Radical Fantasy: A Study of Left Radical Politics in the Fantasy Writing of Michael Moorcock, Angela Carter, Alan Moore,

Grant Morrison and China Mi ille

Mark P! Willia"s

Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Mark P. Williams, The University of East Anglia, !"!.

Contents A#stract#############################.p. Ackno$ledge"ents########################..p. $ %ntroduction###########################.pp. % & '. Disc(ssing )antasy* The Pro+lem of Definition#############.pp. ' & " . ,eft -adical .riti/(e of )antasy* Darko 0(vin and 0)1)antasy#######.pp. "$ & !. The 0ocial 2al(e of )antasy* Mar3ist Theory##############pp. ! & 4. The .hapters###########################pp. 4 & $".

Cha&ter 'ne: Michael Moorcock and Anarchis" "* Anarchist history and theory#################### pp. $ & % . * Anarchism, )antasy ,iterat(re and the Undergro(nd##########.. pp. %$ & '". $* Elric of Melni+on5* the 06ord and 0orcery genre in tension#######...pp. '" & 7!. %* 8erry .orneli(s and Anarchic Aesthetics###############..pp. 7! & 9 . '* To6ards an Anarchist Aesthetic###################pp. 9$ & 44. .hapter :ne .oncl(sions#..#####################pp. 4; & ;".

Cha&ter ($o: Angela Carter)s Surrealist Political Aesthetic! "* 0it(ating .arter#########################..pp. ; & ;7. <* Postmodernism and Magic -ealism#################.pp. ;7 & "!'. <<. 0(rrealism* Defining the Political Aesthetic#############.pp. "!' & "!9. <<<* )eminism vers(s 0(rrealism###################pp. "!9 & ""!.

* )rom The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman to The Passion of New Eve * The alternating c(rrents of 0(rrealism##################.pp. ""! & """. <* The Machinery of Desire and the (ses of 0(rrealist imagery#######pp. """ & ""4. <<* The concrete and 0(rrealist Materialismm in the novels########..pp. ""4 & " %.

Mark P. Williams

<<

<<<* .oncl(sion vers(s .onflict###################..pp. " % & " 7.

$* Nights at the Circus* -evol(tion and -esol(tion###########..pp. " 7 & " 9. <* The Dialectic of )evvers and Walser################.pp. " 9 & "$%. <<* Mr .hristian -osencre(t=* Art, A(thority and Meaning########.pp. "$% & "$;. <<<* The >rand D(ke and the force of .apital#####..########.pp. "$; & "%$. .hapter T6o .oncl(sions############.#########pp. "%$ & "%9.

Cha&ter (hree: Alan Moore)s %""aterialist criti*ue: su&erheroes and esca&e "* Alan Moore and Antinomian ?istory################pp. "%4 & "' . * The 0patialisation of the <magination################pp. "' & "'9.

$* Deconstr(cting 0(perheroes* <* Who Watches@, Watchmen...............................................................................pp. "'4 & "77. <<* Aeing B.ommittedC* 2 as modern antinomian############pp. "77 & "9$. <<<* Tom Strong* .ontin(ity and .o(nter1-eading###########..pp. "9$ & "97.

%* <maginary spaces and the visionary tradition* reconstr(cting s(perheroes#...pp. "97 & "9;. <* The landscapes of Top Ten and League of E traor!inar" #entlemen###...pp. "9; & ";!. <<* The 0(perhero and the 2isionary <magination....###########pp. ";! & !!.

.hapter Three .oncl(sions####################...pp. !" & !$.

Mark P. Williams

<<<

Cha&ter

Four:

Grant

Morrison)s

Su&erheroic

A ant+Garde:

Post"odernis",

Surrealis" and Situationis"! MorrisonCs Avant1>ardism##.##################pp. !% & " . "* The 0(perheroic1.ritical Method###############..#.pp. "; & $4. * 0(rrealism, Aet6een BrealismC and B6onderC* $nimal Man%Doom Patrol#.pp* ! & '".

$* :cc(lt Anarchist 0(perheroes* The Invisi&les%The 'ilth########.pp. $9 & %;. %* Postmodernism as Decadence in New ()MenDSeven Sol!iers of *ictor"##pp. %; & '4. .hapter )o(r .oncl(sions#####################pp. '; & 7 .

Cha&ter Fi e: China Mi ille)s Mar,is": A -ialectical Materialist Aesthetic of Fantasy "* Mar3ist Dialectics and ,iterat(re#################..pp. 7$ & 74. * Mar3ist )antasy Theory#####################.pp. 74 & 9". $* Mi5villeCs Mar3ist )antasy Theory################....pp. 9 & 99. %* Mar3ist 0(+Eectivity in Mi5ville##################pp. 94 & $! . '* -evol(tionary 0(+Eectivity as -esistance##############..pp. $! & $"". .hapter )ive .oncl(sions#####################..pp. $" & $"'.

(hesis Conclusion: -adical )antasy* To6ards a 2ernac(lar Modernism##########.#pp. $"7 & $ . Ai+liography##########################.pp. * $ $ 1 $7!.

Mark P. Williams

<2

A#stract: .Radical Fantasy: A Study of Left Radical Politics in the Fantasy Writing of Michael Moorcock, Angela Carter, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and China Mi ille!)

<n this thesis < dra6 (pon recent form(lations of fantasy theory from -osemary 8acksonCs psychoanalytic interpretations, to the socio1historical approaches of 8os5 Monleon and Mark Ao(ld, and the poetics of fantasy literat(re of )arah Mendlesohn, to ill(minate the interlocking political de+ates a+o(t fantasy fiction 6hich are important to literary theory* 6hether fantasy is a minor s(+1set of literat(re or the +asis of all fictionF 6hether fantasy f(nctions primarily as a satirical or (topian idiom, or as sheer escapismF and 6hether fantasy is a li+erating e3pression of the imagination or a limiting and commodified form. My research asks 6hat strategies 6riters (se to e3press political ideas 6ithin fantasy as an aesthetic form 6ith an a6areness of the implications of these de+ates. )antasy modes analysed incl(de p(lp fantasy, magic realism and s(perhero comics in conte3t of radical political positions incl(ding socialist, anarchist and Mar3ist traditions. Thro(gh e3amination of the diverse traditions of the five 6riters, this thesis identifies the characteristics of fantasy mo+ilised +y ,eft radical political criti/(eF it proposes that fantasy fiction can offer a (ni/(e critical perspective on contemporary modernity that is historically important for ,eft radical aesthetics.

Mark P. Williams.

$ March & 0eptem+er, !"!

Ackno$ledge"ents 0o many formal and informal relationships have helped +ring the thesis to its present form for 6hich < am partic(larly gratef(l. )or all their professional g(idance and inp(t < am very gratef(l to Professor 2ic 0age and Dr Allan ,loyd10mith for s(pervising the thesis in its early stages, offering important insights and pointing me in the right directions, and like6ise to Professor -e+ecca 0tott for taking on and s(pervising the proEect thro(gh to the end, offering thoro(gh and tho(ghtf(l editorial g(idence. < 6o(ld also like to thank my internal and e3ternal e3aminers Professor Mark .(rrie and Dr )arah Mendlesohn for their val(a+le and constr(ctive criticism. Thanks to the UG Het6ork for Modern )iction 0t(dies for allo6ing me to contri+(te to its conferences and Eo(rnal p(+lication .ritical Engagements. Partic(lar thanks to 0teven Aarfield of The University of Westminster and to Dr Hick ?(++le of Ar(nel University. Thanks to Michael Moorcock for allo6ing me to intervie6 him t6ice d(ring the co(rse of prod(cing my thesis, responding genero(sly to my /(estions. Thanks to Geith 0e6ard of -eality0t(dio for asking me to prod(ce one of those intervie6s for his 6e+site. )or their friendship < have several special people to thank. 8oe Gennedy and Martyn .ole+rook, for many ho(rs of talks, de+ates and general disc(ssions on literat(re, life and the 6orld in general 6hile 6e 6ere 6riting (p, rarely has talking politics +een so m(ch f(n. Io( helped me retain a sense of the e3citement of 6orking on the PhD d(ring the long process of 6riting, thank yo(. Thanks also to ,orcan Mc>rane, a great ho(semate, all ro(nd great person and fello6 traveller in the realms of contemporary fiction and pop c(lt(re. To close friends :li ?enderson, <an Philips, Andy Mills, Dan ?ester, 8ohn Taylor, for helping me keep a sense of proportion +et6een the 6orlds inside and o(tside academia, for good advice and good nights o(t 6hen < needed +oth, thank yo( all. 0amantha .ro6ie, for yo(r love, and for yo(r +elief in me, < am thankf(l every dayF yo(r s(pport lifted me d(ring the to(ghest parts of the process and made the +est parts feel even more cele+ratory, < am more gratef(l than < can say E(st for the fact that 6e are together. )inally, thanks to my parents for their love and s(pport 6hich s(stained me in completing the thesis and 6itho(t 6hich it 6o(ld not have +een 6rittenJ< o6e yo( more than < can ever repay.

Mark P. Williams

%ntroduction This thesis 6ill analyse the (ses of fantasy in the 6ork of five Aritish fiction 6riters 6ith left radical politics* Michael Moorcock, Angela .arter, Alan Moore, >rant Morrison and .hina Mi5ville. <t is concerned 6ith identifying key de+ates 6hich str(ct(re a left radical perspective on the (se of fantasy and e3ploring ho6 they are 6orked thro(gh in the fictions of these partic(lar 6riters. < foc(s aro(nd /(estions of the social val(e of pop(lar fantasy as mode, as genres and as s(+1genres K6hat is also sometimes kno6n as Bparaliterat(reCL, and the potential of fantasy fiction to f(nction as a vehicle for political criti/(e. While this frame of reference inevita+ly +orro6s from science fiction criticism, partic(larly the 6ork of Darko 0(vin and )rederick 8ameson, the present thesis 6ill define the relationship +et6een fantasy and 0) differently* 0(vinian criticism tends to6ards separating the t6o modes and privileging 0) over fantasy, arg(ing that there is an inherent aesthetic affinity +et6een 0) and progressive tho(ght and +et6een fantasy and reactionary tho(ght. < arg(e that fantasy and 0) are intimately related forms, and consider the 6riters here to represent traditions of progressive fantasy. The analysis of fantasy re/(ires a +rief critical disc(ssion of the many 6ays of (nderstanding the term BfantasyC as it applies to literat(re. This thesis rests on a n(m+er of de+ates as to the operation and f(nction of fantasy 6hich 6ill +e disc(ssed +elo6. Aeca(se of the different s(+1genres of fantasy 6hich the 6riters (nder disc(ssion 6ork 6ith, the 6orking definition of fantasy here 6ill +e a +road one* fantasy fiction 6ill refer to the (se of the fantastic Kfre/(ently as the (ne3plaina+le or as metonym for either the imagination or for art in generalL 6ithin impossi+le 6orld narratives 6hich are commodified and marketed as fantasy. The forms of fantasy in Mark P. Williams %

' /(estion are 06ord M 0orcery, alternate history, magic realism, 0(rrealism, s(perhero comic +ooks and secondary 6orld narrativesF these terms connote /(ite different traditions, and have each +een arg(ed to constit(te different relationships 6ith dominant ideology. Ay analysing ho6 the 6riters (nder disc(ssion (se these forms, pro+lematising them as categories, < 6ill e3plore the 6ays in 6hich they engage 6ith the same political and c(lt(ral de+ates of the relationship +et6een form and content.

-iscussing Fantasy: (he Pro#le" of -efinition To discern 6hat is meant +y Bfantasy literat(reC as an o+Eect of st(dy, it is necessary to negotiate +et6een a series of attempts to define or limit the term and the e3tended de+ates 6hich emerge from them. <n rehearsing some of these it 6ill +ecome

apparent that the de+ate over ho6 6e (nderstand fantasy is very m(ch ongoing, and may even +e intensifying. :ne of the maEor distinctions re/(ired to engage 6ith fantasy as literary o+Eect has +een the effort to disting(ish it from science fiction K0)L. <n their Enc"clope!ia of Science 'iction K";;$L, 8ohn .l(te and Peter Hicholls 6rite* BNtOhere is no definition of 0) that e3cl(des fantasy N#.O <n the real 6orld, 6e recognise that +oth sf and fantasy, if genres at all, are imp(re genresC, BNtOhey are not homogeno(sC." They go on to descri+e their constr(ction of fantasy and 0) in the schema of literat(re* BNtOhe (s(al 6ay is to regard fantasy as a s(+set of fiction, a circle 6ithin a circleC, 6hile 0) e3ists 6ithin fantasy as Ba s(+set of a s(+setCF this means that Ball sf is fantasy, +(t not all fantasy is sfC K%!4L. The s(+se/(ent Enc"clope!ia of 'antas" K";;9L, offers val(a+le e3pansion on 6hat fantasy is and ho6 it operates. <n it 8ohn .l(te and 8ohn >rant s(ggest that fantasy narratives are str(ct(red +y fo(r movements, the grammar of
"

.l(te, 8ohn and Hicholl, Peter, The Enc"clope!ia of Science 'iction K,ondon* :r+it, ";;$L, p. %!9.

Mark P. Williams

'

7 fantasy, +y 6hich fantasyCs manifestations of the impossi+le ac/(ire meaning* 6rongness, Ba sense that the 6hole 6orld has gone aske6CF thinning, Ba fading a6ay of +eingnessC manifested thro(gh Ba loss of magic or the slo6 death of the gods, or the transformation of the landCF recognition, 6here Bthe protagonist finally ga=es (pon the shrivelled heart of the thinned 6orld and sees 6hat to doCF and healing, a transition or ret(rn to a +etter KthickerL state of +eingness Boften accomplished N#O thro(gh literal metamorphosisC. The Enc"clope!ia of 'antas" e3tends the scope of the term fantasy

to encompass the (se of the fantastic in narratives 6hich might +e categorised vario(sly as Bafterlife, allegory, dark fantasy, fa+(lation, fairytale, folklore, folktales, horror, science fantasy, science fiction, s(pernat(ral fiction, s(rrealism, taproot te3ts and 6onderlandsC, emphasising that there Bis no rigoro(s critical consens(s over the precise definition and PreachQ and interrelation of any of the terms listed a+oveC.$ .l(te and >rant arg(e that fantasy is Ba self1coherent narrativeC that Btells a story 6hich is impossi+le in the 6orld as 6e perceive itCF % this Bimpossi+le taleC 6ill likely +e set in an Bother6orldC, Ban internally coherent impossi+le 6orld in 6hich that tale is possi+leC.' Their arg(ment rests on an historical distinction +et6een pre1 and post1Enlightenment 6here it is only after the Enlightenment has esta+lished a dialectic of realDfantastic that fantasy 6riting in the modern sense can e3ist. This is partly the +asis on 6hich Arian Aldiss famo(sly dates science fiction in +illion ,ear Spree K";9$L to the p(+lication of Mary 0helleyCs 'ran-enstein in "4"4, e3panding (pon this B0tone Age tr(thC in Trillion ,ear Spree K";47L to e3plore in greater detail Bthe dream 6orld of the >othic novel, from 6hich science fiction springsC as a kind of

.l(te, 8ohn and >rant, 8ohn, The Enc"clope!ia of 'antas" K,ondon* :r+it, ";;9L, pp. $$41;. .l(te and >rant, Enc"clope!ia, p. $$9. % .l(te and >rant, Enc"clope!ia, p. $$4. ' <+id.
$

Mark P. Williams

9 historical (nconscio(s 6hich 0) emerges as reaction against. 7 Whether s(ch

distinctions of pre1 and post1Enlightenment can +e applied to fantasy is in /(estion. <n The $./ of 'antas" Literature K !!;L Arian 0ta+leford contends 6ith the (nderstanding of fantasy as a post1Enlightenment category. 6rites* To claim that there 6as no manifest opposition +et6een the real and the imaginary is to imply far too m(chF it is tr(e that the Enlightenment refined ideas a+o(t the definition and determination of BrealityC, +(t it is certainly not tr(e that previo(s storytellers 6ere (na6are of any contrast or tension +et6een the nat(ralistic and s(pernat(ral elements of their stories.9 0ta+leford

0ta+leford +egins from the premise that the mode of fantasy is as old as 6riting itself, locating the contemporary (ses of fantasy against a history 6hich e3tends +ack to the (ses of the term Bfantas"e0 in .ha(cer, 6here it is descri+ed as Bstrange and +i=arre notions that have no +asis in everyday e3perienceC, already containing the peEorative associations of escapism 6hich are familiar today* BNaOny dalliance 6ith PfantasyeQ in the .ha(cerian sense tends to +e regarded as self1ind(lgent folly, 6hether it is a p(rely psychological phenomenon Ka fancif(l aspect of PdaydreamingQL or a literary oneC.4 0ta+leford descri+es fantasy in +oth historical and cognitive terms as a mode 6hich e3tends thro(gho(t the history of literat(re. A similarly incl(sive (se of BfantasyC appears in $ Short Histor" of 'antas" K !!;L +y )arah Mendlesohn and Ed6ard 8ames, 6hich traces the development of fantasy from myth and legend to contemporary commercial m(ltimedia forms. <n respect to science fiction and the /(estion of ho6 and to 6hat

Aldiss, Arian, 6ith David Wingrove, Trillion ,ear Spree K,ondon* 2ictor >ollanc=, ";47L, p. "7 and p. '. 9 0ta+leford, Arian, The $./ of 'antas" Literature K,anham, Toronto, Plymo(th* The 0carecro6 Press <nc., !!;L, p. 3liii. 4 <+id., p. 333vii.

