo charlatán. Es un perfecto administrador, un padre modelo. Recordemos sus instrucciones a su hijo Laertes cuando éste marcha a arís; son instrucciones que pueden competir en sabiduría con los consejos de Don Quijote impartidos a Sancho Gobernador. Para Polonio, Hamlet no es tanto loco como un nino, y si no fuera hijo del rey, lo despreciaría, por su inutilidad, por lo imposible que es para la sociedad sacar provecho práctico y positivo de sus ideas. El chambelán no cree en Hamlet y tiene razón. Los Hamlet son inútiles para los pueblos; ellos no les ofrecen ni dan nada, ellos no los pueden conducir a ningún sitio, porque ellos mismos no van a ninguna parte.
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Un cuadro del todo diferente nos ofrece Sancho Panza. Está persuadido de que su señor está loco, pero por tres veces abandona su lugar, su casa y su familia, para ir tras su amo, lo sigue por todas partes, sufre toda clase de contrariedades. Leal hasta la muerte, cree en él, se enorgullece de él y solloza junto al pobre lecho donde agoniza su señor. Esperanza de ganancias, de mejores ventajes, con esto no se puede explicar su lealtad; en Sancho Panza hay demasiado buen sentido, sabe muy bien que excepto palizas, el escudero de un caballero andante apenas nada puede esperar. La causa de su lealtad se debe buscar más adentro. Ella está arraigada en su capacidad de desinteresado entusiasmo, de desprecio a las ventajas personales, lo que para el hombre del pueblo casi equivale al desprecio del pan cotidiano. Condición grande, universalmente histórica. Las masas populares terminan siempre siguiendo sin reservas, confiadas a aquellas individualidades de las que ellos mismos se burlaron alguna vez; a las que maldijeron y persiguieron, pero las cuales, no temiendo ni persecuciones ni maldiciones, no temiendo siquiera las burlas, marchan sin vacilar hacia delante y fijos los ojos de su espíritu en metas que sólo ellas ven, buscan, caen, se levantan y por fin hallan.
En su calidad de heraldo de las ideas humanísticas y como luchador por un mundo mejor y más feliz, Don Quijote simpatiza profundamente con el pueblo, sus problemas y dificultades. Por ello, el caballero andante no se entiende con el Cura, ni con el ama ni con la sobrina. Tampoco se entiende con Sansón Carrasco y menos con los duques, o sea con la aristocracia, en la que parece poner menos ilusiones. Con quien realmente se entiende don Quijote es con Sancho Panza, es decir, con el pueblo auténtico. Es cierto que el caballero andante se anoja con facilidad y subírsele la sangre a la cabeza, le acomoda un? De lanzazos que lo desarticulan a Sáncho, sobre todo si lo ha incitado a olvidar a Dulcinea. Más entenderse no significa vivir en una paz celestial. El acuerdo y el entendimiento no pueden ser pacíficos y hasta tormentos, pero la cosa está en que uno no puede vivir sin el otro. Así nacieron en la concepción de Cervantes y así fueron proyectados sobre el mundo. Sancho Panza es la autenticidad del pueblo frente a la integridad y nobleza del corazón de su amo, el caballero andante.
Por completo distinta es la actitud de Hamlet hacia su pueblo. El príncipe desprecia a las multitudes populares. Y no es extraño: quien a sí mismo no se respeta, ?a quién puede respetar? Hamlet pensará: ?y marece acaso la pena de ocuparme de las masas, tan rudas y tan sucias? Y Hamlet es aristócrata no sólo por nacimiento.
En conclusión, Hamlet no es un hermano de RICARDO III, de OTELO; no encarna una pasión, no lo mueven el brío y el arrebato que impulsan la acción. Hamlet es un apatico, un caviloso, la antítesis de toda acción. Con todo, Hamlet es un titá psicológoco, un gigante de la dramaturgia universal, en quien alienta todo un pueblo y toda una época, y en quien se inicia una gran enfermedad social: el tedio, el hastío, el descontento de la vida, desorientación espiritual, el eclipse de la fe.
Y, !cuál diferente es Don Quijote! El hidalgo manchego es un semejante inmortal que convive con todos los hijos de los hombres. Con su lanza y espada, así como con su palabra lucha infatigablemente para restablecer una nueva edad de oro, un mundo libre de toda opresión y explotación donde triunfarían la libertad, bienestar y la felicidad de todos los seres humanos. En su lucha no se detiene ante nada, no tiene miedo ni a
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los gigantes ni a los encantadores, su fe es inextingible y su voluntad inquebrantable, su optimismo inacacable y su furia implacable.
?Puede haber un ideal más humano, más generoso, más noble y más elevado? La respuesta es inequívoca: !NO! Por ello, considero que EL INGENIOSO HIDALGO DON QUIJOTE DE LA MANCHA es la máxima creación literaria jamás salida de una pluma genial, la máxima obra maestra de las letras universales de todos los tiempos y de todos los pueblos. ?qué figura poética interesó, conmovió, ejemplarizó de tal modo a generaciones humanas? ? qué coloso literario sugirió tantas ideas a la Humanidad, suscitó tantas corrientes te simpatía entre los pueblos? La respuesta es obvia: ninguno. Partenece a la humanidad entera, pero siendo excelsamente humano, es integramente español; y en él parvive el símbolo y la gloria de la nación y la dulce lengua españolas.
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
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UDK 808.5
ENJAMBMENT AND ITS REALISATION(S) IN SPEECH
Nada Groselj
Abstract
With regard to the question how enjambment should be rendered in the recitation of poetry, three conflicting approaches may be identified: continuing into the next line without marking the line-ending at all; making a break in the intonation and rhythm at the line-ending; and finally, acknowledging the line-ending by merely introducing a short pause without any intonation changes. Each of these renditions has different consequences for the listener's perception of the text. This paper reviews the three approaches and their implications, concluding that the most important criterion for the preference of one approach over another is the type of verse (free vs. metrical) in a given text.
Introduction
The definitions of enjambment as given by literary theoreticians and linguists, of both English and Slovenian background, correspond or at least complement each other in describing it as lack of congruity between a verse line on the one hand and a grammatical unit (and thus the expected logical flow of thought) on the other. Differences of opinion arise, however, with regard to its influence on verse rhythm and intonation. The levels of language being interlinked, different realisations of the su-pra-segmentals in their turn also affect the implications of enjambment for the other levels, such as the logical flow of thought and the information structure of the poetic text, as well as a possible emphasis and expansion of meaning in the words foregrounded by this device. Differences in its interpretation and realisation thus establish different sets of relationships between the levels of language and have a bearing on the interpretation of its overall effect.
The aim of this paper is to provide a survey of select approaches to the realisation of line transitions in speech. These are divided into approaches rejecting any pause between enjambed lines and those in favour of it; the latter are again subdivided into those which advocate making the pause an intonation unit boundary as well, those which favour retaining the logical intonation, and those which leave the intonation
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issue unaddressed. Note is also taken of whether the approaches are formed with metrical or free verse in mind. The last sections consist of an interpretation of the differences in the function and poetic effect entailed by the different realisations. The paper concludes that the realisation depends on the type of verse: while a pause (although not necessarily an intonation unit boundary) at the end of an enjambed line is indispensable in free verse, a regular metrical scheme allows for greater versatility of interpretation.
1. Definitions of enjambment
Definitions of enjambment may be divided into those including the division of a word, phrase, or clause along phrasal boundaries; those limited to the division of a phrase or clause along phrasal boundaries; and, finally, those limited to the division of a word or phrase. The last-mentioned restriction is proposed by Bjelcevic, whose discussion is based on the Polish theory of free verse propounded by Dorota Urbanska. Enjambment at word level is not the concern of this paper, as it is often intended as a visual device only and thus irrelevant to the issue of spoken realisation; the theory set forth by Bjelcevic, however, still has a bearing on the topic because of its treatment of enjambment at phrase level, and will thus be presented in some detail.
According to this theory, a typology of free verse can be established according to the type of congruity between verse lines and syntactic units which predominates in a given text; the categories yielded by this analysis are the syntactic (further divided into the "sentential" - although "clausal" would be a more appropriate term - and syntagmatic type) and the antisyntactic free verse. The sentential type is characterised by the convergence of clause/sentence and line borders, the syntagmatic by the convergence of line borders and the borders of syntagms (i.e. phrases), which include clause/sentence borders as well, and the antisyntactic type by the occurrence of line borders within phrases or within words - i.e. where no syntactic borders are present (cf. e.g. "Svobodni verz II: Lastnosti sistema" 31). It is only the last type that is said to be founded on enjambment (cf. 31; 39; also "Slovenski svobodni verz prve tretjine 20. stoletja" 110), while the divisions along syntagms or phrases are perceived as running along syntactic boundaries, albeit weak ones. Indeed, the autonomy of syntagms is established to the extent that they are described as separate units not only of syntax and meaning but even of intonation ("SVII" 38). This represents an absolute exception in my selection of authors discussing enjambment since the others equate a typical unit of intonation with a clause; there are also deviations from this rule, however, and the corresponding implications for the concept of enjambment are discussed below. Bjelcevic, then, subsumes under antisyntactic verse - and under enjambment -the division of words ("SV II" 31; 39) and phrases, but excludes the division of a clause along phrasal boundaries, which is described in Leech as "[t]he most common and least startling form of enjambment" (125).
Although the relative syntactic, semantic and intonatiorial independence ascribed to syntagms or phrases in this theory is extreme, the concept of enjambment as limited to instances where a line boundary is placed within what would normally constitute
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one intonation unit emerges in other authors as well. It may already be implicit in Gray's definition, which reads: "... the sentence continues into the next line without any pause being necessary to clarify the grammar, and therefore without any punctuation mark" (101); it certainly is emphasised in Leech: "We may describe enjambment as the placing of a line boundary where a deliberate pause, according to grammatical and phonological considerations, would be abnormal; that is, at a point where a break between intonation patterns is not ordinarily permitted" (125). Thus the concept of what qualifies as enjambment depends also on the phonological system of a given language.
2. Differences between English and Slovenian
In the case of English and Slovenian, there is consequently some discrepancy in the actual application of the term despite the generally corresponding definitions, which stems from the differences between the two phonological systems and is possibly reinforced by the punctuation conventions (which, of course, at least partly reflect the former). Since there are some clause structures in English where one part is normally realised as a separate intonation unit, a line boundary occurring in such a place would not count as enjambment. One such example is the place after an initial adverbial phrase (Leech 125), which is often separated from the rest of the clause in writing (i.e. by a comma) as well; in fact, Leech recommends identifying enjambment by the absence of punctuation. This intonational separation of the initial adverbial phrase is a rule in English - although a clause typically represents one unit of information and is thus realised as one unit of intonation, it is split into two or more intonation units when it is either very long (exceeding five stresses) or contains a certain deviation from the basic structure, such as a clause element other than the subject in the initial (theme) position (cf. Tench 34-37).
In Slovenian, on the other hand, a clause-initial adverbial phrase is not necessarily separated in speech from the rest of the clause, either rhythmically or intonationally, and it is always against the punctuation conventions to separate it with a comma in writing. While it might be given an intonation unit of its own for the sake of rhythm -according to Toporišič, rhythmically motivated segmentation1 is used in Slovenian and often occurs precisely along the theme/rheme boundary (538) - this is presented as a general option in Toporišič and not as a rule for this particular structure, as it is in Tench. Moreover, awareness of such phonological options is likely to be suppressed by the more rigid Slovenian punctuation conventions. Prešeren's lines "po moiji, po razjasnjenem azuri / kraljuje mir, potihne šum viharja -" are accordingly analysed as an enjambment (Stabej 80-81), while they would, at least according to Leech's definition, not qualify as such in English. Thus the application of the seemingly identical definitions may vary across languages.
1 In the context of phonology, the word "segmentation" ("segmentacija") is used in Toporišič for the division of discourse by pauses, and "segment" for a stretch of discourse between two pauses (534 et passim). As each segment is said to have its own intonation, "segmentation" as used in Toporišič in principle corresponds to "tonality", or the division of discourse into intonation units (used e.g. in Tench).
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3. The spoken realisation of ei\jambed lines
The relative consensus (at least in principle) about the relation between verse lines and grammar is contrasted by the discrepancy of views on the pronunciation. The effect of enjambment is to run counter to the reader's syntactic and semantic expectations because, as pointed out by Stabej, a line is characterised precisely by a relative syntactic and semantic independence, even to the extent that line-initial words used to be capitalised (78, n. 4). As a self-contained item of information, most commonly a clause, a single line would thus be expected to represent a single intonation unit as well; indeed, intonation independence is mentioned by Stabej in the same note, and according to Halliday, the line in poetry is "the metric analogue of the tone group [intonation unit]. In origin, one line of verse corresponded to one tone group of natural speech" (10). Thus a problem might be expected to arise not only in the case of line boundary transitions but also in the case of another deviation, which often - though not necessarily - accompanies enjambment: a clause ending in the middle of a line. This, however, is not the case: the latter is universally interpreted as followed by a pause or even an intonation boundary, and it is only the transitions of line boundaries that give rise to conflicting interpretations.
The controversy about the pronunciation of the line ending is summarised in both of Falganel's articles, "Verzni prestop v sonetu" and "Verzni prestop v drami Voranc Daneta Zajca". One extreme is to avoid making a pause altogether, the other to introduce not only a pause but also a rising tune signalling non-finality, and the compromise suggested by Faganel ("Sonet" 69; "Voranc" 99) is to insert a pause but retain the uninterrupted, logical intonation structure. The last possibility, however, appears to be somewhat problematic with regard to the theory propounded by other Slovenian authors, although it is well attested by the sources treating the English language. These acknowledge that a pause may occur within the phonological foot (which begins with a stressed syllable and runs through the subsequent unstressed syllables up to the next stress or pause, cf. e.g. Leech 106 for English and - identically - Toporišič 545 for Slovenian) or the intonation unit without breaking up the latter. The phonological type of analysis is then applied to poetry as well, breaking up metrical lines according to phonological feet with their logical stresses; it explains the seeming irregularities with the presence of pauses natural to spoken English, which may even represent stressed syllables or one to two entire feet (for the "silent stress" see Cummings and Simmons 46-47; Halliday 9; Leech 107-108).2
By contrast, neither Toporišič nor Podbevšek in her reading of Dragotin Kette's poem "Na trgu" seem to acknowledge this possibility for Slovenian. Podbevšek actu-
2 Cf. the prosodic analysis of Robert Frost's poem "Acquainted with the Night" by Cummings and Simmons (48), where line-medial pauses or silent stresses often occur in the middle of intonation units. Cummings and Simmons start their analysis with the traditional, metrical approach, but soon switch to the alternative, phonologically based one. The fact that many pauses occur independently of intonation unit boundaries is brought to attention also by Wichmann and Knowles, and their list of instances where the insertion of pauses into tunes is motivated by the text itself specifically includes the reading of poetry: "Skilled readers of verse may use a temporal discontinuity [i.e. a pause] within a continuing melodic unit to accommodate conflicting demands of speech rhythm and verse metre" (223-224).
