"Books are well written, or badly written. That is all." (Oscar Wilde, "Preface to The
Picture of Dorian Gray")
Following French Symbolism and Decadence movements, the late 19th
century bore witness to the rise of Aestheticism, defined and promoted by authors
such as Théophile Gautier, Walter Pater and Oscar Wilde. As put forward by Pater
1
,
life consists of nothing more than "impressions, images (and) sensations" and
literature was to maximize these "flickering" moments. Influenced by Gautier and
Pater, Wilde declared in his famous preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray that "all art
is quite useless"
2
, denying that there was such a thing as an "immoral" book and
condemning utilitarianism in literature. While he acknowledged that "the moral life of
man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist", he rigidly opposed the opinion put
forward by writers such as Orwell that all art is simultaneously propaganda.
3
Nevertheless, the aforementioned preface was not only written as a reaction against
Victorian literature, but also being written a year after the first publication of the book,
giving it the appearance of an act of self-defense against harsh criticism and casting
a shadow of doubt over its face-value. Furthermore, Wilde does make concessions to
different interpretations of a text, even if at the reader's own risk. In the light of this,
the question remains in how far Wilde's view is applicable to texts written in a
different context, bearing in mind both author intentionality and reader interpretation. I
will focus on Mansfield's story The Garden Party and three key passages from
Gibbon's Sunset Song
4
in order to analyze with reference to Wilde's statement in
order to analyze its validity in the context of these two writers.
Katherine Mansfield and Lewis Grassic Gibbon are two authors that, at a first
glance, approached literature from opposing angles, Mansfield being a disciple of
Chekhov, mirroring life and its images and sensations, uttering, in her own words, "a
cry against corruption"
5
while Gibbon was a self-declared "revolutionary writer",
producing "anti-capitalist propaganda".
6
Despite this apparent disparity, both authors
are acclaimed modernists writers, known for their artistic quality, having
revolutionarized their respective genres.
1
Quoted in Allen (2003), p.23
2
Quoted in Gupta & Johnson (eds) (2005), p.8
3
Quoted in Gupta & Johnson (eds) (2005), p.10
4
Mansfield (2002), pp.336-249; Gibbon (2006), pp.85-86, pp.175-178, pp.255-258
5
Quoted in Brown & Gupta (2005), p.97
6
Quoted in Brown & Gupta (eds) (2005), p.118
It goes without saying that one of the most striking features of Sunset Song
and Mansfield's stories is the authors' use of language. Gibbon, trying to represent
the true identity of Scotland and its culture and society was unsatisfied with the
choice of previous writers to either use high English or to transcribe a Scots dialect
and, thus, created a new, hybrid language. Despite the fact that the number of Scots
words is extremely limited, his approach was extremely innovative in terms of
replicating the rhythm of Scots and by not only restricting it to direct speech.
7
Moreover, a new feature was his multiple use of "you", used to address the reader, in
its generic meaning and, most significantly, a "you" that refers to Chris herself and,
thus, establishing a deep intimacy between the protagonist (and her community) and
the reader. In terms of language, the discussion in the Knapp
8
shows Gibbon's
artisitic use of heteroglossia, including eleven shifts in point of view
9
from 7 different
perspectives. Language, in Sunset Song, apart from its inherent beauty, serves a
clear purpose. It breaks open conventional literary traditions as much as the content
tries to break with conventional structures of society.
Mansfield's style has gained its reputation for her evocation of atmosphere
and mood, and, as commented on by critics such as Beach
10
, her "tendency to
subordinate incident to mood" manifests itself in the use of symbols and, especially,
colors. In The Garden Party eleven different colors are mentioned (most notably the
color green, symbolizing nature), leading to an emphasis on sensory perception.
Even though The Garden Party follows a slightly more conventional plot structure
than other stories, such as The Daughters of the Late Colonel, for instance, its abrupt
beginning, that "places us in the middle of a feeling"
11
and its epiphanic ending, in the
form of the protagonist's encounter with death reverse traditional expectations. Both
Mansfield's particular use of language does, thus, not only represent a manifestation
of beauty, but also serves a further purpose.
Other modernist techniques are employed by both authors for similar
purposes. Features such as free indirect discourse, or internal focalization, and
streams of consciousness result in the creation of a particular insight into the
characters that allows for greater identification with the protagonists and, thus, an
7
Malcolm (2005)
8
pp.85-86
9
Brown & Gupta (2005), pp.136-138
10
Beach (1951), p.606
11
Sorkin (1978), p.439
increased sensation of pleasure.
12
It does, however, have "political" implications. In
the case of Gibbon, it was, as stated by Malcolm
13
, a political statement in itself for a
male author to use a female protagonist, and his realistic portrayal of pregnancy and
childbirth was revolutionary.
In The Garden Party, Laura's stream of consciousness, even more than
contributing to feminist politics, is a means of reflecting upon class distinctions, even
if Mansfield did not intend to convey and social or political message.
While Gibbon uses rhythm to mirror spoken dialect, Mansfield does so with a
different goal. The lulling and repetitive rhythm when Laura describes Scott's death
body seems to counteract the "deadly energy of war"
14
. The first words of this
paragraph are reminiscent of her journal entries
15
when she describes her brother's
purposeless death, blown to bits during the war. As Darrohn continues to analyze,
death is given a meaning here by attributing it with fairy-tale magic and beauty.
Laura's epiphanic experience of death, furthermore, contributes to the discussion of
gender and class divisions. Laura aestheticizes the dead body, as Em's sister had
done (" `e looks a picture"), the same words that Mrs Sheridan had used to describe
Laura, and for a moment class distinctions in Scott's house are suspended, hence
the familiar language that Em's sister uses when addressing Laura.
Even if Mansfield may not have any instrumental intentions, her stories do fall
into the category of littérature engagée, being heavily influenced by her personal
experiences and perception of life. Laura's last words mirror Mansfield's aim: to show
"the diversity of life and how we try to fit in everything".
16
This refers to the diversity of
overlapping experiences (the garden party at the same time as Scott's death) as well
as to larger social issues. As put forward by Atkinson
17
"Katherine Mansfield tries to
imagine a moment when class and gender divisions cease to matter but ultimately
she cannot sustain this hopeful vision", as symbolized by Laura's return "up the hill"
to reintegrate herself into her regular social position.
Similarily, despite the fact that his political assertions are deliberate, Gibbon's
narrative is, at least in part, predertermined by his own experience. The change in
Chris's identity when she turns into Chris Tavandale upon realizing that she is
12
Bennett & Royle (1995), quoted in Gupta & Johnson (eds) (2005), p.38
13
14
Darrohn (1998), p.520
15
Quoted in Darrohn (1998), p.518
16
Quoted in Sorkin (1978), p.440
17
Darrohn (1998), p.516
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