Mark P. Williams

4 e3tent 0) and fantasy re/(ire strict separation, this te3t designates fantasy as Bthe presence of the impossi+le and (ne3plaina+leC in literat(re and art, disting(isha+le from 0) B6hich, 6hile it may deal 6ith the impossi+le, regards everything as e3plica+leC.; Mendlesohn and 8ames note that this description is hide+o(nd +y +eing c(lt(rally specific and allo6ing in other categories s(ch as horror, so they +ase their disc(ssion on reference to fo(r key theorists of the fantastic* BMichael Moorcock,

6hose Wi1ar!r" an! Wil! 2omance locates fantasy in the lang(age in 6hich it is 6rittenCF Arian Atte+erryCs Strategies of 'antas" for providing the model of Bfantasy as a Pf(==y setQ 6ith a core and an ever ha=ier corona of te3tsCF 8ohn .l(te, for his Bgrammar of fantasyC linking fantasy to narrative as fo(r movements in The Enc"clope!ia of 'antas" Ksee a+oveLF and )arah MendlesohnCs o6n 2hetorics of 'antas" K !!4L."! <n 2hetorics of 'antas", Mendlesohn arg(es Bthat rather than a single f(==y set, from 6hich fantasy moves from genre to slipstream, 6e can act(ally identify several f(==y sets, linked together +y 6hat 8ohn .l(te has termed taproot te3tsC."" The relationship +et6een taproot te3ts and the f(==y sets 6hich s(rro(nd them 6ithin the fantasy field Kor set of setsL has parallels in ?arold AloomCs $n iet" of Influence K";9$LF the positioning of each te3t 6ithin a f(==y set in respect to its taproot te3t is a similar relationship to that 6hich Aloom identifies +et6een great poets. Aloom descri+es his model of Binfl(enceC as a com+ination of m(ltiple c(lt(ral factors s(rro(nding the reception of great 6orks 6hich create Bimmense an3ieties of ende+tednessC in poets 6ho follo6 them 6hile 6ishing to escape that Binfl(enceC. "
;

Mendlesohn, )arah, and 8ames, Ed6ard, $ Short Histor" of 'antas" K,ondon* Middlese3 University, !!;L, p. $. "! Mendlesohn and 8ames, Short Histor", p. . "" Mendlesohn, 2hetorics of 'antas" KMiddleto6n, .onnectic(t* Wesleyan University Press, !!4L, p. 3vii. " Aloom, ?arold, The $n iet" of Influence KHe6 Iork* :3ford University Press, ";9$L, p. '.

Mark P. Williams

; Aloom takes a schematic vie6 of the relation +et6een great poets and their poetic te3ts 6hich 6e can (se in a limited sense to (nderstand the f(==iness of fantasy sets. ?e identifies the an3iety of infl(ence as prod(cing a staged process in the prod(ction of poetic te3ts* "L the poet Bs6ervesC a6ay from their prec(rsor implying a Bcorrective movementCF L opposition, 6here BNaO poet antithetically

PcompletesQ his prec(rsor, +y so reading the parent1poem as to retain its terms +(t to read them in another sense, as tho(gh the prec(rsor had failed to go far eno(ghCF $L an aesthetic +reak 6ith the Bparent1poemC to avoid imitation or repetitionF %L the prod(ction of a Bpersonali=ed .o(nter10(+lime to the prec(rsorCs 0(+limeC 6here the poet prod(ces a co(nteractive e/(ivalent to the prec(rsor poetCs te3t, an e3tension of the opposition to their 6orkF 'L a poetic s(+limation of this opposition, a c(rtailing of infl(ence, 6hich +y comparison implies that the prec(rsorCs infl(ence is similarly c(rtailedF 7L finally, a process of ret(rn 6here the ne6 poetCs reading can dominate readings of their prec(rsor."$ BPoetic infl(enceC, then, is the res(lt of a ne6 a(thor dra6ing BinspirationC from a great 6ork, and the conc(rrent attempt to 6rite their 6ay o(t from (nder the po6er relationship that this implies. )or Aloom, an act of 6riting that avoids act(al imitation KidealisationL of a 6riter 6ho has inspired it is inevita+ly s(+Eect to the an3iety of infl(ence Ka sense of the over+earing presence of great poets, 6hich he descri+es as +oth Hiet=schean and )re(dianL. This an3iety res(lts in a Bpoetic misprisionC, that is a deli+erate critical BmisreadingC of the originary te3t 6hich ena+les the ne6 6riter to Bclear imaginative space for themselvesC. "% We can identify this 6ith the e3ample of taproot te3ts as identified in the Enc"clope!ia of 'antas" as literary landmarks, te3ts s(ch as The Divine Come!", +eowulf, 'austus or
"$ "%

Aloom, $n iet", pp. 'J9. Aloom, $n iet", p. '.

Mark P. Williams

"! #ulliver0s Travels,"' and interte3t(ally, 6ith recent pop(lar p(+lications, te3ts 6hich +egin to dominate the perception of their f(==y sets. Elements of s(ch a process can certainly +e identified +et6een, for e3ample, the 6orlds of TolkienCs Lor! of the 2ings and 0tephen DonaldsonCs .hronicles of Thomas .ovenant, or +et6een Po(l AndersonCs +ro-en Swor! 6ith its incest and poisono(s +lade motifs and Michael MoorcockCs Elric novelsF considering the relationships +et6een s(ch te3ts as a str(ct(re of comple3 infl(ences prod(ces a n(anced vision of collections of f(==y sets. MendlesohnCs 2hetorics of 'antas" approaches fantasy from a primarily str(ct(ral perspective in a similar 6ay. Dealing at length 6ith the str(ct(res common to certain types of fantasy, the +ook generates a BpoeticsC of contemporary fantasy +ased on considering Bho6 partic(lar rhetorics deli+erately or (navoida+ly s(pport ideological positions and in so doing shape character, or affect the constr(ction and narration of a storyC."7 <ts disc(ssion is +ased on analysing fo(r distinct categories* portal1/(est fantasy, 6here Ba character leaves her familiar s(rro(ndings and passes thro(gh a portal into an (nkno6n placeCF "9 immersive fantasy, Ba fantasy set in a 6orld +(ilt so that it f(nctions on all levels as a complete 6orldCF"4 intr(sion fantasy 6here the 6orld of the novel is Br(pt(redC +y an intr(sion B6hich disr(pts normality and has to +e negotiated 6ith or defeated, sent +ack 6hence it came or controlledCF"; and liminal fantasy 6hich insists on the (ndecida+ility of the fantasy. ,iminal )antasy, as Mendlesohn conceives it, is that 6hich creates Ba

moment of do(+t, sometimes in the protagonist, +(t also in the readerC thro(gh either

"' "7

0ee .l(te and >rant, Enc"clope!ia of 'antas", pp. ; "J Mendlesohn, 2hetorics, p. 3vi. "9 <+id., p. ". "4 <+id., p. ';. "; <+id., p. ""'.

Mark P. Williams

"!

"" irony or some form +alance +et6een dichotomies.

!

2hetorics of 'antas" concl(des

6ith a fifth category of B<rreg(larsC, 6hich +reak 6ith these recognisa+le forms. There is a degree of +l(rring present 6ithin MendlesohnCs categories themselves 6hich emphasises her disc(rsive vie6 of fantasy categories in general. )or e3ample, she arg(es that contra to the e3pectation that <ntr(sion fantasy m(st necessarily +egin from Bo(rC real 6orld Kinto 6hich fantasy intru!esL, the form can +e com+ined 6ith or BhostedC +y <mmersive fantasy.
"

<mmersive )antasy also overlaps

6ith science fiction for MendlesohnF revising Arth(r .. .larkCs o+servation that BNaOny s(fficiently advanced technology is indisting(isha+le from magicC, Mendlesohn s(ggests that the immersive /(ality of fantasy +ecomes a rationalisation* BNaOny s(fficiently immersive fantasy is indisting(isha+le from science fictionC. While ,iminal fantasy as a form is o+vio(sly fle3i+le in its limits, it has perhaps the greatest conE(nction 6ith categories s(ch as BslipstreamC, Bfiction 6hich feels like science fiction +(t isnCt marketed as s(chC and 6ith Binterstitial fictionC,
$

or other

categories s(ch as BpostmodernismC, +eca(se of the myriad 6ays in 6hich irony can enter the te3t, s(ch as self1referentialism. MendlesohnCs st(dy e3plores ho6 these f(==y set str(ct(res defined +y the infl(ence of taproot te3ts affect the ideological content of fantasy fictions. .l(te, 0ta+leford, Mendlesohn and 8ames st(dy the relationship +et6een form and f(nction across a spectr(m of the te3ts called fantasy, prod(cing a gro(p of consens(s1+ased (ses of fantasy 6ithin a history of fantasy as a term 6hich em+races contrary notions from radical to reactionary categorisations of the essential /(alities of fantasy. )rom the a+ove de+ates 6e can see that the categorisation of
! "

<+id. pp. "4 J$. <+id., p. ""%. <+id., p. 7 . $ <+id., p. 4.

Mark P. Williams

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" fantasy as a mode is characterised +y sim(ltaneo(s contrary tendencies* on the one hand, tendencies to6ards codification and the rigoro(s defence of +o(ndaries Kand the creation of s(+1genresL, 6hich conceives of the fantastic as a set of narratologically determined devices, 6here the (se of the devices determines the content that can +e conveyed, and on the other hand co(nter1tendencies to6ards totalising vie6s of fantasy as an e3pression of li+erating imagination 6hich resists or s(+verts +o(ndaries. )antasy provokes these contrary classifications +eca(se, even in its most commodified form it still retains some element of the p(rely imaginary, a core ackno6ledgement that its str(ct(res and logic are predicated on reading the impossi+le as if it 6ere the real. Any attempt to disc(ss fantasy depends on a series of ass(mptions a+o(t ho6 fantasy operates 6hich prod(ce a methodological effect* selecting from the many interpretations of fantasy inevita+ly leads to6ards a selective vie6 of 6hat constit(tes a fantasy te3t. Each fantasy te3t can +e considered as e3pressing an implicit theory of fantasy 6hich favo(rs a partic(lar form(lation of fantasyCs f(nction as a literary mode. The present thesis is concerned 6ith a related proEect* ho6 does a left radical political perspective analyse the codified and the radically (ndecida+le /(alities of fantasy@ and* ho6 do left radical 6riters act(ally (se fantasy@

Left Radical Criti*ue of Fantasy: -arko Su in and SF+Fantasy Politicised perspectives on fantasy theory fre/(ently find themselves defending fantasy against a charge of escapismF < arg(e that this is a necessary conse/(ence of

Mark P. Williams

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"$ eval(ating fantasy literat(re on social gro(nds 6hich reveals the cognitive potential of fantasy literat(re as a medi(m for ideological criti/(e. What does BideologyC mean in this conte3t@ <deology is generally conceived of on the radical ,eft as +eing a sort of Binverted conscio(snessC of capitalist social relationsF for Mar3 it is Bconstit(ted +y the operations of the market and competition in capitalist societiesC to reprod(ce the conditions of prod(ction Ki.e., to E(stify and valorise commodity capitalismL.
%

The pro+lem of escapism is +o(nd to

the idea of importing political criti/(e into fantasy as a 6ay of escaping from the strict(res of ideology to pose /(estions to its dominance. The distinction +et6een BescapeC and BescapismC is important for theorising the relationship of fantasy to the -eal. <t raises the /(estion of ho6 and to 6hat e3tent it is possi+le to escape ideology thro(gh the e3pression of the imagination, and is central to (topian 6riting and the history of 0) criticismF it is of partic(lar interest to left radicals insisting on the capacity of fantasy to operate as materialist criti/(e. ?o6ever, it is not solely the province of radicals +(t is tied to all attempts to defend the 6riting of fantasy on social gro(nds. The germ of a distinction +et6een fantasy as an active attempt to escape from ideology vers(s its constr(ction as passive escapism is present even in the attempt to theorise fantasy as B)aerieC of 8.-.-. Tolkien. <n B:n )airy10toriesC K";%9L, Tolkien insists that his o6n defence of faerie is on the gro(nds that it is a form of escape Bthe Escape of the PrisonerC, not escapism, Bthe )light of the DeserterCF
'

even tho(gh the reactionary val(es of TolkienCs metaphor m(ddy the iss(e, this is important +eca(se it is an attempt to discern the social val(es in the fantastic as 6ell
Mar3 /(oted in ,arrain, B<deologyC, $ Dictionar" of Mar ist Thought ed. Tom Aottomore, editorial +oard* ,a(rence ?arris, 2.>. Giernan, -alph Mili+and, K:3ford* Alack6ell, ";4$L, p. !. ' Tolkien, 8.-.-., B:n )airy10toriesC K";%9, pp. ""J9!L from Tree an! Leaf K,ondon* >eorge Allen and Un6in, ";7%L, p. '.
%

Mark P. Williams

"$

"% as the social val(e of the fantasy as art. Tolkien goes on to allo6 politics, in a rather limited sense, into his disc(ssion, indicating that he refers to Breal Escape, and 6hat are often its companions, Disg(st, Anger, .ondemnation, and -evoltC, 7 6hich are the s(+stance of political fantasy and satire. Moreover, altho(gh he stops far short of advocating politically critical fantasy, in likening the paradigmatic +attles of BgoodC and BevilC in fantasy to a desire to escape from social evils s(ch as Bh(nger, thirst, poverty, pain, sorro6, inE(stice NandO deathC he concedes the potential importance of materialist engagement to fantasy. 9 Aeca(se TolkienCs perspective is in so many other 6ays, o+vio(sly ideologically opposed to the perspectives of left radicals, and +eca(se B:n )airy 0toriesC is inconsistent in its definitions, the part of his BdefenceC 6hich deals 6ith politics and social val(e is easy to overlook. The latter half of B:n )airy 0toriesC emphasises the importance of the Be(catastropheC to fantasy narrativesF this is an ideological narrative constr(ction 6hich effectively reinstates BescapismC on the gro(nds of .hristianity, +(t his +asic idea of fantasyCs primary f(nction in the first half of his arg(ment is concerned 6ith (sing fantasy to propose a form of BescapeC that is materialist in its terms. As )arah Mendlesohn and Ed6ard 8ames point o(t in $ Short Histor" of 'antas" K !!;L, BNtOhose 6ho mock The Lor! of the 2ings fre/(ently miss the point that it is as m(ch a novel of the >reat War as Erich Maria -emar/(eCs $ll 3uiet on the Western 'rontC. 4 TolkienCs ideas of fantasy have a conE(nction 6ith left radical criti/(e +eca(se they are informed +y the same social fears and desires. Michael 06an6ick, 6hose anti1fantasy novel The Iron Dragon0s Daughter K";;$L inverts many of the ideological positions Tolkien ass(mes, has o+served that TolkienCs Bportrayal of evil events 6as informed +y things he kne6 only
7 9

Tolkien, B:n )airy 0toriesC, p. '%. <+id. , p. '4. 4 Mendlesohn, and 8ames, Short Histor", p. %'.