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ally discounts it in three places, the first being the observation that intonation and pauses never occur independently of each other (21). The second describes a pause as always flanked by intonation units or following a final intonation unit, thus equating it with an intonation boundary (23). The third passage deals specifically with enjamb-ment and recommends trying to convey the line organisation when reading, despite the lack of a syntactic break; this view is explained by the fundamental role of enjamb-ment, which is always to highlight, phonetically and semantically, the part following the pause and the rising tune (25). Podbevšek thus evidently belongs to the school of thought criticised by Faganel for advocating not only a pause but also a rise in intonation.
Toporišič, on the other hand, likewise stresses that "segments", i.e. stretches of discourse between two pauses, always have intonation of their own (547), which suggests that a pause would automatically initiate a new intonation unit. However, his theory does provide for one exception, which is comparable to enjambment in involving pauses certainly not employed in order to change the structure of the message, although it is more drastic. This is the separate pronunciation of words as in dictation or stuttering. Such semantically incomplete "segments" are noted to be exceptional in consisting of the pre-tonic segment only and lacking the tonic segment (550; 551), which is normally the indispensable part of any intonation unit (547). The diagrams in Toporišič (550) show a realisation similar to that proposed in Faganel: a clause (i.e. a logical/grammatical unit) is represented as a stretch of discourse divided by pauses but covered by a single, fairly even, falling intonation contour, with no changes in pitch occurring at the breaks. The realisation of such sequences as presented in Toporišič thus has parallels with Faganel's suggestions for enjambment; the discrepancy between the two statements (i.e. that pauses can be inserted without affecting the intonation structure on the one hand, and that stretches of discourse between pauses always have their own intonation on the other) is partly bridged by the fact that - in certain cases - Toporišič allows even a tonic-less unit to qualify as an "intonation" unit. Yet the fact remains that the items of discourse associated with this realisation in Toporišič are limited to two rather extreme categories. A possible conclusion is that, while the possibility of pauses without a change of the intonation structure is amply testified by English-speaking linguists for their language, it exists in Slovenian as well, but is either not so common or less widely acknowledged in theory.
3.1. No pause is made between enjambed lines
The view that there should be no pause is expressed most emphatically by Leech, who actually ridicules the notion of placing pauses at the ends of enjambed lines (124), but it is also to be found in Jurak and Stabej. Leech and Stabej both focus on metrical poetry. The discussion in Leech is restricted to English blank verse (i.e. the unrhymed iambic pentameter); even though the chapter concludes with a reference to free verse, remarking that "[i]t would be instructive... to investigate enjambment... in the work of a poet like T. S. Eliot" (128), the entire argumentation on the subject has
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proceeded from the perspective of metrical verse. Metrical verse (the sonnet) is also the subject of Stabej's study. While prosody is only mentioned in passing, a conception is nevertheless traceable: though the emphasis is on the continuation of the intonation (e.g. 80; 81), Stabej's term "govorno-intonancna enota" ("unit of speech and intonation") appears to subsume rhythm and thus posit its continuation as well. This view is implied also in the notion that enjambment can quicken the pace (81), such an effect only being possible if the speaker continues into the next line without a pause. Jurak, on the other hand, speaks of poetry in general when stating that there is no rhetorical pause at the end of the line (220). The possibility of omitting the pause appears to be adopted by Kmecl as well in his definition of the colon, which is described in the glossary (65) as a unit of rhythm in poetry - but especially in prose -delimited by pauses, and further said to correspond to the verse line in poetry, except in cases with enjambment. The obvious conclusion would be that there is no pause in such cases and that the colon continues into the next line. This, however, is rebutted in his discussion of free verse (66) and of pauses and enjambment (78; 80).
3.2. A pause is made between enjambed lines
The views that a pause should be present, on the other hand, may be divided into those assuming a change (typically a rise) in intonation as well (Bjelcevic; Podbevsek; Cummings and Simmons), those in favour of a pause but explicitly against any intonation changes (Faganel), and those referring to a pause but leaving the issue of intonation unaddressed (Kmecl; Gray).
3.2.1. The line ending corresponds to an intonation unit boundary
Intonational independence of verse lines is taken for granted by Bjelcevic, according to whom the distinctive feature of poetry is its double articulation into clauses and verse lines, the latter described as "(intonationally) independent units" ("Svobodni verz I" 258). The coexistence of two intonation structures, one of which includes tunes and intonation boundaries at line endings, is therefore also assumed throughout the discussion of free verse (cf. the remarks on the sentential type in "SV II" 36), although free verse is understood as primarily intended for silent reading (29). The most detailed views on intonation are to be found in the discussion of syntagmatic free verse, which lists its possible line-final tunes (37) and even distinguishes two intonation types of this verse based on its thematic structure (38-39). Indeed, the presence of line-final intonation boundaries, which typically signal the boundaries of meaningful units as well, is even said to create a relative independence, or "syntagmatisation", of individual words or clusters of otherwise unrelated words preceding or following a line ending (38). An example is provided by the following passage from Srecko Kosovel's poem "Sonce se smeje":
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Trdi asketi v jopičih modrih, z mislijo, trdno v bodočnost uprto, in z resignacijo v črnih očeh.... (qtd. ibid.)
As implied by the punctuation, the word "trdno" should be understood as an adverb. However, Bjelčevič notes that the enjambment between the third and fourth lines opens another possible interpretation: "trdno" may come to be associated more closely with the preceding word and thus interpreted as forming a syntagm with it ("misel trdna").
While Bjelčevič focuses on free verse, the poems analysed by Podbevšek, Cummings and Simmons belong to metrical verse. According to Cummings and Simmons, "[traditionally, the ends of lines suggest a pause", which is "enhanced if it coincides with major grammatical boundaries" (47) - i.e., the pause occurs at line endings irrespective of grammar, though it is more emphatic if in harmony with it. Moreover, their analysis of Robert Frost's "Acquainted with the Night" (48) displays a tune at the end of every line, which makes the latter a separate intonation unit; the enjambed lines are marked with a rise, presumably the "moderate rise" said to indicate "something unfinished" in the subsequent discussion of the basic English tunes (49). As mentioned earlier, a rising tune is taken for granted by Podbevšek as well (Podbevšek 25). Cummings and Simmons also mention an alternative rendering, which would assign a falling tune to the enjambed lines. The possibility of not using a tune, on the other hand, is not considered at all.
A strict adherence to this approach is countered by Halliday's observation that intonation may cut across the poetic form (10). With regard to English, the approach as propounded by Cummings and Simmons admits a contrastive comparison with that adopted by Leech. The metre under discussion is the same, i.e. the iambic pentameter, and the linguistic descriptions parallel or complement each other to a certain extent in emphasising the importance of final silent stresses for the pentameter. According to Cummings and Simmons, the poem by Frost mostly contains six stresses per line, and this is achieved through the use of silent stress not only in the middle of the lines (in the place of caesuras), but also at the end of almost every line - or, from a different point of view, at the beginning of the lines that follow. The latter interpretation can be exemplified by the analysis of line 2: "(X) [a silent stress] I have | walked | out in | rain - | (X) and | back in | rain" (48). It is said to reflect the real phonological structure of the lines in terms of their phonological feet: although the lines often appear to begin with several unaccented syllables, the - seemingly lacking - stressed syllable which always initiates the phonological foot is actually present in the form of the final silent stress from the previous line (47).
This explanation is supported and complemented by Leech. He concurs in observing that silent stresses can occur within a line of poetry in the place of caesuras and thus stand for a logical stress which appears to be missing, e.g. for the fifth stress in a pentameter like "Eyeless in | Gdza | a [a silent stress] at the | mill with | slaves"
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(108); moreover, he states as a general rule that a pentameter typically contains a final silent stress, which brings the number of stresses up to six, as in "The | ploughman homeward [ plóds his | wéary | wáy, | a / And | léaves the | world to | dárkness a and to | mé | a" (116). The latter remark is furnished with an explanation: "silent stresses normally intrude themselves at the end of lines with an odd number of accents, but not at the end of those with an even number" (115) because the basic unit of metre is the double "measure" or phonological foot.3 Thus Cummings and Simmons proceed from assumptions similar to those of Leech; the difference of their views on the pause, however, results in the former two upholding the line-final silent stresses or pauses in Frost's poem as responsible for one of the major effects in the poem (4849), whereas Leech suggests that enjambment is most often discussed in connection with the pentameter precisely because a pause is expected but does not occur, with the result that examples in this metre provide good illustrations of the tension or counterpoint typically created by this device (123-124).
3.2.2.	The line-final pause is not accompanied by intonation changes
If the authors discussed above take an intonation break for granted, Faganel is the only one to draw a distinction between making a pause and introducing a new intonation unit. According to him, enjambment entails a pause (though a shorter one than those represented by final punctuation marks),4 but the intonation contour experiences no quick rise or fall, which has the function of linking the language material on both sides of the line boundary ("Voranc" 99). This pronunciation is applied both to metrical verse (e.g. the sonnet) and free verse (e.g. the poetry by Dane Zajc).
3.2.3.	The issue of intonation is not addressed
Finally, the insertion of a pause is acknowledged by Gray, who, however, does not tackle intonation: "... the sentence continues into the next line without any pause being necessary to clarify the grammar ... A skilful poet, however, will use the line-ending to reinforce meaning: consider the way Wordsworth makes use of a pause at the line-endings..." (101). The passage used to illustrate the artistic use of the pause is an example of the iambic pentameter, as in Leech or Cummings and Simmons; however, as Gray's work is a dictionary of terms and thus more limited in scope, no phonological explanations are provided. Similarly, Kmecl (contradicting his definition of
3	This analysis, taking as the basis the phonological foot with a stressed initial syllable and considering the unit to consist of an even number of feet, also receives support from the discussion in Novak (280-284), which establishes the line consisting of eight trochees not only as the basis of Slovenian folk poetry, but also as the primordial rhythm in general. The latter is testified by its recurrence in children's rhymes all over the world, irrespective of the phonological properties of the languages in which they appear.
4	The - otherwise nearly identical - definition in "Sonet" refers to non-final punctuation (69); since "Sonet", although appearing in 1997 like "Voranc", originates from 1995, this paper adopts the more recent formulation.
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the colon) appears to consider a pause necessary both in free and metrical verse, but he too limits the discussion to rhythm. Lines in poetry are said to correspond to colons in prose (64), and the definition of the latter in terms of rhythm corresponds to Toporišič's "segments" (stretches of discourse delimited by pauses); however, Kmecl's view of their intonation status is nowhere made explicit.
The rhythm, on the other hand, is given extensive treatment. The importance of observing line boundaries is stressed and verse lines are defined as units of rhythm, corresponding to colons in prose and independent both semantically and rhythmically (Kmecl 64). Their graphic separation is described as a kind of instruction for the rhythmically and semantically correct reading. Observing that the role of such notation emerges particularly well in the reading of free verse, Kmecl quotes a stanza from "Veliki črni bik" by Dane Zajc on p. 66 and rewrites the passage as prose, noting that such graphic presentation would admit a number of rhythmical renditions. By dividing the text into lines, however, the poet inserts a series of pauses, thus delimiting the units of rhythm and creating the rhythm of the poem; indeed, pauses are required by the very act of glancing from the end of one line to the beginning of the other (66). Thus a pause between enjambed lines in free verse is described by Kmecl not only as a possibility but as a necessity, a key factor in forming the structure of a poem.
On the other hand, the existence of a final pause is posited by Kmecl for metrical verse as well. Two types of pauses are identified - the logical, grammatical ones at clause boundaries etc., as well as metrical ones at the end of every verse line; they may coincide, but not necessarily (Kmecl 78; cf. the nearly identical position expressed in Cummings and Simmons 47). If one clause ends in the middle of a line and the next consequently overflows into the following line (i.e. in the case of enjambment), the rhythm becomes irregular - this, however, is not attributed to any loss of final pauses but to the addition of new, line-medial ones (80). The illustration provided (from Alojz Gradnik) is an example of metrical poetry, consisting of iambic hendecasyllables. Thus pauses are considered by Kmecl to be necessary both in free and metrical verse, although their functions vary according to the verse type (cf. also Faganel, "Voranc" 100; both discussions of the functions are presented in the relevant section below).
4. The implications of the different spoken realisations for the function and poetic effect of enjambment
A feature shared by the above approaches to enjambment is that each author usually adopts one perspective, regardless of the verse type to which the device is applied, although further elaborations of its role are possible within the framework of the selected approach (cf. the above-mentioned discussions in Kmecl and Faganel). Incorporating the views expressed by the authors discussed, the following section will present the implications of each type of pronunciation for the intonation, the information structure and the grammatical/logical flow of thought, the verse rhythm, and the poetic effects of a poem. The last include the expansion of word meanings, the creation of tension, the enactment of meaning, etc.
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4.1.	No pause is made between enjambed lines
If no pause is made between enjambed lines, their intonation structure remains intact, preserving the structuring of information5 as well as the grammatical and logical flow of thought (cf. Faganel, "Sonet" 68). The words arranged next to the line boundary receive no particular highlighting, at least from a speaker's or listener's point of view, which is the concern of this paper.6
On the other hand, the lack of pause has consequences for the rhythm and the metre (if present): the rhythm is brought closer to prose and natural speech, foiling the expectation of metre in metrical poetry. The speed of delivery may increase as well at the transition into the following line (cf. the analysis of the rhythmical effect in Stabej 81, or the reference to a "headlong swoop" into the next line in Leech 124). These effects, though similarly described, are evaluated differently in different sources, depending on the author's attitude to the pause omission, and on the selection of verse type discussed. According to Leech, who treats English blank verse (a verse type with a recognisable metrical structure; moreover, one typically associated with drama, where the logical and natural flow of speech is of great importance), the function of enjamb-ment lies precisely in generating a conflict between the ideal or expected metrical pattern, which would entail a final pause, or silent stress, and the actual realisation, which follows the logical flow of thought. This is analogous to the effect of syncopation or counterpoint (123). In the case of blank verse enjambment, the poetic device of defeated expectancy results in a tension (123), a "forward impetus", which is even more striking in long verse paragraphs, such as those found in John Milton's poetry (127). The tension is only resolved when the sentence boundary finally concurs with a line boundary, such places thus forming the only "points of release" (126).
This effect of the pauseless pronunciation of enjambment is of course strictly limited to identifiable metrical schemes, against which variations may be played with some confidence. Even so, a succession of variations sometimes results in disorientation, as noted by Leech (124-125). In his view, however, it is essential that the metrical scheme be felt if one is to experience "the counterpoint in which lies so much of the power of this kind of verse" and "the relaxation of a resolved conflict when the poem at length is brought to a 'point of release' " (127).
4.2.	A pause is made between enjambed lines
The view quoted above is not shared by the authprs who argue for a line-final pause and consider the implications of enjambment for free verse as well. According
5	The stretch of discourse is presented as one unit of information by the unbroken intonation contour.
6	If graphic representation is taken into account as well, as in Stabej, the dividing and foregrounding role of enjambment may still be understood to be preserved by the written mode alone. The visual impact is mentioned in Stabej on several occasions. In a preliminary survey of the effects most commonly attributed to enjambment, the potential effect of foregrounding a word or phrase is ascribed partly to the specific graphic representation (79); furthermore, in the analysis of one example it is suggested that, while the main verb is linked to its complement by the unbroken intonation contour, it is graphically separated from it by the line boundary, so that the enjambment reflects the ideas of both separation and connection (81).
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to Faganel, the rhythmical effect is lost without a pause, resulting in a prosaic quality of the passage thus delivered ("Sonet" 68); the same is noted by Kmecl, who, equating the graphic division of a text into lines with its spoken division into units of rhythm, presents the consequences of writing down a free verse stanza as prose. Both authors further emphasise the indispensability of pauses for free verse. According to Kmecl, final pauses in metrical poetry highlight the adjacent words by appearing in metrically correct but logically unexpected places, and additional logical breaks scatter the monotony of the metrical verse (on this issue cf. also Faganel, "Sonet" 68; Stabej 78), bringing it closer to natural speech (80); in the case of free verse, on the other hand, final pauses provide the very structure of the poem (64; 66). A similar conclusion is drawn by Faganel for drama. In classical verse forms, the actor tries to find viable ways of realisation in the face of the standard metre, but free verse requires a different approach: it is the playwright who dictates the absolute and obligatory rhythm, and this has to be discovered. It is precisely the length of lines that dictates the rhythmical segmentation ("Voranc" 100). Indeed, a proof of the inherent importance of enjamb-ment for poetry is that it did not disappear with the introduction of free verse but rather acquired yet additional functions ("Voranc" 98; "Sonet" 68). The first extreme of interpretation (the absolute omission of the pause) thus appears to be applicable to metrical verse only.
4.2.1. The line ending corresponds to an intonation unit boundary
The consequences of the other extreme (the alignment of intonation units with line units) can likewise be grouped according to the type of verse. This approach is presupposed and its implications outlined by Podbevsek for poetry in general, by Bjelcevic for free verse, and by Cummings and Simmons for metrical poetry. The effect of a pause and a rising tune on the words around line boundaries is described by Podbevsek as that of highlighting the words (25), which is similar to Kmecl's interpretation of line-final pauses. The treatment of intonation in Bjelcevic, on the other hand, is largely subordinated to the focus on the syntactic structure of a poem and the relation of syntactic to verse units; while the latter is examined as a type-forming device, intonation is taken for granted as a concomitant feature, and consequently the discussion of enjambment (e.g. in "SVII" 40-41) largely ignores the prosodie aspects. One effect of a double intonation structure in enjambed lines is said to be the syntagmatisation of words or word clusters adjacent to line boundaries, which results in semantic ambiguity (38). The interpretation in Bjelcevic is thus more radical than the one in Podbevsek. The ambiguity described, however, is noted also, for example, by Faganel in his assessment of this pronunciation of poetry in general, but it is given different interpretations by the two authors. If Bjelcevic sees it as a means of poetic expression, Faganel warns against introducing a tune precisely on the grounds that it may disturb the flow of thought and weaken the listener's perception ("Sonet" 69), thus interpreting such ambiguity as contrary to the poet's intention.
From the phonological point of view, splitting up the original intonation unit of course entails breaking up the original information unit as well and redistributing the
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focus, as the last lexical item in the line is elevated to the position of a new nucleus. The final criterion of this effect must be the intention of the poet, if it can be ascertained: the ambiguity may be intentional, but if that is not the case, the new nucleus may be overemphasised in comparison with its real significance, and the poetic effect impaired.
In metrical verse, on the other hand, a prominent factor is the issue of expectancy. Since a verse line is expected to function as a relatively independent intonation unit, not only the expectations of metre but also of intonation boundaries are fulfilled. Yet the defeated expectancy praised by Leech at the level of rhythm can still be exploited at the intonation level: not through the omission of tunes as such, since these occur as expected, but through repetitions of or variations on the type of tune. This use of tunes to create poetic effects is demonstrated by Cummings and Simmons. By aligning successive line endings with sentence endings, which results in a succession of line-final falling tunes, Frost is said to achieve a repetitive effect; on the other hand, when the information is left incomplete at the end of a line and a rise occurs as the most natural option, "[t]he effect is of a delayed ending. The tune is expected, does not come, and then comes at last in the next line" (Cummings and Simmons 49-50) or even later. The effect is said to be strengthened by the regular recurrence of final pauses (silent stresses), since the regularity of rhythm helps to foreground the variation in tune. It could be argued, however, that the same effect can be achieved by introducing the pause alone (as suggested by Faganel) without the rising tune, since it is the pattern of the falling tunes, not the nature of their replacements, that is perceived as important. But Cummings and Simmons mention an alternative rendering as well, which indeed depends for effect on the presence of a tune on each line ending: it would be possible to assign a falling tune to the enjambed lines, thus aligning them with the prevailing intonation of the poem and enacting its sense of monotonous repetition even more vividly (50).
4.2.2. The line-final pause is not accompanied by intonation changes
The third option, the introduction of a pause without intonation change, may defeat the listener's expectations of an intonation boundary in the case of metrical poetry. These arise because the line is understood to be relatively independent, and the fixity of its length in metrical verse enables the listener to form a preconception where the line - and consequently the intonation unit - will end. The expected rhythm, on the other hand, and the role of the verse as a colon (cf. "Sonet" 69) are preserved; the unchanged intonation also preserves the original information structure and focus, and therefore the logical flow of thought. At the same time, the pause contributes to a logical organisation of the text. Faganel distinguishes two types of enjambment according to its function at the logical level (in addition to its function at the poetic level, which is treated below). The first type serves to divide complex phrases or to separate clause elements without highlighting semantically the words adjacent to the line boundaries ("Voranc" 102), while the other separates words in order to place a logical stress
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on the first word in the following line (103). The same divisions and stresses would be employed in analogous non-literary examples ("Sonet" 69).
On the other hand, enjambment may serve artistic purposes: for example, it may emphasise the words clustered around line boundaries or enact the content through its form. As mentioned earlier, Kmecl notes that unexpected final pauses highlight the adjacent words (80), while Faganel recognises two types of enjambment with artistic functions par excellence: the "poetic" type, which divides a trope or separates words in order to highlight them for stylistic purposes, and the "affective" type, which uses the pause dramatically to create suspense ("Sonet" 69; "Voranc" 105). Of course the artistic type is said to depend also on factors other than the pause for a successful realisation, but the pause is a prerequisite.
The "affective" type is close to the other major effect of enjambment, i.e. to its ability to reinforce or enact the meaning. Interestingly, the phenomenon is described by two authors who hold contrary views on the rhythm of enjambed lines, namely by Gray, who assumes a final pause (101), and Stabej, who repeatedly stresses the continuation of the unit of speech and intonation. This, however, can be explained by the fact that Stabej takes into account the graphic as well as the spoken realisation of enjambment, thus never discarding its divisive effect. The latter is discussed by Gray, who comments on Wordsworth's exploitation of the pause to "emphasise and ENACT his meaning (which concerns pauses, silence, suspense and surprise)":
And, when there came a pause Of silence such as baffled his best skill: Then sometimes, in that silence, while he hung Listening, a gentle shock of mild surprise Has carried far into his heart the voice Of mountain-torrents ... (qtd. on 101-102)
Conclusion
On the basis of the above remarks, it may be concluded that no approach can be wholly discarded in terms of potential artistic effect. Even though a given realisation may not be appropriate as a general rule, there are still cases when it yields poetically interesting results; to cite an example, the insertion of line-final intonation boundaries, although open to criticism in several respects, may be used to advantage, as demonstrated by Cummings and Simmons in their discussion of Frost's poem "Acquainted with the Night". Generally speaking, the best solution thus rests with the speaker and the choice of text. The significance of the latter, however, is not limited to its aesthetic qualities but, more importantly, resides in the verse form, which I regard as normative in dictating the range of available enjambment realisations. If the form is free verse, a pause after each line (with or without intonation changes) is indispensable for the text to be recognisable as poetry. In the case of metre, on the other hand, the underlying form is fixed and readily apprehended by the listener, so that the choice to omit the pause may be justified as well. Another suggestive factor apart from the verse form is
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the intention of the author, if it can be perceived; in most cases, however, it is open to interpretation, so that the only tangible criterion is represented by the type of verse.
University of Ljubljana
WORKS CITED
Bjelčevič, Aleksander. "Slovenski svobodni verz prve tretjine 20. stoletja." Primerjalna književnost 21.2 (1998): 97-110.
_. "Svobodni verz I: Svobodni verz ni niti iregularni silabotonični, niti naglasni verz." Jezik in
slovstvo 43 (1997/98): 255-268.
_. "Svobodni verz II: Lastnosti sistema." Jezik in slovstvo 44 (1998/99): 29^14.
Cummings, Michael, and Robert Simmons. The Language of Literature. Oxford: Pergamon, 1983.
Faganel, Jože. "Verzni prestop v sonetu." Sonet in sonetni venec. Eds. Boris Paternu and Franc Jakopin. Obdobja 16. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta, 1997. 67-76.
_. "Verzni prestop v drami Voranc Daneta Zajca." Zbornik ob sedemdesetletnici Franceta
Bernika. Eds. Jože Pogačnik et al. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU, 1997. 97-106.
Gray, Martin. A Dictionary of Literary Terms. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman, 1992.
Halliday, M. A. K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. 2nd ed. London: Edward Arnold, and New York: Oxford UP, 1994.
Jurak, Mirko. English Poetry: An Anthology with a Critical and Historical Introduction for Foreign Students. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, 1995.
Kmecl, Matjaž. Mala literarna teorija. 4th ed. Ljubljana: Mihelač and Nešovič, 1995.
Leech, Geoffrey. A linguistic guide to English poetry. Harlow: Longman, 1969.
Novak, Boris A. Oblike srca: pesmarica pesniških oblik. Ljubljana: Modrijan, 1997.
Podbevšek, Katja. "Glasno interpretativno branje Kettejeve pesmi Na trgu." Jezik in slovstvo 44 (1998/99): 19-28.
Stabej, Marko. "Ikoničnost verznih prestopov v Prešernovih sonetih." Sonet in sonetni venec. Eds. Boris Paternu and Franc Jakopin. Obdobja 16. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta, 1997. 77-85.
Tench, Paul. The Intonation Systems of English. London and New York: Cassell, 1996.
Toporišič, Jože. Slovenska slovnica. 4th ed. Maribor: Obzoija, 2000.
Wichmann, A., and G. Knowles. "How determinable are intonation units?" Proceedings of The Xlllth International Congress of Phonetic Sciences ICPhS 95. Eds. Kjell Elenius and Peter Branderud. Vol. 2. Stockholm: KTH and Stockholm University, 1995. 222-225. 4 vols.
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UDK 811.163.6'271.1'367.626.1:314.743(=163.6)
SECOND PERSON PRONOUNS USED BY SLOVENE AND AMERICAN SLOVENE SPEAKERS AS LINGUISTIC MARKERS OF PERSONAL AND
SOCIAL (IN)EQUALITY
Nada Sabec
Abstract
This paper discusses the use of second person pronouns in Slovene as linguistic markers of personal and social (in)equality in face-to-face interaction. In addition to the fundamental social dimensions of power/status and solidarity that are usually associated with the choice of a particular pronoun in such interactions, I explore some other dimensions such as formality and casualness that may also contribute to the choice.
The focus is on the comparison of the use of Slovene second person pronouns in their native and diaspora contexts. While the rules for their use in Slovenia are relatively well established and observed in a fairly consistent manner, especially by older speakers, their use in the North American context is quite different. The questionnaire responses by Slovenes and their descendants living in the United States and Canada show that these pronouns are often used almost as if at random and that, especially with younger speakers, the predominant form has become "ti". It is possible that this is due to the diminishing knowledge of Slovene and the speakers' uncertainty as to which form to use, but also to the very strong influence of English with its exclusive use of you. The growing tendency of younger speakers in Slovenia toward ti is also addressed as a possible indication of a language change under way.
1. Introduction
Slovene, like the majority of other European languages, has a binary system of second person pronouns, where a single interlocutor can be addressed either as ti or vi. At first sight, the choice of a proper second person pronoun may seem fairly simple and straightforward for a native speaker to make, but on closer examination it becomes clear that this is not always the case. In as far as the proper choice of a pronoun depends on a number of social and discourse factors, this may be in fact quite complex. The addresser may therefore be in doubt as to which form to employ, especially in face-to-face encounters between speakers that don't fit neatly the categories such as old vs. young or superior vs. inferior.
The first study to address the issue of second person pronoun usage in various Indo-European languages was the often cited Pronouns of Power and Solidarity by
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Brown and Gilman (1960). The authors analyze the use of second person pronouns in terms of two semantic dimensions, power and solidarity, which are, according to them, universal, applicable to all interactional dyads and fundamental to the analysis of all social life (1960:252). They examine three interactional dyads, two symmetrical ones and one asymmetrical. In the first two, the use of ti or vi is symmetrical, i.e. both interlocutors give and receive either ti or vi reciprocally with ti being a more familiar and vi a more polite form. In the third dyad one interlocutor employs vi and the other ti, which is a clear sign of inequality between them. The one with the power "in the degree that he is able to control the behavior of the other" (1960:255) uses ti to address the one who is inferior to him in that respect. To sum up, the reciprocal or symmetrical use of both vi and ti signals the speakers' solidarity and equality based on their likeness by membership in the same social group, school, profession and the like, while the non-reciprocal or asymmetrical use of the two pronouns is indicative of the inequality of the interlocutors.
Brown and Gilman's study provided the necessary framework for further study of second person pronouns, which showed that the issue is far from being black and white and that the choice of pronoun may also be affected by other factors such as the degree of (in)formality, intimacy and strangeness among the interlocutors, to mention just a few. Furthermore, the usage may evolve through time depending on the special dynamics of social relations that exist within a given cultural environment. In that sense the usage of second person pronouns may serve as an interesting indicator of the way a particular society is organized in terms of interpersonal relations among its members.
2. Methodology
In light of the complexity of second person pronoun usage and its considerable social significance, I therefore decided to compare the situation in Slovenia with the one among Slovene speakers in the United States and in Canada. My objective was to find whether speakers in both environments follow the same rules in choosing their pronouns and if not, why not. What are the underlying causes of any potential differences between speakers in Slovenia and in North America?