Mark P. Williams

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"' too 6ell N#O all the ills of his times are implicit in his 6orksC, creating a Bvision of the com+ined horrors of the t6entieth cent(ry NthatO ended 6ith hope and forgivenessC in a (topian attempt to imagine a +etter 6orld.
;

?o6ever, B:n )airy 0toriesC concl(des

6ith a defence of escapism 6here it is only in the afterlife can 6e really escape. <t is a limited and limiting theory of fantasy 6hich Tolkien proposes, reEecting +oth the materialist and (ndecida+le /(alities of fantasy 6hich his essay initially opened (p in favo(r of an ideological orthodo3y. The market1pervading infl(ence of Tolkien and his reinstatement of escapism in the e(catastrophe are reasons 6hy left radical theorists t(rn a6ay from e3amining fantasyCs a+ility to f(nction as a lens for gaining a critical distance. Another reason is the 6ay in 6hich fantasy has +een constr(cted as the :ther to 0) in Mar3ist criticism in the development of 0) as an o+Eect of st(dy, 6here it has also +een condemned for +eing ideologically compromised as a commercial category. The criticism of Darko 0(vin has +een partic(larly infl(ential in this thro(gh +oth his co1 fo(nding of the Eo(rnal Science 'iction Stu!ies in ";9$ and his p(+lication of theories on the social and aesthetic f(nctions of 0) as a mode in his key te3ts, Metamorphoses of Science 'iction K";9;L and Positions an! Presuppositions in Science 'iction K";44L. )or 0(vinian criticism, 0) is a literary form concerned 6ith escape in order to find a critical perspective on material conditions, 6hile fantasy is a commercialised form of escapism 6hich avoids engaging 6ith material conditions. The present thesis (ses BescapeC in fantasy to mean the potential of fantasy to offer an effect of cognitive estrangement akin to that 6hich 0(vinian criticism locates 6ithin 0). 0(vin 6rites*
; 06an6ick, Michael, BA .hangeling -et(rnsC Kpp. $$J%7L from Garen ?a+er Ked.L Me!itations on Mi!!le Earth K,ondon* 0imon and 0ch(ster, !!$L, pp. $7J9.

Mark P. Williams

"'

"7 N0)O can +e defined as a literary genre 6hose necessary and s(fficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and 6hose main formal device is an imaginative frame6ork alternative to the a(thorCs empirical environment, and that is disting(ished +y the narrative dominance or hegemony of a fictional Bnov(mC Knovelty, innovationL validated +y cognitive logic.$!

B.ognitive estrangementC implies a do(+le movement of domesticating the (nfamiliar and defamiliarising the familiar, to create an imaginative space for social criti/(e. Deriving the term Bnov(mC from the Mar3ist philosophy of Ernst Aloch, 0(vin e3plains the effect of cognitive estrangement rests on the a+ility of the ne6 concept(al element, the Bnov(mC, to posit a fictive 6orld 6hich operates differently from the -eal +(t can +e (sed to reflect critically upon the -eal. This nov(m is necessarily Ba totali=ing phenomenon or relationship deviating from the a(thorCs and implied readerCs norm of realityC, it esta+lishes an escape thro(gh a Bchange in the 6hole (niverse of the taleC.$" This BescapeC is cr(cial to the social val(e of 0) te3ts for 0(vin, allo6ing critical space for considering the Bdominance or hegemonyC of ideology in the real 6orld thro(gh implicit or e3plicit comparison 6ith that of the nov(m. <n his early article B:n the Poetics of the 0cience )iction >enreC K";97L, 0(vin e3plains ho6 this comparison operates. ?e conceives of 0) as a form of hypothetical 6riting* B0) takes off from a fictional KPliteraryQL hypothesis and develops it 6ith e3trapolatory and totali=ing KPscientificQL rigorC.
$

0(vin clearly

states that his terms are ela+orations of the 6ork of Aertolt Arecht and 2iktor

$!

0(vin, Darko, Positions an! Presuppositions in Science 'iction KGent, :hio* Gent 0tate University Press, ";44L, p. 77. $" 0(vin, Darko, Metamorphoses of Science 'iction KHe6 ?aven and ,ondon* Iale University Press, ";9;L, p. 7%. $ 0(vin, Darko, B:n the Poetics of the 0cience )iction >enreC Kpp. '9J9"L from Mark -ose Ked.L Science 'iction4 $ Collection of Critical Essa"s KEngle6ood .liffs, H8* Prentice ?all <nc., ";97L, p. 7!.

Mark P. Williams

"7

"9 0hklovsky and the -(ssian )ormalists* he translates 0hklovskyCs term B ostranenieC as BestrangementC Kcriticising the common translation of BdefamiliarisationC and finding the translation of ArechtCs *erfrem!ung Effe-t as Balienation effectC to +e misleadingL. To 0(vin, estrangement is a specific Bformal framewor-C for the prod(ction of 0) as an artistic genre,$$ not a description of the fantastic or art in general. 0)Cs critical orientation to6ards society and its emphasis on the f(t(re provide its cognitive effect* B0) sees the norms of any age, incl(ding emphatically its o6n, as (ni/(e, changea+le and therefore s(+Eect to a cognitive glanceC 6hich sees ho6 they might +e changedF $% 0) criti/(es the -eal from a position of progressiveness +y s(+Eecting the social val(es of the -eal 6orld to do(+t, spec(lating on possi+le alternatives. )rom this position, 0(vin arg(es that cognitive estrangement is (ni/(e to 0)* The estrangement differentiates N0)O from the BrealisticC literary mainstream of the "4th to !th cent(ry. The cognition differentiates it not only from myth +(t also from the fairy tale and the fantasy. The fair" tale also do(+ts the la6s of the a(thorCs empirical 6orld, +(t it escapes o(t of its hori=ons and into a closed collateral 6orld indifferent to6ard cognitive possi+ilities. <t does not (se the imagination as a means to (nderstand the tendencies in reality, +(t as an end s(fficient (nto itself and c(t off from real contingencies.$'

0(vin is descri+ing 0) in terms of its a+ility to engage 6ith the material 6orld and opposing it to a fiction 6hich he defines in terms of a passive escapism, compared to an active attempt to escape from ideology ascri+ed to 0). 0(vinian criticism proposes a strong differentiation +et6een 0) and fantasy, insisting that the rationalist epistemology of 0), and the non1rational epistemology of fantasy are rigid distinctions. Aased on this 0(vin privileges 0) over fantasy, famo(sly descri+ing fantasy as Ba genre committed to the interposition of anti1cognitive la6s into the
$$ $%

0(vin, Darko, B:n the Poetics of the 0cience )iction >enreC, pp. 7!J7". <+id. , p. 7!. $' <+id., p. 7$.

Mark P. Williams

"9

"4 empirical environmentC, he comments that the Bcommercial l(mpingC of fantasy Binto the same category as 0) is th(s a grave disservice and rampantly socio1pathological phenomenonC.$7 ?e has since moderated this vie6, +(t it still informs his perception of the relationship +et6een 0) and fantasy +ased on the conditional (se of the term Bpossi+le 6orldsC. ?e e3plains his distinction of these 6orlds from fantasy 6orlds (sing a cognitive disc(ssion of metaphor in the conception of alternate 6orlds, BPpossi+leQ refers to their not +eing r(led o(t +y the +asic invariants of verisimilit(de Ke.g. the philosophy of scienceL dominant in the social addresseeCs ideologyC.$9 0(vin takes the Bpossi+le 6orldsC of 0) as Bmodels Kmore precisely as tho(ght1e3perimentsL or as totali=ing or thematic metaphorsC,$4 6hich operate in predominantly consistent 6ays. ?o6ever, he does ackno6ledge that +oth B+ad 0)C and 0cience )antasy

challenge the +o(ndaries of his definition if not its core thesis. With the rise in pop(larity of fantasy fiction in general, and forms 6hich prioritise play 6ith rigid generic definition s(ch as postmodernist, slipstream and interstitial fantasy 6riting, the permea+ility of the +o(ndaries of 0) and fantasy have +ecome of more interest to theory than defence of an impermea+le core. Theorists, 6riters and critics 6ith an e/(al interest in fantasy and 0) are happier to e3tend the remit of cognitive estrangement to incl(de fantastical te3ts 6hich may or may not make claims to6ards rationalist epistemology. After all, even for Tolkien, BescapeC is accomplished in fantasy in s(rprisingly similar 6ays to ho6 it is accomplished in science fiction for 0(vin* B-ecovery K6hich incl(des ret(rn and rene6al of healthL is a re1gainingJregaining of a clear vie6C 6hich he descri+es as a

$7 $9

0(vin, B:n the Poetics of the 0cience )iction >enreC, p. 7$. 0(vin, Darko, B0), Metaphor, Para+le, and .hronotopeC K"7!J4"L5 $ctes Du Premier Collo6ue International De Science 'iction !e Nice Metaphores No7 8)9: K";4$L* "74. $4 0(vin, B0), Metaphor, Para+le and .hronotopeC, p. "7;.

Mark P. Williams

"4

"; perspective Bfreed from the dra+ +l(r of triteness or familiarityC, a li+erating estrangement.$; )antasy and 0) criticism has moved a6ay from rigid distinction and to6ards more disc(rsive, f(==y delimitations of generic and modal +o(ndaries dra6n from .l(te, Atte+erry and Mendlesohn. <n Science 'iction Stu!ies ;89, 0) critic Mark Ao(ld 6rites* )or its first 47 iss(es, Science 'iction Stu!ies carried a statement descri+ing its contents as Barticles and +ook revie6s on all forms of science fiction, incl(ding (topian fiction, +(t not, e3cept for p(rposes of comparison and contrast, mythological or s(pernat(ral fantasy.C With iss(e R49, the 6ording of this statement reverted to a variant of its original form JBscholarly articles and +ook revie6s on science fiction, +roadly definedCJ+(t 6itho(t the specific e3cl(sion of varieties of fantasy.%!

Ao(ld notes that this shift coincides 6ith the BAritish AoomC in 0)1fantasy fiction and spec(lates as to the c(lt(ral reasons 6hich might acco(nt for some of the /(estions <stvan .sicsery1-onay poses a+o(t this +oom* BN6Ohat is it that permits N6riters s(ch asO M. 8ohn ?arrison, 8eff Hoon, .hina Mi5ville, Philip P(llman, Michael Marshall 0mith, etc., to +e read (nam+ig(o(sly as sf 6hile they can also +e read (nam+ig(o(sly as fantasy@ Are there historical reasons 6hy the +lending is happening 6itho(t loss of intellect(al rigor@ And 6hy is it so strong in the UG, 6here an independent fantasy +oom is happening as 6ell@C. %" Altho(gh Ao(ld does not attempt to ans6er all of these /(estions, he s(ggests 6hat might +e termed BatmosphericC reasons 6hy s(ch a conE(nction might occ(r in Aritain, picking o(t elements 6hich are in the c(lt(ral air. <f the 6idespread renegotiation of genre +o(ndaries of a p(+lishing B+oomC inevita+ly reflects (pon c(lt(ral and political determinants then the
$; %!

Tolkien, B:n )airy 0toriesC, p. ' . Ao(ld, Mark, BWhat Gind of Monster Are Io(@, 0it(ating the AoomC K$;%J%"$L Science 'iction Stu!ies ;895 vol7 <:5 pt7 < KHov, !!$L* $;%. %" .sicsery1-onay in Ao(ld, i+id.

Mark P. Williams

";

! analysis of fantasy 6hich takes a specific political stance m(st +e considered to have partic(lar importance 6ithin the field. Michael Moorcock, Angela .arter, Alan Moore, >rant Morrison and .hina Mi5ville all partake in this shared atmosphere in direct and indirect 6ays. My thesis 6ill sit(ate each one in the specific intellect(al conte3ts 6hich inform their 6ork and give it its partic(lar character as fantasy. < arg(e that, taken together, the diverse perspectives 6hich they +ring to the 6riting of political fantasy ena+le (s to concept(alise the f(nction of contemporary fantasy in a non1red(ctive 6ay 6hich preserves its radical potential 6ithin its social formations as genres 6ithin an overarching mode. )rom the perspective of this thesis it is important for conceiving the social val(e of fantasy, in relation to its val(e for individ(al readers as social s(+Eects, that the irred(ci+le core of fantasy remains its (ndecida+ility* its fo(ndation on a conscio(sness of the impossi+le 6hich can +e mo+ilised to resist and criti/(e its codification.

(he Social /alue of Fantasy: Mar,ist (heory and Left Radical Fantasy <n !! , (nder the editorship of .hina Mi5ville, Historical Materialism p(+lished a B0ymposi(m on Mar3ism and )antasyC 6hich attempted to reassess the Mar3ist vie6 of the fantastic and prod(ce a frame6ork for a ne6 Mar3ist theory of fantasy. <n this p(+lication, Mark Ao(ld links the theory of fantasy as a commodity 6hich formalises the e3pression of the imagination 6ith the theory of the formation of the individ(al s(+Eect (nder capitalism. Ao(ld 6rites that they are related concepts 6hich have +oth fo(nd their irred(ci+le individ(al /(alities neglected in Mar3ist theoryF in BThe Dreadf(l .redi+ility of A+s(rd ThingsC K !! L, he e3plores the relationship +et6een

Mark P. Williams

" them. ?e +egins +y s(mmarising some of the stances that fantasy theory has taken over the last forty years and calls for a Mar3ist theory of the social val(e of fantasy and the fantastic. Ao(ld arg(es that BMar3ist theories of fantasy and the fantastic offer an opport(nity not only to engage 6ith e3tremely pop(lar areas of c(lt(ral prod(ction +(t also to +etter model the s(+Eect for political pra3isC. % <n order to sho6 ho6 this might come a+o(t, Ao(ld 6orks thro(gh several of the +est kno6n theories of the fantastic, from T=vetan Todorov and -osemary 8ackson to 8os5 Monleon. These theories are 6orth s(mmarising again here in order to eval(ate their (sef(lness to my o6n investigative proEect. T=vetan TodorovCs The 'antastic4 $ Structural $pproach to a Literar" #enre K";9'L so(ght to categorise fantasy ta3onomically according to 6hether the te3t manifested the /(alities of Bthe (ncanny* the fantastic1(ncanny* the marvello(s1 (ncanny* NorO the marvello(sC, the highest form of fantasy in TodorovCs conception of it is that 6hich is predicated on BhesitationC Km(ch more like MendlesohnCs definition of ,iminal )antasy a+oveL.%$ The ineffa+le nat(re of TodorovCs categories makes his determination of fantasy limited 6hen considering the diverse forms of contemporary fantasy as a social formation. -osemary 8acksonCs 'antas"4 The Literature of Su&version K";4"L takes a materialist approach to fantasy (sing insights dra6n from psychoanalytic techni/(es. 8acksonCs (se of psychoanalytic criticism prod(ces interesting readings of ho6 fantasy operates +(t limits its idea of 6hat Btr(eC fantasy might mean to a s(+1 category of fantasy 6hich e3hi+its a close affinity 6ith her choice of theory and 6hich she terms Bpara3ialC, a form derived from optics 6hich descri+es the point
%

Ao(ld, Mark, BThe Dreadf(l .redi+ility of A+s(rd Things* A Tendency in )antasy TheoryC Kpp. '"J 44L in .hina Mi5ville Ked.L Historical Materialism vol7 9:5 issue = K !! L, p. '$. %$ Todorov, T=vetan, The 'antastic4 $ Structural $pproach to the 'antastic KHe6 Iork* .ornell University Press, ";9'L, p. '.