In order to obtain as accurate and current data as possible, I decided to prepare a questionnaire on the usage of second person pronouns and administer it to speakers in the United States, Canada, and Slovenia. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part had just one question that asked about the kind of pronoun (ti or vi) used in different social situations and with different interlocutors. The respondents were given 41 different options and had to circle the pronoun that they use when interacting in a particular situation with a particular person as well as to give the pronoun employed by their interlocutors.
The options had to do mostly with different status, age and varying degrees of familiarity of the interlocutors and will be presented in detail in the next section. The second part of the questionnaire consisted of eight questions, some open-ended, some
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multiple-choice, asking about the respondents' views and preferences as to the use of ti and vi and will also be discussed in the findings section.
120 subjects participated in the study, 40 from each of the countries in question. In all three cases a point was made of including an equal number of respondents representing both genders and two age groups (under and over 30, as I expected some variation along those lines). There was also diversity in the educational background from which they came, but that variable could not be controlled in any systematic way. The US participants were from Cleveland, Fontana and Los Angeles, the Canadian ones from Toronto, and the Slovene ones mostly from Maribor, but also from some other places in Slovenia.
The questionnaire responses were analyzed, percentages calculated and the three groups compared for differences and similarities, which then served as a basis for the interpretation of results.
3. Data Analysis and Interpretation
Parti
3.1.	Nuclear family
The first question with its many options asked about the use of ti or vi with different interlocutors. The first option focused on members of nuclear family: mother, father, and siblings. This was one area that showed very little variation across the sample. Slovene speakers used ti when addressing their parents almost uniformly. The only exception were two cases of vi with one male and one female respondent over 30 years of age. Slovene Americans were very similar in this respect with three cases of vi used by males over 30. Slovenes in Canada, however, showed greater variation. Half of them used ti and half vi with their parents, again in the category of those over 30, while younger speakers consistently used ti. The use of ti was symmetrical in all cases, while the use of vi was asymmetrical with children using vi and parents ti. All the respondents used ti with their brothers and sisters.
3.2.	Extended family
The next question asked about the use of vi or ti with grandparents and the responses in that category are more interesting in that they point to the importance of the age factor. Slovene speakers over 30 years of age mostly use vi when speaking to their grandparents (there were only 2 exceptions, again one male and one female), while those under 30 use ti (3 male exceptions). This seems to be indicative of a shift toward less formal and perhaps more affectionate relationships of the young with their grandparents in recent times. A comparison with the situation in the USA shows greater variation in the category of those over 30, where a little over half of the respondents (64 %) use vi and the others ti, and an even more radical situation in the case of
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younger speakers, where ti is the only pronoun used. The situation in Canada is very similar in the case of older speakers (with a slightly higher percentage of those using vi - 72 %), but definitely more conservative in the case of younger speakers, where all responded that they use vi with their grandparents. It goes without saying that the respondents' use of either ti or vi with their grandparents is always reciprocated with ti.
The next seven options focused on other members of the extended family: uncles, aunts, and other elderly relatives and, in addition, introduced the time factor indicating the frequency of the respondents' contact with them.
The respondents were first asked which pronoun they use with aunts and uncles who they see on a regular basis. The responses by Slovene speakers from Slovenia again showed the age gap between those under and over 30. Those over 30 used predominantly vi (83 %) and only rarely ti (more females than males), while those under 30 used ti much more often (males somewhat less - 43 % and females almost exclusively - 91 %). The next four options tried to establish how important the frequency of contact is and also whether it makes a difference if the addressee is a male or a female. The gender factor did not prove to be of significance, as the respondents treated both their aunts and uncles in approximately the same way (with only a very slight bias in favor of ti with aunts), the frequency of contact, however, did. The respondents used ti considerably more often than vi with those uncles and aunts who they had last seen 10 years ago (42 % vs. 58 %) than with those who they hadn't seen for 20 years (26 % vs. 74 %). Again, the age division between those under 30 and those over 30 is very clear, with those over 30 using almost exclusively vi and those under 30 somewhat less.
The last two options asked about the pronouns used with elderly relatives with whom the respondents had regular or only very rare contact. The results were similar to those with aunts and uncles, but predictably showed a greater tendency toward the use of vi, probably because of the greater age of the addressees. Those over 30 used exclusively vi in both cases, while those under 30 used vi half of the time in the case of regular contact and some 71 % in the case of infrequent contact.
A comparison with the situation in the United States shows a greater uniformity of answers in the first category, where practically all the respondents regardless of their age use ti in regular contact with their aunts and uncles. This is in contrast with Slovenes in Slovenia, whose use of one or the other pronoun is greatly determined by their age. Similar to speakers in Slovenia, however, they make no distinction with regard to the gender of the addressee. There is a difference in as far as the frequency of contact is concerned, though, only on a smaller scale. The responses by those over 30 seem almost random with somewhat greater frequency of vi in the case of rarer contact, while the responses of those under 30 definitely show a preference for ti (with several respondents citing ti as the only pronoun used). A similar tendency is observed in the case of elderly relatives with an interesting twist in the very last option, where all males under 30 report using only ti and all females under 30 only vi (purely random choice or perhaps a case of hypercorrection?)
A similar situation is found in the case of Canadian speakers with a somewhat greater use of vi by younger speakers compared to those in the USA. In general, however, we observe very diverse and at times seemingly contradictory answers where, for
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instance, the same person uses ti with elderly relatives who he or she only rarely sees, but vi with aunts and uncles who they see on a regular basis. The consistency of pronoun use based on the frequency of contact and the resulting degree of familiarity/ closeness observed in the case of Slovene speakers in Slovenia seems to be lacking in the case of most Slovene speakers in the immigrant environment.
3.3.	Friends
With the next options I moved from the family sphere into the sphere of friends, exploring various degrees of closeness. The respondents were first asked to provide the pronouns they use with friends of the same age who they see on a regular basis, then childhood friends whom they hadn't seen in 10 or 20 years, and finally friends of their friends to whom they had just been introduced.
The answer to the first question was completely uniform. Everybody uses ti to address friends of approximately the same age. Whether or not they socialize with them regularly or see them only every 10 or 20 years seems to make no difference -they are still addressed as ti. In that sense friendship ties seem to override the time factor proving to be a more powerful factor than family hierarchy, where infrequent contact with members of the extended family often warrants the use of vi. Friends of friends, however, are a different story. There the division between younger and older speakers appears once more, with the former using only ti and the latter splitting approximately half way (43 % of ti vs. 57 % of vi).
The situation among Slovenes in the USA and in Canada is more diversified. Friends of the same age with whom they socialize regularly are addressed exclusively as ti by females under 30 and males over 30, while the others use predominantly ti, but also an occasional vi.
With friends whom they hadn't seen for 10 or 20 years they are no longer certain as to what to use. They still opt predominantly for ti, but vi is beginning to creep in as well, especially in the case of a 20-year absence. The age and gender of the respondents plays no significant role in this respect. With friends of friends the split between ti and vi is fairly equal again for all the speakers.
3.4.	Acquaintances
The answers to the four previous questions showed the importance of the friendship factor in choosing a pronoun of address, which is why my next objective was to examine less intimate, casual relationships. The following six options thus ask about addressing casual acquaintances/neighbors of approximately the same age as the respondents, then twice their age and half their age.
The answers to the first two questions are predictable, as we are dealing with approximately the same age of the interlocutors. With the exception of a couple of females over 30, all use ti. Ti is also used for both male and female acquaintances that are half the respondents' age, whereas in the case of those who are twice their age, vi
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is the preferred form for most respondents. Exceptions are young male speakers with 59 % of ti vs. 41 % of vi and one female respondent who uses ti as well. The age again seems to be the determining factor in the choice of pronoun.
Typical of Slovenes in both the USA and Canada is the overwhelming use of ti by younger speakers in all contexts (with a single exception of a female speaker in addressing an older interlocutor). Older speakers, on the other hand, distinguish between the two pronouns and use them with about the same frequency with those of approximately the same age and older (47 % of ti vs. 53 % of vi). They are consistent, though, in using ti to address those that are half their age.
3.5. Strangers
A further move in the direction of complete lack of familiarity between interlocutors (asking strangers for directions in the street) showed a uniform use of vi by practically all Slovene respondents from Slovenia. The only exceptions were strangers that were half the respondents' age, who were addressed as ti, and some cases strangers of about the same age as the respondents when the latter were in their late teens or early twenties themselves.
The results for the USA and Canada show a more diverse picture, with the respondents using both pronouns seemingly randomly with a somewhat greater frequency of ti also in those cases where the strangers were the same age or older than them.
PART II
The second part of the questionnaire was designed to explore the respondents' attitudes toward the use of ti or vi as well as to test the consistency of their reported choices from the first part of the questionnaire with the answers provided in the second part. I thus asked them to predict who, according to them, is likely to initiate a switch to ti in the following pairs: man - woman; boss - employee; a younger - older person. I further asked about the appropriate age of starting to address young people as vi, about using different pronouns for the same person depending on the circumstances and about possible abuses of pronoun use on the part of the speakers deliberately employing an inappropriate pronoun to signal anger, contempt, sarcasm, patronizing attitude and the like.
A detailed analysis of the participants' responses to these questions, however, would exceed the scope of this article1, which is why I decided to focus on only two items from this part: the first one having to do with the respondents' reaction to being addressed inappropriately and the second with their personal preferences with regard to the use of ti or vi.
1 It will be included in future reports on this ongoing study. 120
3.6. How do you feel when someone addresses you as ti when you feel entitled to vi ? What do you do?
The responses by Slovene speakers show a tendency for older speakers to feel insulted or annoyed when addressed as ti instead of vi. Only a small percentage say that ti does not bother them and some that their feelings depend on who the person is and on the nature of their prospective relationship. Some don't do anything about it and simply ignore it, but most are quite explicit in showing their displeasure. They either ask to be addressed as vi or switch to ti, but in such a way as to show their indignation (some also by facial expression and body language).
Younger speakers seem to be more tolerant in this respect. Most say that they have never been in the mentioned situation, but that they generally do not mind being addressed as ti. A few feel that using ti creates a good basis for forming friendships, which is why they prefer it. One respondent says that she is bothered by the use of vi, but that is perhaps understandable because of her age (and confirmed by the view of another respondent in his twenties, who says that it doesn't bother him if everybody addresses him as ti as long as he is not expected to reciprocate with vi. He would find that totally unacceptable, though, if a person expecting vi from him were younger than him). In as far as reacting to being inappropriately addressed, the majority does nothing ("Sem zadovoljna s tikanjem, ker vikanje pomeni, da si starejši ali celo star."), only two say that they, too, switch to the use of ti if they feel that they are being patronized.
The predominant response provided by both Slovene Americans and Canadians is that they are not bothered by the use of ti. There are some who express their shock at being addressed wrongly with body language and feel that the wrong use shows a lack of manners, especially among the elderly and those born in Slovenia, but the great majority of the respondents place no special emphasis on it. Some even find it amusing. Some typical responses illustrate their attitudes nicely:
•	It doesn't matter to me how they address me - if I lived in Slovenia where this courtesy is used, I may have a different opinion.
•	I really don't mind if I am addressed in the ti form, there are other things to worry about.
•	I feel relieved that I won't have to worry about vikanje.
•	I am not conscious about this status behavior.
It comes as no surprise then that most don't react to it at all or if they do, they simply use ti in return instead of the initially intended vi.
3.7. What do you think of the use ofti and vi? Which do you prefer?
Most Slovene respondents say that they prefer to be addressed as ti, as that is an indication of greater closeness, but they hasten to point out that it is good to have two forms in order to show respect for the elderly and superiors on the one hand and to be more personal on the other. Thus one person says that he prefers ti, but that he would definitely feel uncomfortable using ti with his boss.
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American and Canadian respondents are predictably in favor of ti, only some older speakers prefer vi and those are mostly Slovene-born. Some believe that each has its time and place and some say that they like vi because it shows respect, "but it is hard to use when you didn't grow up with it", but the majority feel that it is "confusing and unnecessary" and that "this is not an important issue here in the USA." Other interesting points are revealed by the following responses given by younger respondents:
•	Ti and vi are both just words used to communicate.
•	At this point, I prefer being referred to as ti, after all, I am still young and nobody of significant importance.
•	Perhaps if one pronoun would be used as the universal and the other obliterated, it would relieve the world of the belief in the importance of status - we are all human anyway, right?
•	I prefer it because in English there is no longer the distinction between thou and you and using vi makes me feel alienated from the person whom I must address as such.
Finally, I mention one interesting and rather surprising suggestion by a Slovene-born American who says that "Vi could be used as the universal you, as it is more comfortable for me." A clear analogy with the English you, which is "neutral, colourless, and has no meaning other than to indicate that another person is addressed ... empty of affective content" (Siriwardena 1992: 30)?
If we compare speakers in Slovenia with those in the USA and Canada, we see that Slovenes in Slovenia while they prefer ti, nevertheless recognize the function of both pronouns and judge their presence in the language as absolutely necessary, but that this is not the case with the other two groups, where most respondents see vi as redundant and a remnant of the past.
4. Conclusion
The analysis shows a relatively stable situation with regard to the use of vi and ti in Slovenia, especially if we take into consideration only middle-aged and older speakers, who adhere fairly consistently to the rules of proper pronoun use. The situation in North America, however, is quite different and shows signs of a rapidly declining competence and/or willingness on the part of the speakers' to maintain the distinction between ti and vi.
A closer look at the situation in Slovenia reveals that there are primarily two determining factors in choosing the appropriate pronoun: the age factor whereby younger speakers address older ones with vi on the one hand and the factor of strangeness vs. intimacy/familiarity on the other. The latter seems to be in competition with the former and gaining in importance, as seen in the case of grandparents, for instance, where the asymmetrical use of ti by grandparents and vi by grandchildren has been largely replaced by the symmetrical dyad of the informal ti indicating closeness. This could be interpreted as a sign of affection taking precedence over authority and could be, in addition, attributed to a smaller age difference between the present gen-
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erations of grandchildren and grandparents compared to those in the past. Another minor, but interesting aspect is the somewhat more conservative attitude of female speakers, who in general use vi more often than their male counterparts.
The most striking finding, however, has to do with the linguistic behavior of younger speakers, who are definitely moving in the direction of less formal ways of addressing others. Understandably, they see ti as natural choice for addressing their peers, but frequently also for addressing those who are superior to them either in age or status. This goes hand in hand with their use of fairly informal greetings such as zdravo/zivijo/adijo instead of more formal ones such as Dober dan and Na svidenje used by older speakers. Their shift in the direction of more casual pronoun use is thus in marked contrast with the views expressed by most speakers over 30 who, while stating their personal preference for ti, nevertheless all recognize the importance of having and using both pronouns appropriately in order to express various degrees of intimacy, respect, politeness and the like as required by each individual situation.
Compared to Slovenia, the situation in the USA and Canada is much less stable in that second person pronouns there often seem to be used almost at random and with a very strong bias in favor of ti in addition. The distinction between ti and vi is partly observed only by some Slovene-born speakers, while the American-born use the two with no consistency, or openly state that the distinction no longer matters to them and that they prefer ti in all circumstances. There are several possible explanations for such attitudes: the exclusive use of ti that the early immigrants brought with them from the old country2, the uncertainty as to which pronoun to choose when they did not grow up with them in the case of all other speakers, and finally the influence of the English language with you as the only pronoun used. The responses provided by the participants in the study confirm this last view at least to some extent. Especially younger speakers believe that the more formal vi is redundant and that the less formal, casual ti better serves their needs in addressing others on an equal footing. Compared to the Slovene situation, where the ti vs. vi distinction reflects various degrees of both personal and social (in)equality among the speakers, Slovenes in the USA and Canada use predominantly ti, which is in line with the very dynamic relations of a fairly egalitarian and socially mobile society. The growing tendency to address people by first names only can be understood in this light as well.
The relatively relaxed approach to the use of pronouns on the part of Slovene Americans and Canadians on the one hand and the deeply-rooted adherence to the more conservative and consistent use of pronouns by speakers in Slovenia on the other makes for potentially slippery ground in communication between individuals coming from different environments. Speakers from Slovenia might be easily offended when addressed as ti, when no familiarity is called for, and Slovenes from diaspora might be puzzled as to the cause of their resentment and the resulting misunderstanding. The risk of this happening is lower with younger speakers in Slovenia, who are increasingly beginning to use ti in the contexts where we would normally expect vi. Whether or not such use is just a temporary phenomenon that will disappear with their aging remains to be seen. It is equally possible that we are dealing with language change
2 Ti as the only pronoun used by lower classes such as peasants.
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under way. The ever more frequent use of the so-called partial vi/ na pol vikanje (Toporišič 2000: 390) as well as the combination of titles such as gospod and gospa with first rather than last names by the majority of all speakers, regardless of age, indicates the possibility of such a change.
The results of the study are significant for at least three reasons: they shed light on the nature of determining factors in the choice of second person pronoun, they point to the growing trend in the use of the less formal pronoun among younger speakers, and show marked differences in pronoun use between speakers in native and diaspora contexts. They are not doubt very revealing in terms of social dynamics and cultural values as mirrored in the use of second person pronouns in different environments. At the same time they also allow for an interesting insight into a potential language change in Slovene, a phenomenon well worth exploring.
WORKS CITED
Brown, R. and Gilman, A. The pronouns of Power and Solidarity. In: T. A. Sebeok (ed.), Style and
Language. Cambridge, Ma.: The MIT Press, 1960. Siriwardena, R. Addressing the Other: A Three Language Study in Power, Personal Relations and Second Person Pronouns. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 1992. Toporišič, J. Slovenska slovnica. Maribor: Založba Obzoija, 2000.
APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE3
The following is a questionnaire for research on the use of Slovene in the United States and in Canada. Please answer the questions without discussing them with others. Thank you.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Age: Gender: Occupation: Education: Place of birth:
If not US-born, how long have you lived in the States?
/Use the second column to check the form used by the addressees when speaking to you./
1. Imagine that you live in a Slovene-speaking environment. Which pronoun would you use in speaking
University of Maribor
PARTI
to
your mother your father your grandparents
TI VI TI VI TI VI
TI VI TI VI TI VI
3 Respondents from Slovenia were given a Slovene version of the questionnaire.
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your uncles/aunts who you see on a regular basis	TI	VI	TI	VI
your uncle who you haven't seen in 10 years	TI	VI	TI	VI
your aunt who you haven't seen in 10 years	TI	VI	TI	VI
your uncle who you haven't seen in 20 years	TI	VI	TI	VI
your aunt who you haven't seen in 20 years	TI	VI	TI	VI
an elderly relative who you see on a regular basis	TI	VI	TI	VI
an elderly relative who you see very rarely	TI	VI	TI	VI
a male neighbor of approximately the same age as you	TI	VI	TI	VI
a female neighbor of approximately the same age as you	TI	VI	TI	VI
a male neighbor half your age	TI	VI	TI	VI
a female neighbor half your age	TI	VI	TI	VI
a male neighbor twice your age	TI	VI	TI	VI
a female neighbor twice your age	TI	VI	TI	VI
a casual male acquaintance the same age as you	TI	VI	TI	VI
a casual female acquaintance the same age as you	TI	VI	TI	VI
a friend the same age who you see regularly	TI	VI	TI	VI
a childhood friend who you haven't seen in 10 years	TI	VI	TI	VI
a childhood friend who you haven't seen in 20 years	TI	VI	TI	VI
a friend of your best friend (to whom you were just introduced)	TI	VI	TI	VI
a female visitor from Slovenia of approximately the same				
age as you whom you see for the first time4	TI	VI	TI	VI
a male visitor from Slovenia of approximately the same				
age as you whom you see for the first time	TI	VI	TI	VI
a male visitor from Slovenia who is older than you				
and who you see for the first time	TI	VI	TI	VI
a female visitor from Slovenia who is older than you				
and who you see for the first time	TI	VI	TI	VI
a male visitor from Slovenia who is younger than you				
and who you see for the first time	TI	VI	TI	VI
a female visitor from Slovenia who is younger than you				
and who you see for the first time	TI	VI	TI	VI
a relative/family member visiting from Slovenia	TI	VI	TI	VI
a male waiter in a restaurant who has given excellent service	TI	VI	TI	VI
a waitress in a restaurant who has given excellent service	TI	VI	TI	VI
a waiter in a restaurant who has given a lousy service	TI	VI	TI	VI
a waitress who has given a lousy service	TI	VI	TI	VI
a boss (or other superior)	TI	VI	TI	VI
an employee (or other inferior)	TI	VI	TI	VI
a co-worker of approximately the same age	TI	VI	TI	VI
a co-worker much younger than you	TI	VI	TI	VI
a co-worker much older than you	TI	VI	TI	VI
a stranger (approximately the same age as you)				
whom you ask for directions in the street	TI	VI	TI	VI
a stranger (older than you)				
whom you ask for directions in the street	TI	VI	TI	VI
a stranger (younger than you)				
whom you ask for directions in the street	TI	VI	TI	VI
PART II
1. Who is more likely to initiate a switch from VI to TI (underline one in each group)
•	a man	• a boss	• a younger person
•	a woman	• an employee	• an older person
4 For lack of space, some questions such as those dealing with visitors from Slovenia and those exploring the relationships involving domination/superiority vs. subordination/inferiority in the workplace and in service situations had to be omitted at this time.
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2.	How do you initiate a switch to TI? (ask for permission, just do it...)
3.	What do you do when someone switches to TI and you don't want them to?
4.	How do you feel when someone addresses you as TI when you feel entitled to VI?
•	insulted
•	pleased
•	other:
5.	At what age does it become appropriate to address young people as VI?
6.	Do you ever address the same person as TI once and VI on another occasion? Under what circumstances?
7.	Do people ever intentionally misuse TI or VI? When and why?
8.	What do you think of the use of TI and VI? Which do you prefer?
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UDK 81'42:811.Ill'366.582
DISCURSIVE ROLE OF PAST TENSES. A TEXT ANALYSIS.
Gasper lie
Abstract
The article discusses the meaning and usage of the principal past tense forms in English from a discursive perspective. Analysing short excerpts from a fictional narrative, the author argues that English past tenses in narratives have, besides their primary temporal-aspectual function, an important role in marking the type and the prominence of the past event or situation within a textual complex.
"Where can we hide in fair weather, we orphans of the storm?"
(Waugh: 235)
Narration is thought to be the most universal genre, because all cultures have storytelling traditions. It is claimed (Hatch 1992: 167) that there even exists a universal narrative template including the following components:
(i)	abstract (a sort of title for the story);
(ii)	orientation (world setting - time & space and participants);
(iii)	goal;
(iv)	problem (it prevents an easy attainment of the goal);
(v)	resolution (it shows the goal finally attained);
(vi)	coda (conclusion with a possible moral).
One of the simplest ways of developing a past narrative is by telling the story as a chain of events which are represented by the sequence of verbs connoting discrete actions1:
(1)
I looked in at my wife, found her sleeping, and closed the door between us; then I ate salmon kedgeree and cold Bradenham ham and telephoned for a barber to come and shave me.
'There's a lot of stuff in the sitting-room for the lady,' said the steward; 'shall I leave it for the time?'
I went to see. There was a second delivery of cellophane parcels from
1 All excerpts are taken from Waugh (1993); BR stands for Brideshead Revisited.
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the shops on board, some ordered by radio from friends in New York whose secretaries had failed to remind them of our departure in time, some by our guests as they left the cocktail party. It was no day for flower vases; I told him to leave them on the floor and then, struck by the thought, removed the card from Mr Kramm's roses and sent them with my love to Julia.
She telephoned while I was being shaved. 'What a deplorable thing to do, Charles! How unlike you!'
BR: 225
The events in (1) - looked, found, closed, ate, telephoned, said, went, told, removed, and telephoned - form a narrative string which represents the (linear) historical order of events as shown in (2).
(2)
t
looked found closed ate telephoned said went told removed telephoned
We know, however, that a good storytelling does seldom follow the linear, historical sequence of events; the story weaves backwards and forwards, and it may digress from the main story line in order to describe some background details. This is often mirrored in the use of complex grammatical structures (tense and aspect forms, dependent clauses, copulative structures). Hence verbal forms have apart from their temporal role also a discursive function. In discourse analysis (Cook 1989: 14), verbal forms are known as cohesive devices (establishing formal links between sentences and between clauses). Beaugrande & Dressier (1994: 80) state that they are devices which "overtly signal relations within or among events and situations of the textual world".
In addition, if the standard model of narration consists of a focal event (the planet) surrounded by peripheral events (the satellites), which can be simultaneous, anterior or posterior to the focal event (Miklic 1993: 305), then one of the roles of verbal tense forms is to signal these relations.
In the paper, we will try to establish how past tense forms can be used as a discursive (i.e. connective) device. In particular, we will be interested in their role as markers of different situations (simultaneity : anteriority; markedness : unmarkedness; foreground : background), and how the story develops through their usage.
Past tenses most commonly refer to "past time via some past point of reference, especially in fictional narrative and description, where the use of the past tense to describe imaginary past happenings is a well established convention" (Biber et al. 1999:454). Within the past time reference, English distinguishes three principal forms:
(i) past indefinite, (ii) past progressive and (iii) past perfect.
The function of the past indefinite is to show that "the event/state must have taken place in the past [...] and that the speaker or writer must have in mind a definite
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time at which the event/state took place" (Quirk et al. 1999: 183). From a discursive perspective, it represents a situation having its completion or occurrence simultaneous with the past time reference stated or implied within the line of narration. Furthermore, it marks the most prominent (i.e. most important) events of the narrative (the foreground).
The meaning of the past progressive "can be separated into three components, not all of which need be present in a given instance: (a) the happening has DURATION, (b) the happening has LIMITED duration, (c) the happening is NOT NECESSARILY COMPLETE" (Quirk et al. 1999: 198). The (past) progressive "generally has the effect of surrounding a particular event or point of time with a 'temporal frame'" (Quirk et al. 1999: 209). While two past indefinite forms usually mark the time sequence, the past indefinite and the past progressive show time-inclusion. As Hatch (1992: 167) points out, narrative situations marked with the past progressive form are viewed as ongoing (time-inclusion) and parallel (in the background) to the major story line.
The past progressive can also be used to express speaker's/writer's attitude (emotional relation) towards a particular action. In such cases, it is devoid of its semantic component of temporariness and imparts a subjective feeling of disapproval to the action described.
The past perfect usually "has the meaning of 'past-in-the-past', [...]. More technically, the past perfective may be said to denote any event or state anterior to a time of orientation in the past" (Quirk 1999: 195-196). Since past tense forms are relative forms (i.e. depend on the reference point), it is not surprising that they often occur in dependent clauses (adverbial, complement and relative clauses), where the main clause provides the anchor for interpreting the time reference. However, as argued by Kovacic (1994: 86), the reference point for a particular past perfect form need not be within a sentence, it can also be expressed or implied by the contexts. The role of past perfect forms in the narrative (Hatch (1992: 167)) is to present old background information for the story line2:
(3)
She [Julia] had made a preposterous little picture of the kind of man who would do: he was an English diplomat of great but not very virile beauty, now abroad, with a house smaller than Brideshead, nearer to London; he was old, thirty-two or -three, and had been recently and tragically widowed: Julia thought she would prefer a man a little subdued by earlier grief. He had a great career before him but had grown listless in his loneliness; she was not sure he was not in danger of falling into the hands of an unscrupulous foreign adventuress; he needed a new infusion life to carry him to the Embassy at Paris. While professing a mild agnosticism himself, he had a liking for the shows of religion and was perfectly agreeable to having his children brought up Catholic; he
2 Kovacic (1994: 84) describes these situations as "preceding, preparatory events ("the cause of the main event")".
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believed, however, in prudent restriction of his family to two boys and a comfortably spaced over twelve years, and did not demand as a Catholic husband might, yearly pregnancies. He had twelve thousand a year above his pay, and no near relations. Some like that would do, Julia thought, and she was in search of him when she met me at the railway station. I was not her man. She told me as much, without a word, when she took the cigarette from my lips.	BR: 165-166
In the text above, we have a very illustrative example of the interplay between the past indefinite and the past perfect form. While the events in the indefinite represent the focus of the narration, the perfect form conveys additional, background information (cf. analysis in (4)):
(4)
Foreground
he was an English diplomat [...] he was old, thirty-two or -three,
He had a great career before him,
Background
She had made a preposterous little picture of a kind of man that would do:
and had been [...] widowed.
but had grown listless in his loneliness.
Passage (5) contains all three principal past tense forms: the indefinite marking the foremost events in the story line, the perfect describing anterior situations providing background information, and the progressive denoting parallel or coextensive situations. (6) represents its discursive analysis in terms of the prominence criterion:
I went up and out as we steamed slowly down the river to one of the great glass cases where the passengers stood to watch the land slip by. 'Such a lot of friends,' my wife had said. They looked a strange crowd to me; the emotions of leave-taking were just beginning to subside; some of them, who had been drinking till the last moment with those who were seeing them off, were still boisterous; others were planning where they would have their deck chairs; the band played unnoticed — all were as restless as ants. I turned into some of the halls of the ship, which were huge without any splendour, as though they had been designed for a railway coach and preposterously magnified. I passed through vast bronze gates on which paper-thin Assyrian animals cavorted; I trod carpets the colour of blotting paper; the painted panels of the walls were like blotting paper, too — kindergarten work in flat, drab colours — and between the walls were yards and yards of biscuit-coloured wood which no carpenter's tool had ever touched, wood that had been bent round corners, invisibly joined strip to strip, steamed and squeezed and polished; all over the
130
blotting-paper carpet were strewn tables designed perhaps by a sanitary engineer, square blocks of stuffing, with square holes for sitting in, and upholstered, it seemed, in blotting paper also; the light of the hall was suffused from scores of hollows, giving an even glow, casting no shadows — the whole place hummed from its hundred ventilators and vibrated with the turn of the great engines below.	BR: 212-213
(6)
Foreground
Narrative string 1 :
I went up and out as we steamed slowly [...] [...] where the passengers stood to watch the land slip by.