Mark P. Williams

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6here an o+Eect seems to meet its reflection 6ithin a mirror. )or 8ackson, the para3ial area can Brepresent the spectral region of the fantastic, 6hose imaginary 6orld is neither entirely PrealQ Ko+EectL, nor entirely P(nrealQ KimageL, +(t is located some6here indeterminately +et6een the t6oC.%% This form(lation tends to6ards

dealing 6ith specific types of fantasy narrative rather than fantasy in general, and leans on a constr(ction of fantasy as a mode 6hich is most akin to the e3pression of the (nconscio(s. Ao(ld criti/(es 8ackson for persistently failing to Bade/(ately

disting(ish +et6een phantasy Kin psychoanalytic terms, the so(rce of (nconscio(s fears and desiresL and the genre of fantasyC, 6ith the res(lt that this, ignoring the latterCs mediated nat(re as fiction and its historical nat(re as commodity, Be3p(ngNesO the different material +ases and modes of prod(ction of psychic and literary fantasyC.%' ?o6ever, < arg(e that the am+ig(ity over phantasyDfantasy is partly a f(nction of the (se of the term BfantasyC itself rather than simply a fa(lt of 8acksonCs categorisation. Even if )re(dian phantas" is separated, social (se of the term BfantasyC retains associations 6ith daydream and fancy +eca(se it calls (pon the history of descri+ing the fac(lty of the imagination in a 6ay 6hich is not 6holly red(ci+le to a single form(lation of the term. Aoth Todorov and 8ackson are criticised +y Ao(ld for referring to fantasy +ased on already1canonical literat(re, a practice +y 6hich the la+o(r involved in prod(cing fantasy te3ts Bis red(ced to the familiar +iographical and conte3t(al details of individ(al 6riters, solitary geni(ses 6ho transcend the material conditions of their historical and material sit(ationsC, contri+(ting to the reification of Bthe social division of la+o(r (nderpinning the ideological notion of a(thorshipC. %7 ?e 6rites that
%%

8ackson, -osemary, 'antas"4 The Literature of Su&version K,ondon and He6 Iork* Meth(en, ";4"L, p. ";. %' Ao(ld, BDreadf(l .redi+ilityC, p. 7!. %7 Ao(ld, BDreadf(l .redi+ilityC, p. '9.

Mark P. Williams

$ B8ackson, like Todorov, is engaged in the sly application of non(niform val(es in order to introd(ce a hierarchy consonant 6ith a pre1e3isting canonC. %9 <n dealing 6ith form(lations of fantasy 6riting confined mainly to te3ts 6ith an already ass(red literary stat(s 8ackson and Todorov do not acco(nt for the modal or generic form(lations of fantasy 6hich 6o(ld allo6 them to +e applied to +roader interpretations of fantasy. Again, < arg(e that this pro+lem is immanent to fantasy* its (sage oscillates +et6een +eing an e3pression of the (niversal and an e3pression of the contingent and historically specific. Ao(ld dra6s more on 8os5 MonleonCs $ Specter is Haunting Europe4 $ Sociohistorical $pproach to the 'antastic K";;!L, 6hich holds to a post1 Enlightenment interpretation of fantasy as Ban artistic prod(ction artic(lating a social concern a+o(t the essence of nat(re and la6 on the one hand, and the threats and fears derived from s(ch a concern on the otherC a condition 6hich Bco(ld not e3ist prior to the o+Eectification of nat(re and the Ptri(mph of reasonQ, 6hich he dates at aro(nd "97!C.%4 ?o6ever, this definition of fantasy is historically limited as Monleon Barg(es that fantasy ended in the ";$!sC.%; Aeca(se Monleon insists on a rigoro(s historical periodicity, 6hich Bcollocates fantasy and other te3ts of sociohistorical importance in the realm of ideologyC, Ao(ld considers it val(a+le to left radical perspectives +(t only as a partial reading of the historical period it addresses and does not deal directly 6ith contemporary form(lations, rather demonstrating a 6ay that they might +e analysed.'! Ao(ld +(ilds his o6n theory of the fantastic on the conE(nction of Alth(sserian conceptions of the s(+Eect and .arl )reedmanCs conception of ho6
%9 %4

<+id., p. 7". <+id. , p. 77. %; <+id. '! Ao(ld, BDreadf(l .redi+ilityC, p. 77.

Mark P. Williams

% paranoia operates in the 6ork of Philip G. Dick. Ao(ld 6rites that* BNaOccording to Mar3, h(man species1+eing and species1life consists of conscio(s la+o(r (ndertaken in a collective or comm(nity frame6orkC composed of Ba cy+ernetic process of imaginative constr(ction and material constr(ctionC.'" The social meaning of

BperformNingO s(ch operations on material reality can +e seen as a f(ndamentally paranoid act NofO re1ordering of a pre1e3isting order so as to make a sensi+le system of meaning 6ithin a tra(matically and intransigently el(sive -ealC, something 6hich Balso applies in the manip(lation of lang(age and the prod(ction of te3t, 6here the limits of matter are replaced +y the limitations of lang(age, disco(rse, ideology and the commodity systemC.' Writing fiction is al6ays an attempt to impose a pre1

e3isting order on the -eal, and it pres(pposes a model of the individ(al s(+Eect in +oth its characterisation and its implied reader 6hich form part of this attempt to make sense of 6hat it means to +e an individ(al in terms of e3perience and feeling. )rom this position, Ao(ld arg(es that fantasy as a form is +oth analogo(s to the processes of commodity prod(ction on the one hand and analogo(s to the process of s(+Eect formation on the other. ?e arg(es that the codification 6hich the fantasy te3t is s(+Eect to, 6hile ostensi+ly +eing an e3pression of the individ(al imaginary, can +e directly applied to (nderstanding s(+Eectivity in gerneral* Bthe KparanoidL fantasy te3t is N#O homologo(s to the KparanoidL s(+Eect 6ithin ideologyC.'$ Under capital the individ(al is interpellated into many different Bs(+Eect positionsC in the process of +eing formed as a s(+Eect of ideology Kprod(cer, 6orker, cons(mer, 6riter, reader, etc.L 6hich form a f(==y set of possi+ilities open to the Bconcrete individ(alC KAlth(sserL. The f(==iness of the individ(al is held together +y a paranoid grand system 6hich creates a sense of meaning and of +eing in the
'" '

<+id., p. 4!. <+id. , p. 4!. '$ Ao(ld, BDreadf(l .redi+ilityC, p. 4$.

Mark P. Williams

' 6orld. 0imilarly, the fantasy te3t dra6s (pon Bthis force, this contin(al location and dislocationC (nder ideology in its 6orld1+(ildingF the secondary 6orlds of fantasy implicitly ackno6ledge a central parado3 +y 6hich they are defined* Bthey are not only not tr(e to the e3trate3t(al 6orld +(t, +y definition, do not seek or pretend to +eC.'% Aeca(se fantasy te3ts can e3plicitly thematise the sense of +eing +oth codified and reg(lated in the 6orld, 6hile +eing sim(ltaneo(sly concerned 6ith the fantastic and irred(ci+le, they can model the process +y 6hich the individ(al (nder ideology can ackno6ledge their o6n stat(s as concrete individ(als. Ao(ld spec(lates that fantastic te3ts might B+e seen to constit(te a vernac(lar modernismC in this sense* a pop(list response to contemporary modernity 6hich descri+es the e3perience of the individ(al (nder capitalist modernity and offers a personally therape(tic and politically reinvigorating estrangement to the social s(+Eect.'' Ao(ld adds that BNaOny Mar3ist attempt to e(logise fantasy fiction as a mo!e as +eing Ps(+versiveQ or PprogressiveQ 6ill +e as one1sided as the alternative stern den(nciation of the form as PmystificatoryQ or PreactionaryQC, '7 he e3plains that it is precisely fantasyCs (ndecida+ility +et6een these e3tremes 6hich ena+les it to +e mo+ilised for radical criti/(e. <t has a (ni/(e potential for modelling the act(ally e3isting social relations of capital from a radical perspective +eca(se of its position 6ithin ideology. Ao(ld concl(des* BNiOt is, parado3ically, the very fantasy of fantasy as a mode that, at least potentially, gives it space for a hard1headed, critical conscio(sness of capitalist s(+EectivityCF '9 the persistence of the impossi+le 6ithin the most form(laic and codified forms of fantasy is not necessarily radical in itself +(t means that they can +e mo+ilised to radical ends.
'% ''

<+id. , p. 4". <+id. '7 <+id. '9 Ao(ld, BDreadf(l .redi+ilityC, pp. 4$J%.

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7 Ao(ldCs Bvernac(lar modernismC places its emphasis on the pop(lar or pop(list aspect of fantasy as its most significant. < 6o(ld instead s(ggest that, far more important than its act(al or even perceived pop(larity, the vernac(lar modernist potential of fantasy lies in its accessi+ility and its a+ility to infiltrate other idioms and make them into aspects of its o6n (nderlying contradictions. My o6n thesis 6ill e3plore 6ork of varying pop(larity across different s(+genres 6ithin the general field of fantasy. Ay e3ploring the social conte3ts of different manifestations of fantasy in the 6ork of five 6riters 6ith left radical politics, this thesis 6ill concept(alise the political1aesthetic determinations 6hich limit fantasy and the 6ays in 6hich the (ndecida+ility of fantasy can +e conscio(sly (sed for the immanent criti/(e of form(la fantasy. )ollo6ing on from Ao(ld, < arg(e that fantasy 6ill al6ays have a distinct capacity for opposing the aesthetic determinations of form 6hile +eing +o(nd to them* intense codification only accent(ates the internal contradiction 6ith the (ndecida+ility that it rests on. )(rther, < contend that the theorisation of fantasy in this 6ay can similarly resist critical orthodo3ies, s(ch as the (tilitarian interpretation of the social f(nction of art, and provide a rene6ed interpretation of the val(e of fantasy literat(re for the radical ,eft. ,eft radical theorists tend to privilege the social f(nction of literat(re over its aesthetic val(e, +(t ,eft radical fantasy 6riters as prod(cers of literat(re are attempting to relate the /(alities of fantasy to its individ(al e3periential manifestation, as 6ell as to its social f(nction. Ed6ard 8ames /(otes -o+ert 0ilver+erg saying to a panel 6hich incl(ded Darko 0(vin, that the B(tilitarianC vie6 of literat(re Bis rather dreary to a practising 6riterCF'4 it red(ces or +elittles the s(+Eective po6er of literat(re
'4

0ilver+erg, /(oted in 8ames, Ed6ard, BAefore The Hov(m* The Prehistory of 0cience )iction .riticismC Kpp. ";J$'L Patrick Parrinder Ked.L Learning 'rom >ther Worl!s4 Estrangement5 Cognition

Mark P. Williams

9 to a side1effect of its prod(ction. <n the case of fantasy this is potentially red(ctive of the element of the fantastic itself Kho6ever one might 6ish to interpret itL. <t can +e seen as a defining tension +et6een a politically f(nctional stance and the artistic po6er of literat(re, 6hich str(ct(res the ,eft radical approach to the fantastic* the tension +et6een the demands of a politically committed imp(lse and an aesthetically orientated imp(lse. The dialectic of BcommittedC vers(s BaestheticC is important for ,eft radical theory in considering the /(estion of ho6 and to 6hat e3tent a 6riterCs politics and aesthetic interests govern one another, and 6hether they can or sho(ld +e separated or held apart. The 6riters (nder disc(ssion in this thesis negotiate +et6een these imp(lses in different 6ays at different times in their 6ork. My analysis 6ill sit(ate these changes in respect to their ,eft radical perspective, their individ(al 6ork, and the implications for theorising fantasy. An e3treme e3ample of this tension +et6een political commitment and aesthetic interest in ,eft radical tho(ght is the case of the very different responses of the 0(rrealist gro(p and ,eon Trotsky to the fascist sympathies and literary val(e of ,o(is )erdinand .5line. The 0(rrealists condemned the aesthetics of .5lineCs fiction as contaminated +y his politics, 6hile Trotsky fo(nd that .5lineCs aesthetic interests elevated the val(e of his fiction a+ove his politics.'; 0(ch de+ates as to the

differentiation or (nity of political perspectives still inhere in the politics of literat(re* in his essay B0tarship 0tormtroopersC K";99L, Michael Moorcock openly deplored the reading of -o+ert ?einlein +y revol(tionary leftist 6riters, 7! 6hile in intervie6 6ith The >&server Maga1ine K !!%L .hina Mi5ville echoed TrotskyCs stance, saying* B<
an! the Politics of Science 'iction K,iverpool* ,iverpool University Press, !!!L, p. $ . '; 0ee, Trotsky, B.5line and Poincar5* Hovelist and PoliticianC K";$$L, $rt ? 2evolution KHe6 Iork* Pathfinder, ";9!L and -aymond 0piteri and Donald ,a.ross KedsL Surrealism5 Politics an! Culture KAldershot* Ashgate P(+lishing .ompany, !!$L. 7! Moorcock, B0tarship 0tormtroopersC Kpp. 9;J;'L from The >pium #eneral an! >thers K,ondon* >rafton, ";4%L.

Mark P. Williams

4 donCt E(dge fiction 6riters +y their politics N#.O ,o(is )erdinand .5line 6as sc(m, +(t a s(per+ 6riterC.7" < arg(e that the creative decisions taken +y the five a(thors foc(ssed on in this thesis, developing their respective (ses of fantasy, represent an ongoing attempt to resolve or (nite the tensions of left radical political aesthetics to generate an aesthetic of li+eration in fantasy literat(re. This thesis s(ggests that tho(gh they take different paths and (se divergent s(+genres in their careers, they all arrive at similar concl(sions on the f(nction of fantasy and its relationship 6ith politics and aesthetics.

(he Cha&ters iL Michael Moorcock <n chapter one < identify Michael MoorcockCs politics 6ithin a left anarchist milie( and relate this to the development of his fantasy fictions. < sho6 that MoorcockCs 6riterly development from p(lp or hack 6riting to spec(lative fiction and literary 6riting are informed +y the parallel development of his political stance. < read MoorcockCs (se of rec(rring and m(t(ally echoing charactersC names and roles as a political form(lation closely derived from his e3perience of prod(cing B06ord and 0orceryC fantasy (nder the economic press(res and pop(list practices of p(lp fiction. )rom this +asis < arg(e that the metaphysical str(ct(res of MoorcockCs m(ltiverse, originating as p(lp fiction motifs, +ecome sym+ols of the political and socio1 economic str(ct(res +y 6hich he defines his anarchism.

7"

Mi5ville, .hina, BThis M(ch < Gno6C The >&server Maga1ine K 4th Hovem+er, !!%L, p. "!.