They looked a strange crowd to me;
were still boisterous;
the band played unnoticed - all were as restless as ants.
Narrative string 2:
I turned [...], I passed [...]; I trod [...] [...]- between the walls were yards and yards of [...Jwood
Background - simultaneous
9f
the emotions of leave-taking were just beginning to subside;
with those who were seeing them off
others were planning
where they [...]
which no carpenter's tool had ever touched, wood that had been bent [...] joined [...], steamed and squeezed and polished; [...]
Some forms in excerpt (5) need further discussion:
(i) i...l as we steamed slowly down the river - as is clear from the context, the event of steaming is in progress at the reference point denoted by
Background - anterior
'Such a lot of friends,' my wife had said.
some of them had been drinking till the last moment
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went. The progressive would, therefore, be expected. There are two possible answers why the indefinite form is used. First, it is possible that the author wanted to present the two events (went, steamed) as belonging to the same level of prominence (i.e. both a part of the main story line). A potential counterargument for such an analysis may be the fact that steamed occurs in the adverbial (subordinate) clause of time indicating an ongoing process at the time of the event in the main clause (went). As such it should be syntactically as well as semantically less prominent. Second, and more likely, it is a well-known fact that when a predicator in temporal clauses introduced by as is a durative verb, it usually occurs in the indefinite form3. The choice of the indefinite in the above example is thus stylistically and not narrative-internally explainable4.
(ii)	where the passengers stood to watch i... 1: the band played unnoticed -the choice of the tense form in these two clauses is crucial; the author merely wants to present the two events as two completed entities with no reference to their internal structures (here: duration). The notion of pro-gressiveness is, nonetheless, obtained through the inherent semantic meanings of both verbs. If the progressive were used with these two events, it would signal their peripheral role. In that case, they would be inferior to the event went. A closer look at these three events reveals that from this perspective they are of equal rank; they represent unrelated actions designating three independent story lines: [/ went]1 - [passengers stood]2 - [the band played]3.
(iii)	[...I others were iust beginning to subside: - the use of the progressive is in this case essential to express the gradual development of the process5.
Another interesting function of the perfect form is to remind the reader of a previously described situation. If we follow the story of the vast bronze gates on which paper thin Assyrian animals cavorted (introduced for the first time on p. 212 (cf. example (5)) through the novel, we can observe that it is always reintroduced by the perfect form conveying the what-happened-while-we-were-away information6:
(7)
a) The great bronze doors of the lounge had torn away from their hooks and were swinging free with the roll of the ship; regularly and, it seemed, irresistibly, first one, then the other, opened and shut; they paused at the
3	Some additional examples:
(i)	"Despite the chill, damp air, Phillip was sweating heavily beneath his light windbreaker as he waited impatiently for his call to work through the telephone circuits.
(ii)	Tom could see her in tears as she wrote it." (Biber et al. 1999: 822)
4	This example confirms that the verbs as cohesive devices cannot be solely analysed on the grammatical level, but special attention should also be paid to the lexical meaning (Burazer 2000: 182).
5	With punctual verbs the indefinite form denotes a single instantaneous event, never the process (Comrie 1976: 42-43).
6	The other trigger is the definite article.
132
eompletion of each half circle, began to move slowly and finished fast with a resounding clash. There was no real risk in passing them, except of slipping and being caught by that swift, final blow; there was ample time to walk through unhurried but there was something forbidding in the sight of that great weight of uncontrolled metal, flapping to and fro, which might have made a timid man flinch or skip through to quickly; I rejoiced to feel Julia's hand perfectly steady on my arm and know, as I walked beside her, that she was wholly undismayed.
BR: 227
b)	After luncheon the last hardy passengers went to rest and we were alone [•••]
The bronze doors of the lounge had been fixed, but not before two seamen had been badly injured. They had tried various devices, lashing with ropes and, later, when these failed, with steel hawser, but there was nothing to which they could be made fast; finally the drove wooden wedges under them, catching them in the brief moment of repose when they were full open, and these held firm.
When, before the dinner, she went to her cabin to get ready [...] and I came with her, [...]	BR: 230
c)	Foreground	Background - simultaneous Background - anterior
The great bronze doors of the lounge had torn away [...]
[...] and were swinging
free with the roll of the ship;
[...] opened and shut; they paused at the completion [...] began to move.
The bronze doors of the lounge had been fixed, [...]
In (7 a) the events opened, shut, paused, began and finished represent a sequence of single, completed, more or less punctual actions which is repeated as a whole (i.e. a unit) over a period of time. These punctual actions stand for different points of the process were swinging:
were swinging
<-1-1--]-►
opened shut paused began finished
133
It is noteworthy to discuss the use of tenses in (7b) in terms of the reference point. The entire paragraph has a function of a flashback. The initial three perfect forms do not only signal anteriority; they also set the new reference point. Once the anteriority is established, it is safe to use the past indefinite form again7:
(8)
R2	Ri	Si
-1-1-;—I-*
_________ [went to rest, were alone] (E,Ri_S)
^ [had been fixed, had been injured, had tried\ (E_Rj_S) |failed; was, drove, were, held] (E,R2_S)
The passage in (9) and its analysis in (10) offer an insight into the complexity of the interaction between the three past tense forms:
(9)	Next day the wind [had again dropped]^ and again we [were wallowing]2 in the swell. The talk [was]3 less of seasickness now than of broken bones; people [had been thrown]4 about in the night and there [had been]5 many nasty accidents on bathroom floors.
That day, because we [had talked]6 so much the day before and because what we had to say needed few words, we [spoke]7little. We [had]8books; Julia [found]9 a game she liked. When after long silences we [spoke]10, our thoughts, we [found]11, [had kept]12 pace together side by side.
BR: 234
(10)
BACKGROUND [ ], SITUATIONS []„ ih y [kf J	1]2		h
	c * ^^ / Hi 2 next day = R(efere\i	>	
	1 1 '1		
FOREGROUND SITUATIONS	1 1 []9 [],0 t [MMs	In tates)	w now t
	[ b (continuative)		
	^ w		
7	The indefinite form is obligatory, since it denotes events which are simultaneous with the newly established reference point. If the perfect form were used instead of the indefinite, it would trigger another anteriority.
8	E = event; R = reference point; S = point of speech;, = simultaneous; _ = anterior
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The progressive form can also be used to express speaker's/writer's emotional involvement in the course of action. In the text below, the writer describes the pre-War situation in England. Following the string of narration in the beginning (was summoned - interviewed - put), there are two progressive forms (were becoming, was being got). While they could be accounted for as gradual ongoing processes at the reference point, their essential role is to mark writer's annoyance with the state of affairs. There are some other lexical items present in the text that call our attention to such an interpretation of the progressive form (the coming 'Emergency', that dark office, taboo, a monster with sightless face).
(11)	I was summoned to the War Office, interviewed, and put on a list in case of emergency; Cordelia also, on another list; lists were becoming part of our lives once more, as they had been at school. Everything was being got ready for the coming 'Emergency'. No one in that dark office spoke the word 'war'; it was taboo; we should be called for if there was 'an emergency' -— not in case of strife, an act of human will; nothing so clear and simple as wrath or retribution; an emergency; something coming out of the waters, a monster with sightless face and thrashing tail thrown up from the depths.	BR: p.299
In conclusion, I cite two additional excerpts from the novel to stimulate some future research on the subject matter, and to motivate the reader to carry out some individual discourse analysis.
(12)	'Do you remember,' said Julia, in the tranquil, lime-scented evening, 'do you remember the storm?'
'The bronze doors banging.' 'The roses in cellophane.'
'The man who gave the "get-together" party and was never seen again.' 'Do you remember how the sun came out on our last evening just as it has done today?'
It had been an afternoon of low cloud and summer squalls, so overcast that at times I had stopped work and roused Julia from the light trance in which she sat — she had sat so often; I never tired of painting her, forever finding in her new wealth and delicacy — until at length we had gone early to our baths and, on coming down, dressed for dinner, in the last half-hour of the day, we found the world transformed; the sun had emerged; the wind had fallen to a soft breeze which gently stirred the blossom in the limes and carried its fragrance, fresh from the late rains, to merge with the sweet breath of box and the drying stone. The shadow of the obelisk spanned the terrace.
I had carried two garden cushions from the shelter of the colonnade and put them on the rim of the fountain. There Julia sat, in a tight little gold tunic and a white gown, one hand in the water idly turning an emerald ring to catch the fire of the sunset; the carved animals mounted over her
135
dark head in a cumulus of green moss and glowing stone and dense shadow, and the waters round them flashed and bubbled and broke into scattered flames.	BR: 249-250
(13) Rex's public life was approaching a climacteric. Things had not gone as smoothly with him as he had planned. I knew nothing of finance, but I heard it said that his dealings were badly looked on by orthodox Conservatives; even his good qualities of geniality and impetuosity counted against him, for his parties at Brideshead got talked about. There was always too much about him in the papers; he was one with the Press lords and their sad-eyed, smiling hangers-on; in his speeches he said the sort of thing which 'made a story' in Fleet Street, and that did him no good with his party chiefs; only war could put Rex's fortunes right and carry him into power. A divorce would do him no great harm; it was rather that with a big bank running he could not look up from the table.
BR: 268 University of Ljubljana
WORKS CITED
Beaugrande, Robert de & Wolfgang Dressier. Introduction to Text Linguistics. 7" edition. London and New York: Longman, 1994.
Biber, Douglas et al.. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Longman, 1999.
Burazer, Lara. "Junkcija v obravnavi kohezivne vrednosti glagolskih oblik", Vestnik društva Tja tuje jezike 34 (2000): 175-182.
Comrie, Bernard. Aspect. An Introduction to the Study of verbal Aspect and Related problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
Cook, Guy. Discourse. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Hatch, Evelyn. Discourse and Language Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Kovačič, Irena. "Besedilna vrednost past perfect tensa v angleščini", Vestnik društva za tuje jezike 28 (1994): 80-88.
Miklič, Tjaša. "Izražanje in interpretacija časovnih odnosov v konkretnih besedilih: izraba "narativnih postopkov" ", in Inka Štrukelj (ed.). Jezik tako in drugače. Ljubljana: Društvo za uporabno jezikoslovje Slovenije, 1993.
Quirk, Randolph et al.. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. 1501 edition. Longman, 1999.
Waugh, Evelyn. Brideshead Revisited. Everyman's Library. London: David Campbell Publishers Ltd., 1993.
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UDK 811.111'367.333.811.163.6'367.333
THE USE OF POSSESSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS IN ENGLISH AND SLOVENE AND THE REFERENCE-POINT FUNCTION OF PRENOMINAL
POSSESSORS
Frančiška Lipovšek
Abstract
The paper presents the findings of the study concerning the use of prenominal and postnominal possessive constructions in English and Slovene. The study has been based on the cognitive approach according to which the possessor functions as a reference point facilitating identification of the posséssee. The term identification value has been used in the study to refer to the cluster of properties that render a nominal compatible with the reference-point function. The main factors contributing to the identification value of the possessor nominal are its topicality (i.e. mental accessibility) and its informativity (i.e. ability to be an effective cue for the identification of the relation between the possessor and the possessee). The findings of the study confirm that in both languages (i) the prenominal possessor has the reference-point function by default, and that (ii) the identification value of the possessor is the main factor determining the choice between the prenominal and the postnominal constructions.
The aim of this paper is to present the findings of the study1 concerning the use of prenominal and postnominal possessive constructions in English and Slovene. The study has focused on the Saxon genitive and the o/-phrase in English, and on the possessive adjective and the postnominal genitive phrase in Slovene. Of particular interest have been the Saxon genitive and the possessive adjective, which - in contrast to their postnominal counterparts - are not syntactic parallels. The difference between them is twofold:
(i)	They occupy different positions in the phrase structure. The Saxon genitive phrase is a definite element whereas the possessive adjective is a modifier (Haspelmath 1999, Plank 1992). The latter does not affect the (in)definite status of the whole phrase and is as such compatible with a(n) (in)definite element: ta Janezova knjiga, neka Janezova knjiga (cf. *this John's book, *a John's book).
(ii)	Possessive adjectives ending in -ov/-ev or -in can only be derived from singular nouns. Therefore a prenominal possessor in Slovene cannot be complex or plural (dual) in form: *moj prijateljeva hiša, *prijatelji-eva hiša. In English, on the other hand, there are no restrictions of the kind: my friend's house, my friends' house. This
1 Part of my doctoral dissertation: "Svojilniške zgradbe v angleščini in slovenščini" (Lipovšek 2002).
137
is due to the fact that the genitival -'s is neither a derivational nor an inflectional morpheme. Although it has emerged from the Old English genitival inflection -es, it is nowadays regarded as a clitic whose function is similar to that of a preposition (Quirk et al. 1985). It can also be considered an auxiliary possessive pronoun (Delsing 1998, Hudson 1995) or, as has been established within the framework of generative grammar, the linking verb be with an incorporated preposition (den Dikken 1998a, 1998b).
The primary objective of the study has been to determine factors governing the use of prenominal and postnominal possessive constructions and to establish the degree of overlap between English and Slovene in this respect. The theoretical approach underlying the study has been the reference-point analysis of the possessive construction, as has been developed within the framework of cognitive grammar (Lyons 1977, Langacker 1995, Vidovic-Muha 1998). This approach is based on the view that the function of the possessor is that of an abstract location: the possessor serves as a reference point facilitating identification of the possessee. Not all nomináis, however, are able to discharge this function. Following Taylor (1996), the term identification value has been used in the study to refer to the cluster of properties that render a nominal compatible with the reference-point function.
As further elaborated by Taylor (1996), the main factor building up the identification value of the possessor nominal is its topicality (i.e. mental accessibility). Topicality may be discourse-conditioned (e.g. a concept may be mentally accessible due to its recent mention in the preceding discourse) or inherent (some concepts are automatically more easily accessed than others, regardless of discourse context). It seems that in judging the acceptability of a given possessive construction the most important role is played by the inherent topicality of the possessor. The highest degree of inherent topicality attaches to human beings and the lowest to abstract concepts.
Another major factor contributing to the identification value of the possessor nominal is its informativity, i.e. its ability to be an effective cue for the identification of the relation between the possessor and the possessee. The possessor is able to perform a reference-point function if the semantic properties of the possessee are such that the possessor emerges as the more informative participant in the relation. In the case of kinship relations, for example, it is the semantic structure of the possessee that calls for a further specification: son » Whose son? » Barbara's son.