Mark P. Williams

; iiL Angela .arter .hapter t6o proposes that the 6riting of Angela .arter is 0(rrealist, arg(ing that her 0ocialist and feminist positions find their e3pression in a late version of s(rrealism 6hich she derives from personal enco(nters 6ith 0(rrealist te3ts d(ring her time in 8apan. .arterCs (se of 0(rrealism has +een noted +efore, +(t has previo(sly +een analysed primarily for its contri+(tion to her 6riting as a form of all(sion, sit(ating it 6ithin a postmodernist frame6ork. < arg(e instead that 0(rrealism infl(ences .arterCs fantasy on a str(ct(ral level, and relate .arterCs fantasy to conceptions of 0(rrealist methods of generating materialist criti/(e thro(gh the (se of the fantastic.

iiiL Alan Moore <n chapter three, < arg(e that Alan MooreCs 6ork is defined +y a post1";7!s (ndergro(nd c(lt(re, incl(ding anarchist and alternative lifestyles, 6hich dra6s on a tradition of visionary antinomianism. .entral to MooreCs fantasy fictions is a

conception of the importance of visionary 6riting as a concretisation of the imagination. < demonstrate that his 6ork spatialises the imagination in fantasy lands or alternate dimensions as a 6ay of providing a shared gro(nd for dissent 6hich can transcend the confines of local e3perience 6itho(t losing the specificity of partic(lar material circ(mstances. )rom this < analyse the 6ays that Moore (ses the spatialised imaginary to dramatise conflicts +et6een B(nofficialC and BofficialC histories, 6here B(nofficialC means +oth (ndergro(nd and radical.

ivL >rant Morrison

Mark P. Williams

$! .hapter fo(r analyses the mainstream s(perhero comic +ook 6ork of >rant Morrison. < arg(e that Morrison attempts to import ideas and techni/(es dra6n from 0(rrealist and 0it(ationist art and theory into mainstream s(perhero comics in order to offer a criti/(e of contemporary cons(mer society and the commodity form. This chapter analyses the development of MorrisonCs s(perhero comics for D. and Marvel in terms of the relative degrees of 0(rrealist disE(nct(re and 0it(ationist criti/(e of society they manage to convey 6ithin the economic and editorial strict(res of mainstream comic +ook p(+lication. < compare MorrisonCs (se of the s(perhero in his creator1o6ned series 6ith his corporate1o6ned 6ork to sho6 ho6 the e3pression of his politics changes, and arg(e that the anarchic political sensi+ility of his creator1 o6ned fictions is act(ally closely related to the 0(rrealist aesthetic of his corporate1 o6ned 6ork.

vL .hina Mi5ville )inally, in chapter five, < analyse ho6 secondary 6orld constr(ction in .hina Mi5villeCs Aas ,ag novels relates to his Mar3ism. < arg(e it is +ased on the principles of dialectical materialism, and constit(tes an attempt to conceive of the individ(al 6ithin society in Mar3ist terms. This chapter s(ggests ho6 Mi5ville locates his 6ork in relation to diverse traditions of 6riting and tho(ght, and demonstrates that his literary techni/(es represent a partic(larly strong innovation in the (se of fantasy for political ends.

All of the 6riters (nder disc(ssion negotiate +et6een contrary demands of politically committed and aesthetic positions, arg(ing for the val(e of fantasy as a mode 6hich

Mark P. Williams

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$" has great potential po6er for political criti/(e against the perennial acc(sation of escapism. This thesis asks* ?o6 does each 6riter +alance the demands of these positions in their fantasy 6ork@ <t 6ill t(rn first to a consideration of the 6ork of Michael Moorcock.

Cha&ter 'ne: Michael Moorcock and Anarchis" 0: Anarchist history and theory BWhoever denies a(thority and fights against it is an anarchist,C said 05+astien )a(re. The definition is tempting in its simplicity, +(t simplicity is the first thing to g(ard against in 6riting a history of anarchism. )e6 doctrines or movements have +een so conf(sedly (nderstood in the p(+lic mind, and fe6 have presented in their o6n variety of approach and action so m(ch e3c(se for conf(sion. J>eorge Woodcock.7

Woodcock, >eorge, $narchism4 $ Histor" of Li&ertarian I!eas an! Movements K,ondon* Peng(in, ";47L, p. "".

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$ Michael Moorcock descri+es himself as an anarchistF as >eorge Woodcock indicates a+ove, anarchism as a set of ideas is deceptively simple to invoke yet diffic(lt to really grasp. <n this chapter < relate MoorcockCs aesthetic interests as a 6riter of fantasy directly to his political stance. Ay e3ploring the anarchist elements of his fantasy < demonstrate ho6 MoorcockCs political interests have +ecome, increasingly systematically, affirmed in his 6riting and conse/(ently chart a map of ho6 6e can +egin to locate contemporary anti1a(thoritarian leftist 6riters in respect to Moorcock and his 6ork. We m(st +egin +y attempting to descri+e 6hat is meant +y anarchism. Peter Gropotkin descri+ed anarchism in his article for the ";"! edition of the Enc"clopae!ia +ritannica as follo6s* Anarchism Kfrom the >r. $n5 and $rche, contrary to a(thorityL, the name given to a principle or theory of life and cond(ct (nder 6hich society is conceived 6itho(t governmentJharmony in s(ch a society +eing o+tained, not +y s(+mission to la6, or +y o+edience to any a(thority, +(t +y free agreements concl(ded +et6een the vario(s gro(ps, territorial and professional, freely constit(ted for the sake of prod(ction and cons(mption, as also for the satisfaction of the infinite variety of needs and aspirations of a civili=ed +eing.7$ GropotkinCs ideas are dra6n from his o6n st(dy as a geographer researching anthropology, history and cartography, and are concerned 6ith nat(ralising and rationalising anarchist ideas of self1organisation and organisation 6itho(t

competition, he (ses the e3ample of vol(ntary organisations s(ch as the -oyal Hational ,ife+oat <nstit(tionF these ideas form an alternative to the principles of social Dar6inism that co(ld +e (sed to E(stify hierarchical ine/(ality. GropotkinCs central tenet is the importance of m(t(al aid as a s(rvival mechanism operating in contradistinction to o(tright competition for reso(rces, and he proposes the
7$

Gropotkin, Peter, BAnarchismC from The Con6uest of +rea! an! >ther Writings ed. Marshall 0. 0hat= K.am+ridge* .am+ridge University Press, ";;'L, p. $$.

Mark P. Williams

$$ scientifically informed st(dy of the social and geographical demands of place on c(lt(re, principles 6hich he e3tends in his disc(ssion of Anarchist1comm(nism. M(ch anarchism leans to6ards comm(nism as the preferred (ltimate state of h(man relationships as the fo(nders of anarchism 6ere involved in the same historical str(ggles as the early proponents of Mar3ism. ?o6ever, altho(gh

contemporary anarchism is clearly connected to the emergence of the He6 ,eft Kincl(ding hippie c(lt(re, +lack po6er, feminism and gay rights gro(psL, not all anarchism is recognisa+ly Mar3ian in derivation. A considera+le s6athe of anarchist tho(ght, dra6ing on Ma3 0tirnerCs ideas of BEgoismC,7% holds vie6s more distinctly of the -ight, often identified as li+ertarian individ(alism, advocating freedom from ta3es and state interferenceDintervention in private life and on private property. <t marks an important distinction +et6een the main form(lations of anarchism and is sometimes called Hiet=schean anarchism. 0eSn M. 0heehan is caref(l to delineate +et6een the divergent strands of contemporary anarchism, descri+ing ho6 in U0 li+ertarian individ(alist anarchism, partic(larly the 6ork of 8ohn -a6ls K $ Theor" of @ustice, ";9"L and -o+ert Ha=ick K$narch"5 State an! Atopia, ";9%L, BUtopia +ecomes a comm(nity 6here property enEoys the same inviola+le rights as the sovereign individ(al, and la6 co(rts and essential services like those of policing are provided +y private agenciesC.7' The anarchist rhetoric of li+eration and freedom can th(s

contrarily +e seen as sometimes in favo(r of, despite +eing more typically (nderstood as antithetical to, the forces of the free1market, or, as 0heehan p(ts it* Bfreedom can +e invoked to s(pport the freedom to +e selfishC. 77 0heehan 6rites that contemporary ,eft anarchism identifies this -ight li+ertarian stance 6ith the incred(lity to6ards
7%

<n The Ego an! His >wn 0tirner 6rites that all val(e E(dgements derive from Egoism and that those +ased on r(le of la6, social convention and religiosity are merely e3ternalisations of this, effectively in +ad faith, and that the free individ(al sho(ld not s(+ordinate themselves to s(ch things. 7' 0heehan, 0eSn M., $narchism K,ondon* -eaGtion, !!$L, p. %!. 77 <+id.

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$% metanarrative of postmodernism and o+serves that KleftL BNaOnarchism has little tr(ck 6ith the theoretical filigree of postmodernism and prefers to ackno6ledge Mar3Cs alienation as a lived, sens(o(s reality that is comple3 +(t codified, and seeks to replace it 6ith an alternativeC.79 This echoes aspects of the position that Moorcock takes, +(t, as this thesis 6ill indicate, the relationship +et6een anarchism and postmodernism is more comple3 than 0heehan s(ggests. <n terms of theorising ho6 to operate, anarchism is e/(ally contrary in that its proponents often ref(se to make 6ider theoretical generalisations* A realistic anarchistic manifesto 6ill +e drafted as a net6ork of contingencies. There are no lists of contradictions or ordering of these as primary and secondaryF crises are not a(tomatic o(tcomes of political economyF and there is no historical inevita+ility. Anarchist collectives 6ill create their o6n forms of str(ggle as anarchy and the conflicts 6ith agents of the state gro6. The anarchist movement 6ill +e its o6n la+oratory.74 Precedent is seen as e3isting only in order to +e adapted in this conception of anarchismF BAnarchism is not E(st a political philosophy or social theoryF it is a matter of livingC.7; )or these 6riters the position of anarchism m(st ackno6ledge that its

proponents are Ball prod(cts of a partic(lar society, and 6e are +o(nd +y itJperhaps more than 6e like to admitC and, in f(ll kno6ledge of this BNnOevertheless, 6e m(st live its negationC.9! <n descri+ing this process there is a distinct movement a6ay from prototypical Mar3ist class1str(ggle terms to6ards lang(age similar to the terminology of the avant1garde 6hich inf(sed the He6 ,eft of the ";7!s and 6hich in t(rn informs postmodernism*

79 74

<+id. , p. 7;. Erlich, ?o6ard 8., Ehrlick, .arol, De,eon, David and Morris, >lenda KedsL 2einventing $narch"4 What are $narchists Thin-ing $&out These Da"sB K,ondon* -o(tledge and Gegan Pa(l, ";9;L, p. %. 7; <+id. 9! i+id.

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$' We m(st ref(se to +ecome prisoners of its standards of reality and practicality. :(r task, as the old anarchist slogan goes, is to B+(ild the ne6 society in the vacant lots of the oldC. :r, as Marge Piercy p(ts it in her poem, 2ough Times, B6e are trying to live as if 6e 6ere an e3periment cond(cted +y the f(t(reC. 9"

The lang(age here is appealing to the idea of a Brevol(tion of everyday lifeC theorised +y -ao(l 2aneigem and the 0it(ationist <nternational. Altho(gh it is +ased on Mar3, 0it(ationist theory ref(ses some of his class1+ased theorisation in favo(r of a generalised resistance to the trappings of modernity 6hich 2aneigem, >(y De+ord and others descri+e as Bthe spectac(lar societyC or Bthe society of the spectacleCF BspectacleC for the 0it(ationists is the totalising system of distractions +y 6hich capital sed(ces and l(lls the mem+ers of society.9 0it(ationist resistance is +ased on spontaneity, the discovering of Bsit(ationsC o(tside the norm and the seeking o(t of forgotten (r+an spaces for their affective /(alities KpsychogeographyL 6hich can +e p(t to imaginative ne6 (ses to find anarchic 6ays of living in (r+an environments. This more avant1garde interpretation of anarchism has clear parallels 6ith 6orks of imaginative fiction, and the e3pressions of anarchism in literat(re commonly make this connection. What all interpretations of anarchism share can +e tho(ght of trans1 historically as a contin(ing tendency to6ards anti1a(thoritarianism. Anarchist ideas are possessed of a marked optimism regarding the a+ility and 6illingness of the ordinary person to empo6er themselves, a factor 6hich perhaps e3plains their dissemination amongst and association 6ith other li+eration movements. This

optimism is perhaps the defining characteristic of anarchism then, 6hich (nifies the late nineteenth1 and mid1t6entieth1cent(ry strands of the movement, a (topian
9" 9

Erlich et al, 2einventing $narch", p. %. 0ee De+ord, >(y, The Societ" of the Spectacle trans. Donald Hicholson10mith KHe6 Iork* Tone Aooks, ";;' N";79OL.

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$7 imp(lse and an orientation to6ard the 6orking classes. Anarchist rhetoric often evinces a fetishisation of the state as the (ltimate so(rce of social evilsF anarchism and anti1statism are almost synonyms from the 6ritings of Mikhail Aak(nin on6ards, and anarchists fre/(ently display antipathy to6ards BmainstreamC or BpartyC politics. This is typified +y the common anarchist slogan BDonCt 2ote, it only enco(rages themUC 6here BthemC is al6ays negative and almost al6ays the forces of the state or those in coll(sion 6ith the state. As the slogan s(ggests, most anarchists oppose the very idea of voting as an alienation of political e3pression from lived e3istenceF BDonCt vote, it only enco(rages themUC can +e seen as the mirror image of the Bo3ygen of p(+licityC rhetoric (sed against far1right e3tremist gro(ps. Michael Moorcock does not advocate a+stention from voting +(t, follo6ing from the more pragmatic, perhaps more nineteenth1cent(ry common1sensical, theories of Peter Gropotkin, advocates (sing all availa+le media to engage 6ith contemporary politics in order to advocate an anarchist position. <n this and other 6ays, he is an (n(s(al anarchist in his partic(lar practice and theory. MoorcockCs engagement 6ith anarchism +egins 6ith the fl(ct(ations of the anarchist movement in ,ondon in the late ";'!s and B7!s. ?istorically, Al+ert Melt=er 6rites that BN(Op to the period of the )irst World War, the ,ondon movement, altho(gh small, had +een e3tremely vigoro(s and an integral part of the P6orking class movementQC that 6as Bs(pported +y a some6hat larger, if floating, immigrant movementC 6hich kept its ideas att(ned to str(ggles in E(rope. 9$ This meant that, for a +rief period B,ondon 6as a centre of international revol(tionary activity and tho(ght, something 6hich ,ord Palmerston had tho(ght Ponly added to EnglandCs greatnessQ and 6hich ?er+ert Morrison later tho(ght Ponly ca(sed (nnecessary
9$

Melt=er, Al+ert, The $narchists in Lon!on4 98<C.98CC K0anday, :rkney* .ienf(egos Press ,td., ";97L, p. 4.

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$9 tro(+le for the policeQC.9% The reasons for the movement dying do6n are spec(lated (pon f(rther in Melt=erCs The $narchists in Lon!on and may relate to tensions 6ithin the 6orking class movement, +(t Melt=er insists this is a fl(ct(ation* BThro(gho(t the years of )ascism, Anarchist gro(ps in England and America kept in to(ch 6ith the str(ggle against M(ssoliniF altho(gh 6ritten off +y socialists as a Pdead movementQ, they appeared every6here in <taly after M(ssolini fellC.9' Declared dead once again in the ";%!s and early B'!s, d(e to drastic red(ction in the n(m+er of s(pporters in ,ondon, the movement 6as seen +y David Miller in res(rgence +y the early ";7!s, the period 6hen Moorcock 6as associating himself and his ideas 6ith anarchism via the +ohemian environs of ,ad+roke >rove* ,ad+roke >rove 6as pretty m(ch an e3act e/(ivalent of N0an )ranciscoCsO ?aight Ash+(ry NdistrictO and for fairly similar reasons & < of co(rse lived there +efore the phenomenon and sa6 it all gro6 (p aro(nd (s. Anyone reading a+o(t Hotting ?ill in the very early 7!s or +efore 6ill find a very different 6orld mostly of gang +attles and so on. And yes 6e moved there as everyone did originally +eca(se it 6as cheap and considered dangero(s K6hile +eing only a !1min(te 6alk from the West EndL.97

This milie( attracted anarchic Kand declared anarchistL gro(ps s(ch as ?a6k6ind K6hom Moorcock 6as to play 6ith and 6rite forL and the co(nter1c(lt(ral maga=ines s(ch as >1 and International Times 6hich friends of Moorcock Ks(ch as ill(strator Mal DeanL 6orked 6ithF Moorcock gives his frank opinions of some of those associating themselves 6ith co(nter1c(lt(ral p(+lication in intervie6 6ith the present a(thor at -eality 0t(dio.org.99 A(t, altho(gh these 6ere the circles Moorcock 6o(ld move in, his inspiration to +ecome an anarchist appears to have come from far more intimate family associations* the man 6ho acted as MoorcockCs father1fig(reJhis
9% 9'

<+id. Melt=er, $narchists in Lon!on, p. ;. 97 Moorcock quoted in Nigel Cross Crisis From the Midnight Circus: Ladbroke Grove 196778 from <http://www.terrascope.co.uk/Features/LadbrokeGrove.htm>, 15/05/09. 99 0ee Vhttp*DDrealityst(dio.orgDintervie6sDmichael1moorcock1on16illiam1s1+(rro(ghsW.

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$4 o6n father having left, as he p(ts it, Bmore or less on 2E1DayC 94J6as a 8e6ish E(ropean 5migr5 6ith close ties to previo(s generations of E(ropean anarchists. <n intervie6 6ith anarchist 6e+site .orporatemofo.org, Moorcock descri+es him as a heroic man 6ho took part in getting many 8e6s o(t of Ha=i E(rope.9; MoorcockCs e3pectations of ";7!s anarchism m(st have +een high, as his o6n involvement appears to have +een, from his 6ritings at the time and reminiscences since, determined and demanding. The net6orks of +ohemians developing aro(nd him in ,ad+roke >rove encompass many of those 6hose 6ork he 6o(ld champion in later years. <n fact, this +ohemian net6ork of revol(tionaries, rights campaigners and co(nter1c(lt(re 6riters and artists +ecame the paradigm for many s(+se/(ent contemporary constr(ctions of anarchismF it is closely 6edded to the mythology of the ";7!s. <n $narch" $liveD $nti)authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theor", Uri >ordon offers a n(m+er of characteristics of anarchism 6hich follo6 the ";7!s model, descri+ing anarchism as a contemporary Bsocial movement, composed of dense net6orks of individ(als, affinity gro(ps and collectivesC 6hich are in t(rn em+edded in a Bpolitical c(lt(re N#O (nderstood here as a family of shared orientations to doing and talking a+o(t politicsC. 4! 0(ggesting that anarchism cannot, or sho(ld not, +e (nderstood as a sing(lar or (nified o+Eect or movement, >ordon lists the so(rces of its c(rrent manifestations as Banti1n(clear and anti16ar movements N#O movements for 6omenCs, +lack, indigeno(s, ,>AT and animal li+erationC, gro(ps 6hich might other6ise +e tho(ght of as largely separate in composition and interest. 4"
94

Moorcock, BMichael Moorcock <n .onversation 6ith Alan Moore and <ain 0inclairC, Aritish ,i+rary .onference .entre, ;th 8(ne, !!;. 9; Moorcock in intervie6, BMichael Moorcock on Politics, P(nk, Tolkien, and Everything ElseC from Vhttp*DDcorporatemofo.comDpoliticsXandXotherX+(llshitDmichaelXmoorcockXonXpoliticsXp.htmlW, " D!'D!4. 4! >ordon, Uri, $narch" $liveD $nti)authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theor" K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!4L, p. . 4" >ordon, $narch" $liveD, pp. J'.

Mark P. Williams

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$; Anarchism then, from the period 6hen Moorcock 6as most involved 6ith it, is a shared tendency to6ards something rather than a sing(lar, totally cohesive gro(p. )rom >ordonCs description of contemporary anarchism, it is composed of gro(ps of B(sC against BthemC in loose movements 6hose interests occasionally meet in conE(nct(re and generally dra6 (pon a shared c(lt(ral heritage of ";7!s resistance and protest. MoorcockCs relationship 6ith anarchism also fl(ct(atesF in the introd(ction to The 2etreat 'rom Li&ert" K";4$L, Moorcock details the development of his personal political standpoint. This development +egins 6ith his active

involvement 6ith the anarchist movement of the fifties and 6ith B.HD and anti1racist activities in Hotting ?ill K6here Mosley made his last +id for parliament in ";';LC thro(gh to Eoining the ,a+o(r Party Bin the +elief that it 6as possi+le to achieve change thro(gh traditional party politics.C4 A change in this vie6 led him a6ay from ,a+o(r and, conse/(ently NfOor a 6hile Kd(ring the so1called P,i+eral -evivalQL < 6orked at ,i+eral Party head/(arters, as an editor and leaflet16riter, since < +elieved that the radical noises then +eing made +y yo(ng ,i+erals like David 0teele 6ere gen(inely li+ertarian in nat(re. Another spell of mem+ership in the ,a+o(r Party and < ret(rned to my original position as an anarchist 6here < 6as a+le to e3press +oth my o6n coherent political vie6s 6hile also speaking to fello6 anarchists as an opponent of terrorism.4$ MoorcockCs description of his developing politics a+ove is clearly intended to s(ggest someone 6ith a specific (topian vision of their o6n. <n artic(lating his o6n position Moorcock sets his 6riting against the self1congrat(latory (topianism fo(nd in the Bfashion for radicalism in the si3ties 6hich Tom Wolfe characterised as P-adical .hic,QC as something +orn o(t of a pec(liar com+ination of cynicism and naYvet5,
4

Moorcock, The 2etreat 'rom Li&ert"4 The Erosion of Democrac" in To!a"0s +ritain K,ondon* Tom+a Aooks, ";4$L, p. " . 4$ Moorcock, The 2etreat 'rom Li&ert", p. " .

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%! even tho(gh he finds himself dra6n to the same +ohemian milie(.4% ?e characterises this period, perhaps -omantically, as a time of general leftist consens(s K+oth a pop(lar and pop(list responseL, 6hen perceptions of Bthe inevita+ility of Utopia 6as taken for granted +y seasoned politicians and Eo(rnalists /(ite as m(ch as +y flo6er children.C4' Z(alifying his o6n perception of Utopia as an apparition he o+serves* Blarge n(m+ers s(pported the vie6s of people agitating for e/(ality and E(stice on +ehalf of 6omen, +lacks and a 6hole variety of se3(al and racial minorities N#.O +eca(se the economic s"stem itself no longer survive! &" means of these inEustices CF47 MoorcockCs (topian desire and -omantic attachment to +ohemia are accompanied +y a certain hard1nosed pragmatism. <n his personal political choices at the time Moorcock descri+es a certain feeling of am+ivalence to the practicalities of living 6ith contemporary modernity 6hile operating 6ithin this milie( of dissent and protest. ?e says that altho(gh he B6ent along 6ith friends in the Aan the Aom+ movement, < kne6 it 6o(ldnCt +e +anned and rather relished the idea of itC. 49 ?e attri+(tes this marked am+ivalence to his personal relationships 6ith 8.>. Aallard and Arian Aldiss, saying, BAallard had +een li+erated +y the Aom+, as had NArian W.O Aldiss, another friend. Aallard from the 8apanese civilian camp and Aldiss from having to +egin the invasion of 8apan. < think < 6as +orn a little too late to 6orryC. 44 <ndeed, in BWorking in the Ministry of Tr(thC he 6rites that he 6o(ld sooner see the energy p(t into the Aan the Aom+ movement p(t to6ards fighting for 6omenCs rights not E(st as a more desira+le

4% 4'

Moorcock, The 2etreat 'rom Li&ert", p. "$. <+id., p. "7. 47 <+id. , pp. "7J"9. 49 Moorcock in intervie6 6ith the a(thor, see BTo Write )or the 0pace Age* Michael Moorcock on William 0. A(rro(ghs, intervie6 6ith Mark P. WilliamsC V http*DDrealityst(dio.orgDintervie6sDmichael1 moorcock1on16illiam1s1+(rro(ghsD, ! D!'D!;.W 44 <+id.

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%" goal +(t as a more practically reali=a+le one. 4; MoorcockCs anarchism may th(s +e seen to +e +roadly derived from his taking part in the s(+c(lt(ral and co(nterc(lt(ral milie(, part of the He6 ,eftCs (nification of interests K6omenCs rights, +lack li+eration, homose3(al rights, the ne6 possi+ilities of hippie c(lt(re and so onL +(t tempered 6ith a pragmatic approach to the application of anarchism taken, he says, from the ideas of Peter Gropotkin. <n this 6ay 6e might see MoorcockCs ideas of anarchism as dra6n from t6o /(ite distinct sets of historical forces, indeed t6o anachronistic form(lations* that of the history of anarchism seen as a contin(ity +et6een Gropotkin and Mar3ian ideals, vers(s the idea of anarchism as a series of +reaks 6hich each form(late anarchism ane6, derived from the avant1garde inspired He6 ,eft. <n this latter sense anarchism means something akin to AretonCs conceptions of 0(rrealism, s(mmarised +y Michael -ichardson and Gr=ys=tof )iEalko6ski as Bthe 6ill to discover that point at 6hich opposing categories are no longer perceived contradictorily Kthe Ps(preme pointQLC.;! This has a contin(ing resonance for

MoorcockCs 6riting and +rings (s to the second important strand of the de+ate* the presence of anarchist ideas and ideals in literary conte3ts and the /(estion of 6hether pop(list or e3perimental approaches to 6riting are partic(larly concordant 6ith an anarchist politics. <t is of partic(lar importance to the idea of anarchist aesthetics to e3plore 6hether or to 6hat e3tent MoorcockCs anarchist ideas and his 6riting 6ere al6ays compati+le, since he ackno6ledges in B0tarship 0tormtroopersC that his aesthetic interests sometimes seem opposed to his politics.

4;

0ee MoorcockCs essay, BWorking in the Ministry of Tr(th* Pornography and .ensorship in .ontemporary AritainC Kpp. '$7J' L from Pornograph"4 Women5 *iolence an! Civil Li&erties, ed. +y .atherine <t=in K:3ford* :3ford University Press, ";; L. ;! Surrealism $gainst the Current4 Tracts an! Declarations ed. Michael -ichardson and Gr=ys=tof )iEalko6ski K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!"L, p. 7.

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1: Anarchis", Fantasy Literature and the 2nderground This section is concerned 6ith the (ndergro(nd or co(nter1c(lt(re movement and MoorcockCs reception 6ithin that milie(. <t /(estions 6hether MoorcockCs 6riting conveyed politics in the 6ay he intended and 6hether this led him a6ay from intentionality in his 6riting, and moves to6ards an analysis of some of his early 06ord M 0orcery fantasy. <t +egins to address the /(estion of 6hat an anarchist aesthetic might mean* sho(ld it +e constr(ed as an anarchic mi3ing of styles, registers and forms s(ch as Modernism or 0(rrealism. ?er+ert -ead is an important fig(re for (nderstanding and appreciating anarchist ideals as they relate to the development of an aesthetic +eca(se he has 6ritten 6idely on artists, Modernism and the nat(re and meaning of art from a declared anarchist perspective. -ead 6rites that the Bf(nction of art is to e3press feeling and transmit un!erstan!ingC, and that the role of an artist al6ays Bdepends on the comm(nityC, from 6hich the artist takes their BtoneC or BtempoC. ;" ?o6ever, -ead arg(es that individ(al +elief is 6hat drives the artist to offer their art (p to the B6ider m(tations of historyC to +e Bmagnified or diminished, taken (p or dismissedC according to fl(ct(ations of taste or fort(ne Ki+id., 79J4L. The artist is anarchistic for -ead in that artists (phold the (topian hope of finding an ideal organic comm(nity in the face of present historical reality and perhaps in direct contrariness to circ(mstance. ?e (ses the lang(age of anarchism to e3plain the stat(s of art and 0(rrealist art in partic(lar, as something 6hich can encaps(late the revol(tionary imp(lse in its form. As 0eSn M. 0heehan 6rites BAnarchism and 0(rrealism are not synonymo(sC +(t can rather +e tho(ght of as sharing Ba provocative intent to discredit common s(ppositions a+o(t o(r possi+ilities for +eingC, s(ch as hierarchical
;"

-ead, ?er+ert, The Meaning of $rt K,ondon* )a+er and )a+er, N";$"O ";99L, pp. 79.

Mark P. Williams

%$ organisation and +o(rgeois societyF he emphasises the affinity of Bc(lt(ral anarchismC 6ith +oth 0(rrealism and Modernism as Bthe espo(sal of art as an anti1official form of freedom and a(tonomyC, something availa+le to +e mo+ilised in resistance. ; < arg(e

that MoorcockCs .orneli(s novels are e3plicit attempts to e3press the comple3ities of the ";7!s anarchist environs Moorcock em+raced as something am+ig(o(s and contradictory, and that they are an attempt to e3press resistance +y dra6ing on fantasy and p(lp fiction, 0(rrealism and anarchist history to do so* an attempt to 6rite an anarchist aesthetic dra6ing on the (ndergro(nd. Moorcock repeatedly states his political +eliefs in respect to the fiction he 6rites* descri+ing his o6n politics in The 2etreat 'rom Li&ert" he refers to his .orneli(s +ook The 'inal Programme, disc(ssing the rec(peration of re+ellion as a stat(s sym+ol for the 6ealthy* BNtOhe +ook Jor at least its hero, 8erry .orneli(sJ6as taken as a model +y the very same yo(ng men 6hose e(phoria and am+itions it satirisedC,;$ a process 6hich, he emphasises retrospectively, 6as one of the things he 6as opposing at the time. <n a !!4

intervie6, Moorcock also casts some do(+t on the pro3imity of the ideas of the (ndergro(nd movement to his o6n, o+serving that he felt that many of its ideas of re+ellion 6ere Ban e3c(se for a lot of middle class +oys to say Pf(ckQ a lotC. ;% ?ere Moorcock disc(sses his impression of his o6n relative aesthetic position at the time in light of certain of his avant1garde contemporaries*

< 6as generally disappointed +y 6hat 6as offered as literary e3periment K+y the likes of A.0. 8ohnson for instanceL 6hich E(st seemed like the mi3t(re as +efore presented in modified forms. )e6 6ere 6orking on finding ne6 forms for the novel. Apart from 6hat 6e 6ere doing in New Worl!s Kthat is, AallardCs Pcondensed novels,Q AayleyCs 6eird notionsL < didnCt see m(ch 6hich tried to match NWilliam
;

0heehan, 0eSn M., $narchism K,ondon* -eaktion, !!$L, p. "$9. Moorcock, The 2etreat 'rom Li&ert", p. %$. ;% Moorcock in intervie6 6ith the a(thor, see BTo Write )or the 0pace Age* Michael Moorcock on William 0. A(rro(ghs, intervie6 6ith Mark P. WilliamsC V http*DDrealityst(dio.orgDintervie6sDmichael1 moorcock1on16illiam1s1+(rro(ghsD, ! D!'D!;.W
;$

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%% 0.OA(rro(ghs. We looked +ack a +it to NAorisO 2ian, NAlfredO 8arry, N-onaldO )ir+ank and a fe6 other a+s(rdists, +(t fo(nd little other than A(rro(ghs in fiction to inspire (s. Ki+id.L

There is am+ivalence to6ards e3periment here 6hich does not see it as necessarily connected to either aesthetic or political radicalism +(t rather as something 6ith its o6n logic. ?e therefore conceives of the (ndergro(nd movement as a rather limited idea of intellect(al Krather than politicalL transgression 6hose primary f(nction is to scandalise, rather than make a socio1political point, descri+ing the phenomenon as having BNlOittle sense of attacking the infrastr(ct(re and re1inventing itC. ;' Iet

MoorcockCs .orneli(s fictions also tread this very +o(ndary, placing their political content precario(sly close to the same +rand of scandalo(sness and the same possi+ility of +eing ignored or mis(nderstood. <t is the difference +et6een politicised re+ellion and the rec(peration of politicised re+ellion as scandalo(sness 6hich M(rray Aookchin has criti/(ed as Blifestyle anarchismC, and it e3ists, perhaps necessarily, in an (ncomforta+ly close relationship 6ith political anarchism. The aesthetic of MoorcockCs 6riting from the mid1";7!s on6ards sho6s an increasing tendency to develop avant1garde and pop(list modes +oth separately and in com+ination in his fantasy 6ork. The s(ccess of this depends on his (se of parallel (niverse narratives and the development of an overarching m(ltiverse. Parallel (niverse narratives directly allegorise c(lt(ral str(ggle as a comple3 and self1 contradictory selection of meanings +attling for dominance. ,inking them thro(gh a m(ltiverse develops a sense of the contin(al presence of possi+ilities present in each narrative concerned 6ith it. The m(ltiverse comes to stand for possi+ility,

m(ltiplicity of KpoliticalL 6orldvie6s and an e3panding heterogeneo(s series of

;'

i+id.