It has been claimed that the Saxon genitive performs the reference-point function by default (Taylor 1996). Therefore prenominal possessors in English can only be realized by nomináis that have high identification values whereas nomináis with low identification values tend to be used in postnominal o/-constructions. It has been proposed in the study that the same applies to Slovene: the prenominal possessor is a reference point by default and as such incompatible with a low identification value. Consequently, the identification value of the possessor may be regarded as the main factor determining the choice between the prenominal and the postnominal constructions.
For either language, the following hypotheses have been put forward:
HI: The prenominal possessor has the reference-point function by default.
H2: The identification value of the possessor is the main factor determining the choice between the prenominal and the postnominal constructions.
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Both hypotheses have been checked against the empirical data compiled from the British National Corpus2 (a corpus of modern English) and the corpus FIDA3 (a corpus of modern Slovene). The analysis has comprised 500 examples of the English prenominal (Saxon genitive) construction, 500 examples of the English postnominal (¿»/-phrase) construction, 1954 examples of the Slovene prenominal (possessive adjective) construction and 1200 examples of the Slovene postnominal (genitive phrase) construction.4 The focus has been on the semantic properties of possessors and on the relations between possessors and possessees in given constructions. The findings are as follows (1-3):
1. In both languages the prenominal construction is characterized by a high identification value of the possessor, which is reflected in the fact that (1.1.) the possessor is highly topical, i.e. mentally accessible, and (1.2.) the relation between the possessor and the possessee is such that the possessor emerges as the more informative participant in the relation.
1.1. The prenominal possessor is realized predominantly by:
(i)	Personal names:
(1)	Joan's hesitation, the Simpsons' flat
(2)	Žigov naslov, Pogačnikova ponudba
(ii)	Kinship terms and nouns denoting mutual interpersonal relations:
(3)	his wife's persistent chattering, her friend's letter
(4)	očetov obraz, sosedino vedro
(iii)	Other nouns denoting people:
(5)	the old woman's death, the architect's own design
(6)	starkina odločnost, doktorjevi gostje
Less frequent, however not unlikely to occur as prenominal possessors are names of institutions, places and countries, common nouns referring to these entities (e.g. city, country, firm, institute, island, nation, school, state, town) and expressions of time. What they all have in common is that they all relate to human activities and interests, which makes them relatively high in topicality. Abstract concepts, on the other hand, have the lowest possible degree of inherent topicality and are as such not used as prenominal possessors.
2	For more information see <http://info.ox.ac.uk/bnc>.
3	For mpre information see <http://www.fida.net>.
4	All examples are listed in Lipovsek 2002.
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1.2. The prevailing relations between the possessor and the possessee are the following:
(i)	The possessee denotes some part of the possessor's body or psyche:
(7)	Elizabeth Danziger's face, Richard's mind
(8)	Irenine oči, Erazmova duševnost
(ii)	The possessee denotes some part of the possessor's life or identity:
(9)	his father's death, the girls' switched identities
(10)	hčerina poroka, sestrino ime
(iii)	The possessee denotes some quality of the possessor:
(11)	Hamlet's lunacy
(12)	Janezova hvalisavost
(iv)	Between the possessor and the possessee exists a kinship relation or a mutual interpersonal relation:
(13)	the old farmer's daughter, Rory's pals
(14)	Aleševa sestra, hčerkin fant
(v)	Between the possessor and the possessee exists an "employer-employee" relation:
(15)	Gorbrandt's men, the young king's faithful chamberlain
(16)	očkov šef, Oblakovi fantje
(vi)	The possessor is the owner of the possessee:
(17)	Karen's things, the boy's sandshoe
(18)	Kajini čevlji, Martina bajta
(vii)	The possessor is the performer or carrier of the activity or state denoted by the possessee:
(19)	Mr Gorbachev's policies, the group's main strategy
(20)	Kristusovi čudeži, Andrejeva kariera
(viii)	The possessor is the author of the thing denoted by the possessee:
(21)	Rupert Brooke's poems, the architect's own design
(22)	očetov prejšnji film, Einsteinova formula
(ix)	If the possessee is realized by a deverbal noun or a gerund, the possessor
performs the function of an intransitive subject or a subject that does not denote a prototypical agent (i.e. a volitional initiator or causer of an action that affects the state of another participant in the process):
(23)	white farmers' fears (« White farmers fear something.), his wife's persistent chattering (« His wife chatters.)
(24)	otrokov psihofizični razvoj (« Otrok se razvija.), Sovino hukanje (« Sova huka.)
What all these relations have in common is the fact that in each of them even a non-relational possessee nominal starts to behave as a relational one. Thus the posses-
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sor becomes part of the semantic structure of the possessee and emerges as the more informative participant in the given relation.
2. Unless their use is precluded by some morpho-syntactic factors, possessors with high identification values do not occur in postnominal constructions.
In Slovene, the crucial factors are the complexity and the grammatical number of the possessor. As soon as the possessor is complex or plural (dual) in form, the derivation of a possessive adjective is not possible. In English, on the other hand, the genitival - 's can attach to both complex and plural possessors. In the following cases, however, a postnominal construction is normally used (even if the possessor has a high identification value):
(i)	There's an apposition describing the possessor:
(25)	daughter of John Neville, a Dublin merchant
(ii)	There's a relative clause describing the possessor:
(26)	the help ofDr Blackwell. who needed a moral support now
(iii)	The possessor is rather long:
(27)	the future of new director general John Birt
(iv)	The possessor is coordinated with another possessor:
(28)	the names of the newly elected Mayor and the o fficials appointed by
him
3. Possessors with low identification values are normally used in postnominal constructions.
The only exception seems to be the type of construction generally known as possessive compounds, where the function of the possessor is classifying: the possessor does not function as a prototypical reference point but merely states the type (class) of the possessee (e.g. a [boy's school], limonin sok). Representing a considerable extension from the prototype, possessive compounds may be excluded from the above generalization.
For both languages, the findings confirm the hypothesis that the prenominal possessor has the reference-point function by default (HI). This makes the prenominal possessive construction a perfect device for introducing new concepts into the discourse: a new entity is introduced via mention of an entity that has already been conceptualized by the hearer. Using the prenominal construction, the speaker makes it explicit to the hearer that the possessor is able to perform the reference-point function and thus facilitate identification of the possessee.
The findings also confirm the hypothesis that the choice between the prenominal and the postnominal constructions depends primarily on the identification value of
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the possessor (H2). At first sight it seems that in the case of Slovene constructions this factor is overridden by the complexity and the grammatical number of the possessor; in addition, a possessive adjective cannot be derived from any semantic class of noun. It has been argued in the study that even these factors can to some extent be explained in terms of identification value, namely (inherent) topicality:
The fact that personal names and kinship terms are used almost exclusively as prenominal possessors indicates that they tend to be simple in form. This tendency can be understood as a reflection of their topicality: as highly topical entities they do not need further description in order to be conceptualized by the hearer. Other types of nouns denoting people, which are slightly lower in topicality, are more often modified, the syntactic consequence being their use as postnominal possessors. The need for modification and topicality are obviously related. What is more, topicality is also connected with semantic classes of nouns that can(not) serve as derivational bases for possessive adjectives: most of the nouns that have a low degree of inherent topicality cannot perform this function. This is a reflection of the fact that the reference-point function of all prenominal possessors originates in the function of a prototypical possessor, i.e. a single, human, definite and mentally accessible owner of a particular thing. The analogy with the prototype seems to be so strong that the derivation of possessive adjectives is restricted mostly to nouns denoting people, i.e. nouns that are compatible with the function of a prototypical possessor.
The prototypical reference point serves the unique identification of the target. This function of prenominal possessors reflects the exclusive nature of relation between a prototypical possessor and a prototypical possessee: there is only one owner of one particular thing. Most prenominal possessive constructions are extensions from the prototype, encoding a variety of relations other than prototypical possession. What they all have in common is the fact that in any of them the possessor facilitates the identification of the possessee in one of the following ways (1-3):
1. It serves the unique identification of the possessee.
The referent of the possessor is a specific, definite entity whose identification can be made by both the speaker and the hearer. This type of reference point enables the hearer to restrict the set of possible referents of the possessee to one particular referent: Barbara's bike ('the bike owned by Barbara').
2. It restricts the number of possible referents of the possessee by excluding referents with other possessors.
For example, in Slovene constructions like nek Barbarin prijatelj ('a friend of Barbara's') the referent of the possessee is a specific, indefinite entity. Although the (specific, definite) possessor cannot facilitate the unique identification of the possessee, it can be regarded as a reference point since it excludes certain referents ('those who are not Barbara's friends') and thus restricts the set of possible referents of the possessee to a subset ('only those who are Barbara's friends').
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Similarly, in English constructions like [some student]'s bike the referent of the possessor is a specific, yet indefinite entity. Despite its indefinite status the possessor has a reference-point function: it excludes certain referents ('bikes that are not owned by students') from the set of possible referents of the possessee.
3. It restricts the set of possible referents of the possessee to one particular class.
This type of reference point is present in possessive compounds, which are characterized by a classifying function of the possessor. For example, a [lady's bike] denotes a type of bike, i.e. 'a bike designed for women' and not 'a bike owned by some particular lady' (in fact, the possessive compound [lady's bike] does not exclude the possibility that the bike in question is owned by a man: Bob's [lady's bike]). The most striking difference between possessive compounds and other possessive constructions is the fact that possessors in possessive compounds are non-referential, i.e. they have no referents in the real world. In the case of a [lady's bike] only the possessee (bike) has a referent, either a specific (e.g. She bought a new lady's bike. The lady's bike she bought was quite expensive. ) or a non-specific one (e.g. A lady's bike is easy to ride.). The possessor (lady), on the other hand, does not refer to any particular lady or ladies in general; it merely states the type of bike. The situation would be different if the phrase a lady's bike was not a possessive compound but a prototypical possessive construction: [a lady]'s bike ('the bike owned by some particular lady'). The two constructions, however, are not unrelated. If we ignore the fact that ladies' bikes are not popular with all women, we can conclude that if some lady owns a bike ([a lady]'s bike) it will be a bike designed for women (a [lady's bike]). If we start the other way round, we can now provide a definition of the possessee in the possessive compound on the basis of comparison with the possessee in the prototypical possessive construction: a [lady's bike] = a bike of the same type as the bike owned by some particular lady. An example from Slovene: limonin sok ('lemon juice') = juice of the same type as the juice of this particular lemon. The possessor in the possessive compound is, notwithstanding its non-referentiality, at least indirectly in the function of a reference point: it restricts the set of possible referents of the possessee to a particular class, the class being the same as the class the possessee in the (homonymous) prototypical possessive construction belongs to.
As proposed in the study, all the above functions of the possessor can be described as reference-point functions. Extending the notion of reference point makes it possible to associate the reference-point function with any prenominal possessor, irrespective of how far it may be removed from the prototype.
In conclusion, the study has confirmed the universal nature of some basic concepts and constructions. The fact that the reference-point analysis of the possessive construction may be applied to languages as different as English and Slovene suggests the potential for further application of the reference-point model to crosslinguistic studies.
University of Ljubljana
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WORKS CITED
Delsing, Lars Olof. "Possession in Germanic". Possessors, Predicates and Movement in DP. Artemis Alexiadou & Chris Wilder (eds.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1998.
Dikken, Marcel den. "(Anti-)agreement in DP". Linguistics in the Netherlands 1998 (1998a).
Dikken, Marcel den. "Predicate Inversion in DP". Possessors, Predicates and Movement in DP. Artemis Alexiadou & Chris Wilder (eds.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1998b.
Haspelmath, Martin. "Explaining article - possessor complementarity: Economic motivation in noun phrase syntax". Language 75 (1999): 227-243.
Hudson, Richard. "Does English really have case?". Journal of Linguistics 31 (1995): 375-392.
Langacker, Ronald W. "Possession and possessive constructions". Language and the Cognitive Construal of the World, John R. Taylor & E. MacLaury (eds.). Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1995.
Lipovšek, Frančiška. "Svojilniške zgradbe v angleščini in slovenščini". Doctoral dissertation. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta, 2002.
Lyons, John. Semantics. Cambridge: CUP, 1977.
Plank, Frans. "Possessives and the distinction between determiners and modifiers (with special reference to German)". Journal of Linguistics 28 (1992): 453-468.
Quirk, Randolph et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985.
Taylor, John R. Possessives in English. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996.
Vidovič-Muha, Ada. "Pomenski preplet glagolov imeti in biti - njuna jezikovnosistemska stilistika". Slavistična revija 46 (1998): 293-323.
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SUMMARIES IN SLOVENE - POVZETKI V SLOVENŠČINI
UDK 929 Stanonik J.
Mirko Jurak JANEZ STANONIK - OSEMDESETLETNIK
Prejšnji urednik revije Acta Neophilologica, akademik prof. dr. Janez Stanonik, je 2. januarja 2002 praznoval osemdesetletnico svojega življenja. Je še vedno zelo aktiven in sodelavci mu želimo še veliko zdravih, srečnih in uspešnih let. Daljši prispevek o njegovem življenju in delu je bil objavljen v AN 33.1-2(2000):3-5.
UDK 821.163.6(94).09:314.743(94= 163.6) Igor Maver
SLOVENSKA IZSELJENSKA KNJIŽEVNOST V AVSTRALIJI
Članek o književni ustvarjalnosti slovenskih izseljencev v Avstraliji po drugi svetovni vojni pregledno obravnava umetniško najzanimivejše avtoije in tista njihova dela, ki so bila pri kritikih in bralcih najbolj pozitivno sprejeta. Seveda so tudi tisti ustvaijalci, katerih dela niso natančneje analizirana, pomembni za ohranitev slovenske kulture in identitete med izseljenci v Avstraliji, z dokumentarnega, zgodovinskega ali etnološkega vidika. Predstavljeni so različni žanri, od povsem literarnih (poezija in proza) do polliterarnih, kot so fikcionalizirana biografija, spominska proza ali dokumentaristična proza. Sklepni del članka predstavlja razmišljanje o vlogi in mestu sodobne slovenske izseljenske književnosti v slovenskem literarnem kanonu.
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UDK 821.111 (417).09 Yeats W.B.(497.4)
Janez Gorenc
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS V SLOVENSKEM KULTURNEM PROSTORU
William Butler Yeats, irski pesnik, dramatik in esejist, dobitnik Nobelove nagrade za literaturo 1923, je bil tudi široko znan po vlogi, ki jo je igral v irski politiki. Čeprav je politično večinoma deloval na kulturnem področju - o irski politiki je pisal v svojih delih, osnoval številne literarne klube, ustanovil gledališče -, je posegel v politiko aktivno v letih 1923-1928, ko je bil senator irskega senata. Članek se osredotoča na omembe Yeatsovih političnih dejavnosti v različnih angleških in slovenskih tekstih. Podrobno predstavi veliko večino besedil o Yeatsu, ki so se pojavili v slovenskih publikacijah. Obenem izpostavi dejstvo, da medtem ko angleške enciklopedije in literarne zgodovine odprto pišejo o Yeatsovem političnem udejstvovanju, se slovenski kritiki v glavnem osredotočajo zgolj na njegov literarni opus in dosti manj na njegovo politično delovanje. Ko pa ga že omenjajo, se ponavadi izognejo podrobnostim. Članek poskuša osvetliti nekatere razloge za to dejstvo.