Mark P. Williams

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%' possi+le (niverses each nested 6ithin one another 6here the spaces +et6een them can +e traversed 6hen seeking to literally find a +etter 6orld. :riginating as a pragmatic 6riterly techni/(e the concept of the m(ltiverse +ecomes increasingly foc(ssed to6ards performing c(lt(ral and political positions in respect to the esta+lished characters. .haracter and place are +oth in fl(3 in a m(ltiverse, each contin(ally open to reinterpretation as metonym of the social fl(3 of modernity. The connection +et6een fantasy and the social fl(3 of modernity is something 6hich Moorcock, in common 6ith other He6 Wave 6riters allegorised, 6ith increasingly overt political directness, as BentropyC and BchaosC in his m(ltiverse KMoorcock allocates specific political parties to the sides of ,a6 and .haos, :rder and Entropy in his later fictions, partic(larly The Dreamthief0s Daughter and The Metatemporal DetectiveL. )or Moorcock the response to fl(3 6hich seeks to esta+lish or re1esta+lish a sing(lar notion of identity in an a+sol(te sense is a politically reactionary, anti1progressive one* this is the negative side of ,a6 and :rder in the m(ltiverseF of the BHe6 WaveC 6riters, AallardCs condensed fiction and M. 8ohn ?arrisonCs B-(nning Do6nC K";9'L make partic(larly striking (se of entropy. <t is a stance 6hich resonates clearly 6ith the ideals of the ";7!s Undergro(nd. David >lover 6rites* Moorcock f(lly em+raced the ne6 Undergro(nd, regarding his Bmost intelligentC appreciation as coming Bfrom that section of the p(+lic most at ease 6ith 6hatCs these days called the PalternativeQ societyC. And he appears still nostalgically to regard this period as his o6n Bimaginative areaC, one of Bdirty cellars, three oCclock in the morning, looking for a dog end#that 6hole seedy romanticism, or romantic seedyism#the attraction of contemporary +ohemianismC. Tho(gh his m(se is often treated ironically, Moorcock seems ca(ght +et6een the t6in poles of individ(alism and comm(nalism in hippie ideology and his de+(nking of the hero fig(re 6as only effectively accomplished, appropriately eno(gh, as the co(nter1c(lt(re +egan to go into decline.;7
;7

>lover, David, BUtopia and )antasy in the ,ate ";7!s* A(rro(ghs, Moorcock, TolkienC Kpp. "4'J ""L from Popular 'iction an! Social Change ed. .hristopher Pa6ling K,ondon* Macmillan, ";4%L, pp. !9J4.

Mark P. Williams

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%7

< arg(e that Moorcock is /(ite necessarily Bca(ght +et6een the t6in poles of individ(alism and comm(nalismC and that this is not a pro+lem of Bhippie ideologyC +(t rather one 6hich coincides 6ith it* it is the pro+lem of the political in general and the ,eft in partic(lar to negotiate +et6een themF MoorcockCs specific political position as one 6ho leans strongly to6ard ,eft anarchism manifests /(ite intensively 6ithin his 6riting. ?o6ever, MoorcockCs partic(lar +rand of s6ord and sorcery

fantasy is not the only form to +e enth(siastically em+raced +y the anarchist co(nter1 c(lt(re, as >lover goes on to disc(ss. They also em+raced the modes 6hich

Moorcock considered antithetical to his o6n ideals regarding identity, namely the 6ork of 8.-.-. Tolkien. <n his more polemical essays Moorcock characterises TolkienCs fantasy as +ack6ard1looking, demonstrating a dependence (pon paternalistic ideas of statecraft 6ith every class in its place. The 6riting marks, in MoorcockCs vie6, a vision of the nadir of li+erty and responsi+ility for +oth ends of the political spectr(m, yet it 6as received alongside his o6n 6riting as another e3pression of (topian idealism. <n TolkienCs idyll of the 0hire, Moorcock finds a cele+ration of all that he considers short1sighted and parochial in English fiction* in partic(lar, an idealisation of Bthe petit +o(rgeoisie, the honest artisans and peasants, as the +(l6ark against .haosC.;9 This constr(ction in Middle1Earth stands for the social myths Moorcock 6ishes to tear do6n, arg(ing that s(ch sentimental visions of Bsolid good sense opposed to a perverted intellect(alismC are simply a conservative gloss of contentment on the fact that this social gro(p is Bal6ays the last to complain a+o(t any deficiencies in the social stat(s /(oC.;4 ?is chief o+Eection to this portrayal of the stoicism of the
;9 ;4

Moorcock, Wi1ar!r" an! Wil! 2omance, p. " $. Moorcock, Wi1ar!r"F, p. " %.

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%9 BordinaryC English 6as that it is act(ally +ased (pon an imposed class perspective and sho(ld not +e pop(larly em+raced. Iet MoorcockCs prose is not E(st concerned 6ith the same tropes, it is related to the same s(+c(lt(re. ?e openly despairs, in B0tarship 0tormtroopersC of the reactionary 6riting of (topian fantasy fiction Knaming TolkienL, yet it is the (topianism of TolkienCs concern for ideas of comm(nity that sa6 Moorcock and Tolkien as a shared frame of reference to the ";7!s BUndergro(ndC. There is a clear (nderlying sense, in +oth TolkienCs appeal to fantasy1as1 myth and creation of a ne6 epic, and in MoorcockCs attraction to political anarchism, of organic comm(nity as an ideal. The fact that TolkienCs is more literally a non1 ind(strialised, or pro1agrarian, pro1r(ral, idea of BorganicC comm(nity makes a clear attit(dinal separation, +(t altho(gh Moorcock is pre1eminently concerned 6ith metropolitan life in m(ch of his fiction, he too is concerned 6ith 6riting narratives of people living o(tside of act(ally e3isting c(lt(ral relations in dystopic and (topian scenarios e3plicitly concerned 6ith /(estions of comm(nity. Aoth he and Tolkien

e3press dissatisfaction and arg(a+ly offer a ne6 alternative Keven tho(gh Tolkien dra6s on mythic modes, his (sage may also +e characterised +y its conscio(s difference from the myths he dra6s (ponL. Where MoorcockCs fiction concerns heroes he says that he (ses them in a 6ay 6hich BleadNsO al6ays to final statements 6here gods and heroes and grand designs are sho6n to +e pointlessC, ;; conc(rring 6ith the anarchist ideal of Bno gods, no mastersC. Iet this is not al6ays a

straightfor6ard a task, there are considera+le tensions in representation 6hich carry over +et6een MoorcockCs vario(s modes of 6riting. MoorcockCs antipathy to6ards Tolkien, and Tolkien imitators, may +e related to his o6n early (se of the 06ord and 0orcery s(+genre in the creation of Elric of Melni+on5. ElricCs first incarnation, in

;;

Moorcock /(oted in >reenland, Entrop", p. "$%.

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%4 Storm&ringer and its s(+se/(ent stories, represents an early, sketchy attempt to create a pro+lematic, s(+versive fig(re 6ithin an esta+lished genre environment. Moorcock states that, in 6riting his fantasy novels, he deli+erately sit(ated himself oppositionally 6ithin an alternative, satirical tradition of 06ord and 0orcery fantasy, ackno6ledging BNhisO de+t to Anthony 0kene K Monsieur /enithL, )letcher Pratt KWell of the AnicornL, 8ames Aranch .a+ell K@urgenL, ,ord D(nsany, )rit= ,ei+er and Po(l Anderson, as 6ell as The Castle of >tranto, Ivanhoe, Melmoth, and othersC."!! This list s(ggests a +lending of stylistic techni/(es, mi3ing a+s(rdist and parodic approaches to fantasy and the fantastic K @urgen5 >trantoL 6ith p(lp conventions KMonsieur /enithL and those of the historical novel KIvanhoeL. The fact that Moorcock incl(des D(nsany, ,ei+er and Anderson in this list also s(ggests that he is engaging in a strong social1allegorical tendency in the kind of tradition Moorcock 6ishes to align himself 6ith, f(rther +orn o(t +y the allegories of the nat(re of Art and male1female relationships 6hich str(ct(re @urgen. <f Elric is to +e read in this tradition then MoorcockCs early stories mark only the +eginnings of a gest(re in this direction, and are significantly less sophisticated than those mentioned a+ove. What defines the character of Elric most strongly is MoorcockCs reaction to another tradition entirelyF Moorcock claims to have 6ritten Elric as an alternative to TolkienCs Middle1Earth heroes and the .onan stories of -o+ert E. ?o6ard, and the 06ord M 0orcery imitators they engendered. Where ?o6ardCs .onan is confident and physically po6erf(l Elric is fragile and ha(ntedF his difference in physi/(e makes him an anti1hero to ?o6ardCs definition. Despite this the imp(lses 6hich drive Elric lead him to +e accepted +y the same fans 6ho read Tolkien and ?o6ard.
"!!

Moorcock, from the for6ard to Elric of Melni&onG NElric :mni+(sO K,ondon* :rion Aooks, ";;$L.

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%; <t seems at this stage as if MoorcockCs p(lp 6riting is leading him to6ards an idealisation of a(thorial intention in /(ite a didactic 6ay. This is ho6ever in tension 6ith the enth(siastic manner in 6hich he em+races the fl(idity of interpretation 6hich he seeks in the 6riting of others. >iven that Moorcock 6as yo(ng and still developing his style this need not +e entirely s(rprising. What is perhaps more (n(s(al is that he never a+andons these early developments in the process of refining them and modifying his approach. Moorcock chooses to dra6 attention to them, to make it a feat(re of his approach 6hich, as 6e shall see, gro6s in importance 6hen considering his aesthetic as a 6hole. A6are as Moorcock is that his 6ork is read alongside and favo(ra+ly compared 6ith 6riters he has polemicised against in 06ord M 0orcery, he nevertheless maintains the connection to the p(lp s(+genre. There is o+vio(sly some financial pragmatism +ehind this decision, he kno6s ho6 to 6rite these novels /(ickly and kno6s that they 6ill sell, +(t < s(ggest that there is also another reason, 6hich might have more personal and political resonance for Moorcock. P(lp fantasy 6riting 6as a literary manifestation of a pop(lar c(lt(re that 6as involved in a direct 6ay 6ith the image of the (nreg(lated masses, +oth the +ohemian re+els and the 6orking classes. P(lp fiction generally invokes that image of the masses in a 6ay 6hich is concretely related to some of the e3periences Moorcock descri+es from his early life in ,ondon, 6hile p(lp fantasy in partic(lar sho6s the imp(lse of the imaginative escape to other 6orlds at 6ork in 6orking class and +ohemian environments* it represents a pop(lar (topian imp(lse Kirrespective of 6hether it might +e actuall" pop(larL. This carries over into MoorcockCs editorship of New Worl!s S'. Michael A(tter6orth of 0avoy Aooks, recalls that BMoorcock al6ays said that the

Mark P. Williams

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'! appeal he 6anted New Worl!s to have 6as to factory 6orkers in the HorthCF"!" people from 6orking class +ackgro(nds 6ith an interest in imaginative, perhaps (topian or escapist fiction, comprised a significant part of MoorcockCs ideal a(dience. ?is stated goal is to reach o(t to an aspirant, ed(cated 6orking1class readershipF a socially and intellect(ally mo+ile gro(p 6ith roots in +oth the Mar3ian traditions of radicalism and in proletarian mass c(lt(re, this is an evangelical ,eftist position. < 6ill no6 disc(ss some of the specific details of MoorcockCs aesthetic development 6ith reference to, first, MoorcockCs 06ord M 0orcery fantasy hero Elric of Melni+on5, and, second, his +ohemian dandy 8erry .orneli(s as a revision of Elric. As < have already indicated, Moorcock later reprised ElricF this and other revisions can +e read as the progressive (nification of MoorcockCs political and aesthetic interests.

3: 4lric of Melni#on: the S$ord and Sorcery genre in tension This section considers MoorcockCs early Elric narratives as a site of distinct creative tension +et6een the demands of /(ickly prod(ced genre 6riting and the imp(lse to s(+vert esta+lished genre conventions as an aesthetic tension 6hich stands in allegorically for other political tensions of representation in fantasy. < 6ill E(3tapose MoorcockCs interte3t(al references and his stated intentions 6ith their manifested effects in the Elric narrative to sho6 ho6 this emerges and 6here MoorcockCs attempts to resolve this lead. .olin >reenland spec(lates that the central diffic(lty of the early Elric stories in respect to the political /(estions 6hich interest Moorcock is a pro+lem of
"!"

A(tter6orth, in D. M. Mitchell, $ Serious Life KManchester* 0avoy, !!%L, p. 7%.

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'" form, and of genre e3pectation and reception. >reenland 6rites that post16ar Aritish literat(re e3presses a distinct intellect(al scepticism of the hero, choosing instead to foc(s on the anti1hero, Bin 6hose h(nched form the death of the social hero is perfectly e3pressedC and the angry yo(ng man B6hose righteo(sness is +orn of disill(sionment, not idealism, and 6ho resists elevation to heroic stat(s thro(gh his passionate concern for the everydayC.
"!

?e notes that Elric remains part of the

pro+lem Moorcock is attempting to engage 6ith* Bthe romantic, doomed championC remains Ba fetishC not yet demystified, "!$ < arg(e that Elric is a s(+version of the heroF altho(gh he is morally pro+lematic, ha(nted and physically the opposite of strong fantasy heroes, +eing physically frail and introspective, he is still adolescent in his emotions. While the form of ElricCs advent(res is +roadly derivative of the /(est narrative 6ith occasional strong s(+versions of meaning KBDead >ods ,a(ghCL they are still firmly 6ithin the s(+genre of 06ord and 0orcery. Elric remains an epic fantasy heroF his heroism is determined +y the genre in 6hich he finds himself, altho(gh 6hen placed in another genre & as Moorcock has o+served else6here "!% & epic fantasy heroesC o+vio(s shortcomings Ka reactionary and e3tremist nat(reL can +e rendered more clearly +y alienating them from their genre conte3t. MoorcockCs 6riting in the Elric stories displays a distinct tension +et6een the demands of the genre and his o6n stated interests in developing more comple3 scenarios manifesting as interplay of te3t(al details 6hich resist the overarching narrative. ElricCs al+ino skin acts as the mark of an o(tsider, making him stand o(t against the 6eathered skin of those aro(nd him, a device derived from the tit(lar anti1hero of p(lp novel Monsieur /enith the $l&ino +y Anthony 0kene. Moorcock
"!