UDK 792.02(497.4):821.111 (73)-2" 19" Mateja Slunjski
IGRE LILLIAN HELLMAN, CLIFFORDA ODETSA IN WILLIAMAINGA NA
SLOVENSKIH ODRIH
V prvih letih po drugi svetovni vojni so v slovenskih gledališčih v glavnem igrali drame Eugena O'Neilla in Arthuija Millerja, kritiki pa so v teh delih iskali napredne ideje, ki so odgovarjale duhu takratnega časa. V petdesetih letih pa so se tudi slovenska gledališča začela odpirati v svet in prikazovala vedno več del ameriških avtorjev, od resnejših, ki so jih bolj cenili kritiki, pa do lahkotnejših komedij, ki so bile bolj obiskane. Pri izboru del je bila najpomembnejša dosegljivost gledališke predloge. V svoji nalogi sem raziskala sprejem treh ameriških dramatikov, Lillian Hellman, Clifforda Odetsa in Williama Inga, ter njihovih dram v slovenskih gledališčih in pri kritikih v slovenskem tisku.
Lillian Hellman so v slovenskih gledališčih odkrili dokaj hitro po drugi svetovni vojni in jo sprejeli kot avtorico napredne ameriške dramatike, ki v svojih delih razkriva pokvaijenost kapitalistične družbe. Njena drama Kobilice, izbrana prav zaradi aktualne tematike, je uspeh doživela v treh gledališčih, medtem ko je Dekliška ura dosegla predvsem negativne kritike.
Clifford Odets je bil v gledaliških listih prav tako predstavljen kot avtor sodobne ameriške dramatike. Njegovo dramo Srečni fant, izbrano zaradi tematike pokvarjenosti poslovnega sveta in bogastva, so kritiki zavrgli kot napredno delo, medtem pa so igro
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Premiera v New Yorku, s katero je svoj igralski jubilej praznoval Miro Kopač, ocenili za umetniško kvalitetno delo. Uprizoritve obeh dram so v gledališčih dosegle manjši uspeh.
William Inge je pri nas dvignil največ prahu, saj so ga kritiki povsem različno vrednotili. Nekateri so v podobnosti Ingove dramaturgije s Čehovo videli kot slabost in posnemanje, drugi pa so v Ingovih delih videli izvirnost in tipičnost moderne ameriške dramatike. Tri Ingove drame, uprizorjene v slovenskih gledališčih, Vrni se, mala Sheba, Piknik in Avtobusna postaja, so kritiki različno ocenili, pri občinstvu pa so dosegle manjši do srednji uspeh.
Uprizoritve del Hellmanove, Odetsa in Inga v slovenskih gledališčih niso imele takega vpliva kot morda Williamsove ali Millerjeve, vendar pa so doprinesle k boljšemu poznavanju raznolikih zvrsti, idej in tematike ameriške dramatike. Predvsem Odetsove in Ingove igre so spodbudile gledališčnike in prevajalce k oblikovanju enotnejšega slovenskega pogovornega jezika, ki se je le počasi uveljavljal na slovenskih odrih.
UDK 821.111(73).03.09 Steinbeck J.=163.6 Danica Čerče
OB STOLETNICI STEINBECKOVEGA ROJSTVA IN NJEGOVEM SLOVESU NA SLOVENSKEM
Vse od njegovega prvega romana Cup of Gold (1929) so kritiki Steinbeckova dela često bodisi hvalili ali grajali spričo napačnih razlogov, po objavi svojih družbeno kritičnih romanov v tridesetih letih dvajsetega stoletja pa je po splošnem prepričanju postal eden od najpomembnejših ameriških angažiranih avtorjev. Glede na to, da letošnje leto označuje stoletnico rojstva Johna Steinbecka, ki so ga zaznamovale različne proslave po Združenih državah Amerike, se članek loteva obravnave pisateljevega slovesa na Slovenskem. Analizira primere najbolj značilne literarne kritike o Steinbecku, ki je spremljala objave posameznih njegovih del, obenem pa se zavzame za nujnost današnjega novega, politično neobremenjenega kritiškega vrednotenja le-teh.
UDK 821.111'04.09 Chartier A.
Helen J. Swift ALAIN CHARTIER IN SMRT LIRIČNEGA JEZIKA
Alan Chartier, pesnik iz 15. stoletja, uporablja dvorske kontekste svojih liričnih, pripovednih in debatnih pesmi kot podporo pri svojem spraševanju o vrednosti dvorskega jezika in pri metapoetičnem spraševanju o lastni retoriki oz. podedovanem poetskem diskurzu. Satirično branje njegovega dela tako omogoči vpogled v igro retorike, s katero Chartier kritizira hermenevtičen razkroj dvorskega koda: njeno zasta-
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ranje izhaja iz razhoda med etiko in estetiko ko je njen jezik izgubil zmožnost ustvarjanja pomenov.
UDK 821.133.1.09 Montaigne M.E. de Jamil George Barcha MONTAIGNE: UVOD V DELO IN DUHA
Pričujoča razprava podaja kratek uvod v Eseje Michela de Montaigna. Hkrati poskuša osvetliti Montaignev tako zgodovinski kakor tudi današnji pomen, ki se izpričujeta na več ravneh, tako na primer na literarni, znanstveni, zgodovinski, filozofski ter idejno zgodovinski. Seveda se o vsem tem v pričujočem prispevku ne da razpravljati in extenso. Glavni namen eseja je, dati spodbudo za nadaljnje ukvarjanje s tem francoskim citoyenom du monde.
UDK 81'42:821.133.1.09 Sartre J.P.
Rosalind Silvester
SPORAZUMEVANJE Z DRUGIM V L'AGE DE RAISON JEANA PAULA SARTRA: DISKURZNA ANALIZA
Članek analizira pogovor med glavnima junakoma (Mathieu in Marcelle) v omenjenem delu J. P. Sartra. Interpretacija materiala obsega novejše metode diskurzne analize ob upoštevanju kognitivne sheme in pragmatičnih ciljev govornih dejanj. Ugotoviti poskuša ali govorca uspeta v svojem komuniciranju doseči metafizično ali moralno svobodo in ali sta le-to sposobna tudi obdržati vsaj nekaj časa. V tem primeru je po Sartrovem mnenju komunikacija med njima uspešna.
UDK 821.134.2.091 Cervantes Saavedra M. de:821.111.091 Shakespeare W.
Ludovik B. Osterc DON KIHOT IN HAMLET
Avtor eseja primerja literarna lika in skuša ugotoviti, kateri je »večji«. Njegovo raziskovanje temelji na vsebini obeh del, saj se mu zdi da sta, kar se tiče oblike, obe deli na približno enakem umetniškem nivoju.
Pri Shakespearu ga navdušuje njegova točnost izražanja, Ofelijin dialog, teatralnost jezika, verz in bogastvo njegovega stila. Pri Cervantesu pa mu je všeč predvsem njegovo pripovedovanje, ki vsebuje kompleksnost in različne vidike Don Kihota
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odražajoče se na besedišču, mnogoglasnost romana, stilno bogastvo in različne funkcije avtorjevih pisarskih postopkov.
Sledi primerjava bistva romanov, in tu skuša odgovoriti na vprašanje, kaj predstavljata oba lika. Hamlet je »norec«, ki trpi za prividi, ki dvomi tudi o svojih lastnih občutkih. Zanj obstaja le črna plat bivanja, njegov edini cilj je približati se razkritju zločina. Je egocentričen, ne verjeme v ničesar, večno opazuje svojo notranjost, hrani se z zaničevanjem samega sebe, torej je njegovo trpljenje veliko bolj boleče od Don Kihotovega. Don Kihot pa ravno obratno, veijame v človeka in njegovo prihodnost, njegov nedosegljivi cilj pa je s silo in resnico razširiti po svetu dobroto in pravičnost. Da bi služil temu svojemu idealu, je pripravljen trpeti vsa mogoča pomanjkanja. Predstavlja vero v resnico. Je bedaček in verjetno najbolj smešen lik izpod peresa književnikov.
Hamlet je sin mrtvega kralja, zategadelj bogat, medtem ko je Don Kihot reven plemič. Le-ta si ustvarja namišljene sovražnike, medtem ko Hamlet tovrstnim iluzijam ne bi nikoli nasedel. Pa tudi če bi vedel, da gre v resnici za sovražnike, se ne bi boril.
Avtor nadaljuje primerjavo s področjem ravnanja soljudi do obeh likov in obratno. Polonij predstavlja množice ljudi pred Hamletom, Sancho Pansa pa pred svojim gospodarjem. Prvi je razumnež a hkrati stari šarlatan. Hamleta niti ne obravnava kot norčka, temveč kot otroka, ki je nekoristen za družbo. Sancho Pansa je prepričan, daje njegov gospod nor, pa vendar mu je zvest do smrti. Don Kihot sicer simpatizira z vsemi ljudmi, vendar se resnično razume samo s svojim oprodom. Hamletovo ravnanje pa je popolnoma drugačno, saj le-ta prezira množice ljudi in navsezadnje tudi sebe.
Esej zakjuči z ugotovitvijo, da je Hamlet čustveno neodziven tip, v katerem se začenja velika družbena bolezen: nejevolja, naveličanje, nezadovoljstvo z življenjem, duhovna dezorientacija in mrk v veri, medtem ko Don Kihot predstavlja svoboden svet, blaginjo in srečo človeških bitij. Zaradi tega razloga in tudi zato, ker je to največji človekov ideal, velikodušen, plemiški in vzvišen, se je avtor eseja odločil, da je Don Kihot največja stvaritev v literaturi vseh časov in ljudstev.
UDK 808.5
Nada Grošelj
VERZNI PRESTOP IN NAČIN® NJEGOVE GOVORNE URESNIČITVE
V zvezi z vprašanjem, kako uresničiti verzni prestop pri izgovarjanju poezije, je mogoče opredeliti tri različna stališča. Po prvem naj bi govorec zanemaril medverzno mejo in nadaljeval, kot teče misel, po drugem naj bi zaznamoval prehod iz enega verza v drugega tako s premorom kot z intonacijskim dvigom, po tretjem pa naj bi mejo sicer označil s kratkim premorom, vendar brez intonacijskih sprememb. Vsak od omenjenih načinov govorne uresničitve ima drugačne posledice za poslušalčevo dojemanje besedila. Pričujoči članek preuči vse tri pristope in njihov vpliv na
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učinkovanje besedila; sklene se z ugotovitvijo, da bi bilo pri odločanju za ta ali oni pristop potrebno upoštevati kot glavni kriterij, ali gre v danem primeru za svobodni ali metrični verz.
UDK 811.163.6'271.1'367.626.1:314.743(=163.6) Nada Šabec
RABA OSEBNIH ZAIMKOV V DRUGI OSEBI MED SLOVENCI V SLOVENIJI TER MED AMERIŠKIMI IN KANADSKIMI SLOVENCI KOT IZRAZ OSEBNE IN DRUŽBENE (NE)ENAKOSTI
Avtorica razpravlja o rabi slovenskih osebnih zaimkov v 2. osebi, ki v neposrednih stikih med govorci izražajo različne stopnje osebne in družbene (ne)enakosti. Poleg temeljnih družbenih razsežnosti moči/statusa in solidarnosti, kiju običajno povezujemo z izbiro zaimka v medsebojni interakciji, se dotakne še različne stopnje formalnosti in nekaterih drugih dimenzij, ki prav tako delno določajo izbiro ustreznega zaimka.
Težišče je na primerjavi rabe omenjenih zaimkov v Sloveniji in v diaspori. V Sloveniji so pravila za izbiro zaimkov v 2. osebi razmeroma trdno uveljavljena in njihova raba, predvsem med starejšimi govorci, dokaj dosledna. V severnoameriškem okolju je položaj precej drugačen, saj analiza anketnih odgovorov Slovencev in njihovih potomcev v ZDA in Kanadi kaže, da govorci te zaimke rabijo velikokrat skorajda naključno, medtem ko je predvsem pri mlajših govorcih opazna izrazita težnja po izključni rabi edninske oblike ti. Negotovost govorcev glede izbire primernega zaimka je lahko posledica upadajočega znanja slovenskega jezika, možno pa je tudi, da se to vsaj delno dogaja zaradi izredno močnega vpliva angleščine, ki uporablja eno samo obliko (you). V tem smislu je zanimiva naraščajoča raba zaimka ti med mlajšimi govorci v Sloveniji, v čemer je možno videti znamenja potencialnih jezikovnih sprememb glede rabe zaimkov pri naslavljanju v slovenščini.
UDK 81'42:811.111'366.582
Gašper lic
DISKURZIVNA VLOGA ANGLEŠKIH PRETEKLIH ČASOV.
TEKSTOVNA ANALIZA.
Prispevek obravnava pomen angleških pretekliških oblik iz besediloslovnega vidika in ob primeru krajših tekstovnih odlomkov analizira njihovo medsebojno sovisnost. Članek poskuša prikazati, da imajo angleški pretekli časi poleg osnovne časovno-vidske vrednosti pomembno vlogo pri označevanju vrste dogajanj ter njihovem medsebojnem navezovanju v danem preteklem sklopu.
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UDK 811.111'367.333.811.163.6'367.333
Frančiška Lipovšek
RABA SVOJILNIŠKIH ZGRADB V ANGLEŠČINI IN SLOVENŠČINI TER LEVI SVOJDLNIŠKI PRILASTEK V VLOGI REFERENČNE TOČKE
V članku so predstavljeni izsledki raziskave, osredotočene na rabo zgradb z levim oziroma desnim svojilniškim prilastkom v angleščini in slovenščini. Raziskava je bila zasnovana na kognitivnem pristopu, ki obravnava posedovalca v svojilniški zgradbi kot referenčno točko za identifikacijo posedovanega. Skupek lastnosti, ki posedovalcu omogočajo vlogo referenčne točke, označuje izraz identifikacijska vrednost. Poglavitna dejavnika, ki vplivata na identifikacijsko vrednost posedovalca, sta njegova topikalnost (tj. miselna dosegljivost) in njegova informativnost (tj. sposobnost posedovalca, da dovolj natančno opiše razmerje med seboj in posedovanim). Rezultati raziskave za oba jezika potrdijo, (i) da ima levi svojilniški prilastek privzeto vlogo referenčne točke in (ii) da je identifikacijska vrednost posedovalca poglavitni dejavnik izbire med levim in desnim svojilniškim prilastkom.
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