>reenland, The Entrop" E hi&ition, p. "$;. <+id. "!% MoorcockCs revie6 of Horman 0pinradCs The Iron Dream K,ondon* Panther, ";9%L and his later defences of David ArittonCs Lor! Horror KManchester* 0avoy, ";4;L +oth ela+orate on the central comparison +et6een epic fantasy and political e3tremism 6hich are (nderlying themes in +oth novels.
"!$

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' took 0keneCs character as a model and +lended the characteristics of Monsie(r Tenith 6ith those of 0keneCs 8ack the -ipper from his Kno6 rarefiedL novel The 2ipper 2eturns K";%4L. Descri+ed +y 8ack Adrian as Ba chilling fantasy N6hereO the -ipper s(rvives +eyond his normal life1span and constantly changes identity, +y stealing the Plife1forceQ of his victimsC it foreshado6s +oth Elric of Melni+on5 and 8erry .orneli(s."!' This sinister (nderlying model from MoorcockCs p(lp reading leaves certain traces (pon +oth Elric, thro(gh 6hich Moorcock clearly intends to complicate the reception of his o6n al+ino hero. Tenith sho6s the physical competence and theatrical dandyism 6hich Moorcock 6o(ld reprod(ce in Elric* Tenith in his immac(late evening clothes, 6ith his thin patent shoes (pon the sno6 of the sill and his theatrical cloak draped aro(nd his sho(lders, smiled as he listened. This 6as the kind of thrill he lived for. ?e had +eg(n this game of thrills a long time ago, +eing in himself +oth the setter and the solver of the pro+lem. A means of e3citement, it 6as a means of forgetf(lness, forced (pon him +y the a+normality of his al+inism. )or years in his role of taskmaster he had +een in the ha+it of saying to himself, P?ere is something that yo( cannot do,Q and forth6ithF slave of egotismF p(ppet of his o6n strange comple3es, he had attempted and s(cceeded in doing that something. -idic(lo(s game, +(t at the same time, prod(ctive of the e3citement 6here+y he tr(ly lived."!7 Tenith is +oth attentive to the partic(lars of dress and recklessly egotistical in his approach to his o6n +ody. As a Bp(ppet of his o6n strange comple3esC he is

presented as a +eing not f(lly in control of himself +(t al6ays seeking control, he is f(ndamentally adolescent in his s(+ordination of his o6n +ody to his desires. These details are em(lated in the first description of Elric in Storm&ringer, 6here ElricCs sartorial style is Bo+sc(reC and BaffectedC, making him a dandy in a 06ord and 0orcery (niverse*

"!'

Adrian, 8ack Kpp. i3J3i3L from his introd(ction to 0kene, Anthony, Monsieur /enith the $l&ino, for6ard +y Michael Moorcock KManchester* 0avoy, !!"L, pp. 3J3i. "!7 0kene, Monsieur /enith the $l&ino,, p. $ .

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'$ ?e 6ore his long hair +(nched and pinned at the nape of his neck and, for an o+sc(re reason affected the dress of a 0o(thern Aar+arianN*O long knee1length +oots of soft doe1leather, a +reastplate of strangely16ro(ght silver, a Eerkin of che/(ered +l(e and 6hite linen, +ritches of scarlet 6ool and a cloak of r(stling green velvet."!9 Elric has a self1destr(ctive streak of recklessness 6hich, taken 6ith his affected dress, mannerisms and ha+its of +ecoming depressed and introspective, s(ggest an e3istentialist imp(lse in MoorcockCs characterisation, a clear opposition to ?o6ardCs .onan, +(t nevertheless a recognisa+le hero1type* the -omantic hero. This feeds into a strong egotism, 6hich, 6ith its hint of chivalry, connects Elric directly to the Ayronic myth of the tort(red individ(alist. As 8enni .alder notes in her st(dy Heroes4 'rom +"ron to #uevara, Ayron represents all the comple3es of the -omantic eighteenth1cent(ry hero to (s* he is BNtOhe hero of sensi+ility, the man of feeling characterised in terms of his a+ility to respond to moments charged 6ith +ea(ty or emotionC com+ined 6ith the mores of Bthe se3(al heroC, and incorporates the darker action heroes 6ho are Bem+ittered o(tcasts and o(tla6s, 6ith a r(thless co(rage 6hich stems from some inner comp(lsion rather than choice.C "!4 This partic(lar description +y .alder gets to the most formalistic designation of the Ayronic as a generic fig(re and is therefore most appropriate for considering Elric, 6ho conforms to its o(tlines. Elric clearly feels deep emotions constantly, he is a chivalric lover setting off to save his +eloved 6hen 6e first enco(nter him, and is clearly an o(tcast. )(rther he is an action hero of considera+le egotism, his s(periority in +attle descri+ed as an am+ivalent mi3t(re of skill and the arrogance of privilegeF Elric feels that +eing a Melni+on5an gives Bhim the right to enEoy 6hat 6o(ld shock lesser mortalsC and he retains a sense of his o6n innate s(periority 6hich is e3plicitly amoral* B?e 6as a sorcerer and had shed +lood
"!9 "!4

Moorcock, Storm&ringer K,ondon* Mayflo6er Aooks, ";74L, p. " . .alder, 8enni, Heroes4 'rom +"ron to #uevara K,ondon* ?amish ?amilton, ";99L, pp. $J'.

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'% in many devio(s 6ays in p(rs(it of his artC. "!; ?ere the character em+odies ideas of elitism and aristocratic privilege 6hich oppose MoorcockCs developed political position as a left anarchist, +(t are nevertheless +o(nd (p 6ith the same concerns* ElricCs sense of himself as a privileged individ(al, 6ere it in another genre, 6o(ld seem /(ite fascistic. The pro+lem is that 6ithin s(ch a partic(lar form(lation of the s(+genre this is o+f(scated +y the demands of plot and story. What MoorcockCs 6riting at this early stage seems to s(ggest is that the form(las for (nderstanding this partic(lar type of fantasy are already too closely +o(nd to am+ig(o(s political positions to +e separated o(t. The reader is left in some do(+t as to ho6 m(ch of the Banti1C is intended in MoorcockCs constr(ction of Elric as a s(+version of the concept of BheroC and ho6 m(ch is incidental to the necessity of creating the impression of a fantasy hero. As a character Elric is fre/(ently little more than an a(tomata, standing for the genre of s6ord and sorcery itself in these stories. <n the thick of +attle he is descri+ed as a B6hitefaced gho(lC, fighting a(tomatically 6ith his so(l1drinking s6ord,""! +ecoming, in the d(el 6ith his co(sin, Blike a p(ppet N#O the +lade N#O deciding his actions for himC Kechoing 0keneCs Tenith as Bp(ppet of his o6n strange drivesCL, 6ith the res(lt that he accidentally kills .ymoril, the 6oman he is trying to resc(e.""" Attempts at sophisticated, ad(lt relationships are slain +y the +asic

re/(irements of plot* .ymorilCs only f(nction in the Elric mythos is to +e killed +y Elric in the heat of +attle so that he can take (p his mantle as BElric WomanslayerC and +ecome s(ita+ly Ayronic, ena+ling him to +ecome a B torture!0 individ(alist. Moorcock later o+serves that Elric provided some moral am+ig(ityJthe /(estion of

"!; ""!

Moorcock, Storm&ringer, p. "4. Moorcock, Storm&ringer, p. 4. """ Moorcock, Storm&ringer, p. $!.

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'' 6hether it is ever Bright to serve evil in p(rs(it of goodC"" J+(t in order to raise 6hat he considers more pertinent moral /(estions Moorcock +egan to move closer to modernity in his 6riting, specifically to6ards 0) and spy fiction* < made the form (p as < 6ent along, taking elements of the .handleres/(e detective story, 6ith its laconic asides, and com+ining them 6ith elements of the chic Avengers1style caperJnot 8ames Aond, +eca(se < hadnCt read any then, or seen the filmsF +(t < 6as infl(enced +y things that 6ere infl(enced +y them. There 6as William A(rro(ghsF and my o6n s6ord and sorcery, 6hich < +ased it onJall as a 6ay of cele+rating the modern age* (sing the ne6 6orld of electronics and technology as toysF careless action, gender1+endingF all that. -elationships so kno6ing that theyCre conscio(sly cond(cted in terms of roles. < donCt +elieve in that no6, +(t < did then.""$ Aeneath the .old War spy narrative MoorcockCs 6ork s(ggests 6e can see a 06ord M 0orcery vie6 of the 6orld 6hich the a(thor considers potentially dangero(sF this vie6 consists of specific f(nctions* a capa+le hero 6ho em+odies or represents his peopleDco(ntryF a sinister, po6erf(l villain 6ho is the sym+olic opposite and em+odies or represents :ther peoplesDco(ntriesF a /(est1o+Eect to +e stolen, li+erated or discovered, and an (nfamiliar territory to traverse K6ildernessDforeign landL. MoorcockCs essay B0tarship 0tormtroopersC and in his s(pport of satires s(ch as Horman 0pinradCs The Iron Dream, s(ggests that this 6as his dominant vie6 of genre at the time. 0(ch an (nderstanding of genre fiction seems to +egin from the practical narratological +ase of +eing a p(lp 6riter, treating genre as a series of m(ltivalent BelementsC, BmotifsC and BKstock1LcharactersC 6hich form different reactions depending (pon the conditions (nder 6hich they are com+ined, or as 2ladimir Propp s(ggests* B)(nctions of characters serve as sta+le, constant elements in a tale, independent of ho6 and +y 6hom they are f(lfilledC therefore the differences in narratives depend on ho6 and +y 6hom the f(nctions are carried o(t. A(t, in em(lating an epic or folk1tale
"" ""$

Moorcock, IC$ #uar!ian Conversations. Moorcock in >reenland, Michael Moorcoc-4 Death Is No >&stacle KManchester* 0avoy, ";;"L, p.

49

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'7 form BNtOhe n(m+er of f(nctions kno6n to Nthat formO is limitedC and th(s the sophistication of 6hat can +e accomplished is red(ced. ""% MoorcockCs vision of the 6riter is +ased on the one hand on his e3perience of hack16riting and its antagonistic relationship 6ith literat(re and on the other on his interest in literary e3periment and the avant1garde. <n attempting to f(se these infl(ences Moorcock artic(lates one of the central pro+lematics of revol(tionary leftism in general and anarchism in partic(lar* the sim(ltaneo(s appeals to vangardism and pop(lism 6hich manifests in intellect(al and artistic traditions as either e3periment 6ith form Kas an attack on aesthetic conventionsL or as the (se of pop(list forms KconventionsL to convey a political message. Moorcock approaches the fantasy s(+genre of 06ord and 0orcery from a sense of its f(nctions and str(ct(res as limited and fi3ed +(t 6ith m(ltiplicito(s perm(tations. As 8enni .alder 6rites BN+Oy making the aristocrat an o(tcastC and Bro++ing him of the +enefits of privilege K+(t remem+ering his claimL, +y forcing him to prove himself N#O yo( grant him an independent personalityC, effectively granting him the stat(s of someone 6ho resists all a(thority from a position of self1 possession.""' Moorcock seems to follo6 this same logic* most of his fantasy heroes are no+lemen 6ho have +ecome estranged from their homelands +y +anishment or con/(est, or have reEected the social system 6hich prod(ced them. >iven that

MoorcockCs favo(red anarchist, Peter Gropotkin, 6as a prince 6ho reEected his class +eca(se his father o6ned serfs there is clearly something in s(ch fig(res 6hich appeals to +oth MoorcockCs political and aesthetic sensi+ilities.

""%

Propp, 2ladimir, Morpholog" of the 'ol- Tale Trans. ,a(rence 0cott, revised and edited ,o(is A. Wagner KA(stin and ,ondon* University of Te3as Press, ";74L, p. ". ""' .alder, Heroes, p. 9.

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'9 Many of MoorcockCs characters are similar types* ElricCs 6eak physical demeano(r is compensated for +y dark forces, 6hich in t(rn render him an o(tcastF .or(m, the Prince 6ith the 0ilver ?and, is con/(ered and horri+ly maimed and makes a similarly d(+io(s pact 6ith po6ers he does not (nderstand to regain some sem+lance of B6holenessCF the first 2on Aek is a no+leman 6armonger 6ho makes a pact 6ith the devil 6hile the second 2on Aek is an aristocrat t(rned revol(tionary sympathiser 6ho finds himself reEected +y the ideal )rench rep(+lic he so(ght to +(ild and is forced to flee the Terror. <n later narratives Moorcock

e3plicitly renders historical anarchists as Ayronic heroes, as he does 6ith Hestor Makhno in The Entrop" Tango99H KMakhno 6as from a Ukrainian peasant class, he is 6idely mythologi=ed for his resol(te opposition to all a(thorities* Aolsheviks, Whites, Hationalists or foreign forces""9L, and fantasy heroes, s(ch as fallen no+lemen like 2on Aek, as mo(thpieces for anarchist sensi+ilities. <n The English $ssassin MoorcockCs romantic conception of anarchism reveals his (topian side. <n a 6orld of aggressive English imperialism a 0cottish general, >areth1mac Mahon re+els +eca(se he has Bdiscovered the creed of anarchism 6hile serving as a soldier in the capitals of the civili=ed 6orldC and B+ro(ght the creed +ack to his native land, adapted it and t(rned it into a philosophy capa+le of +ringing together all the previo(sly dis(nited tri+es.C""4 Anarchism is th(s offered as an

alternative to political paternalism only in a changed, concept(ally re6ritten form, +(t its o+li/(e presentation in a satirical mode also s(ggests that, as a (topian ideal, it can still only +e presented 6ithin a fantasy scenario. <t differs significantly from ,e

>(inCs attempt to present a political divergence +et6een t6o systems in serio(s

""7 ""9

Moorcock, The Entrop" Tango K,ondon* He6 English ,i+rary, ";4"L. Moorcock 6rote a revie6 of a history of Hestor Makhno for 0t(art .hristieCs Cienfuegos $narchist 2eview K";94L 6hich 6as collected in The >pium #eneral an! others K,ondon* ?arrap, ";4%L. ""4 Moorcock, The English $ssassin N3uartetO, p. %$'.

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'4 dialog(e 6ith each other in her novel The Dispossesse! K";9%L, in that it does not spend as m(ch time on the mechanics of ho6 Anarchist tho(ght might flo(rish. More importantly, ,e >(in 6orks thro(gh more of the shortcomings of anarchism in The Dispossesse!, presenting it as a mindset 6hich is every +it as in need of revol(tionary rec(peration to prevent it from stagnating as the ideologies it replaces. -ather more f(lly than Moorcock, ,e >(in disc(sses and 6orks thro(gh ho6 an organisational or +(rea(cratic class might emerge and preserve its o6n interests even in a 6holly anarchist society and also ho6 the social press(re to6ards retaining anarchist ideals might prod(ce its o6n tensions. These same /(estions are raised thro(gho(t MoorcockCs 6ork +(t not e3plored in s(ch detail in the .orneli(s novels, altho(gh in his historical Pyat Z(artet he does tackle the historical manifestation of some of these iss(es 6ithin specific conte3ts. <n his fictions Moorcock is more interested in the str(ggle to6ards

anarchism from an act(al historical point than in positing a f(t(re anarchist (topia. )or this reason his anarchism manifests as a constant negotiation +et6een (topian anarchist comm(nities and vario(s alternate versions of historical periods. What grad(ally +ecomes apparent is that Moorcock does not see the essence of anarchism in any single creed or political position +(t in the act of negotiation +et6een them. The essence of the Moorcockian approach to anarchism in fantasy fiction is to t6ist a partic(lar characteristic against the BtypeC or e3pected f(nction of 6hat other6ise appears to +e a very derivative character. The real development of this from simple s(+version of stereotype into a 6ay of negotiating +et6een aesthetic demands of genre fiction and other, sometimes more e3perimental modes of 6riting, is foc(sed aro(nd the fig(re of 8erry .orneli(s.

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'; 5: 6erry Cornelius and Anarchic Aesthetics <n charting the genesis of 8erry .orneli(s < arg(e that he represents a t(rning point in the development of MoorcockCs aesthetic interests 6hich allo6s him to more closely integrate his political interests into his 6riting. This is significant +eca(se 8erry .orneli(s as a character is composed of heterogeneo(s heritage, 6ho, +eing partly developed in colla+oration 6ith other 6riters at New Worl!s Kalso appearing in comic strips in ItJthe International TimesJ6ritten +y people other than Moorcock, s(ch as M. 8ohn ?arrison"";L represents the (nification of MoorcockCs p(lp fictional (ses of the m(ltiverse 6ith his interests in e3perimental literat(re. The Cornelius 3uartet foregro(nds the formalistic process +y 6hich Moorcock 6orked elements of Elric into 8erry +y displaying t6o passages from BThe 0tealer of 0o(lsC and The 'inal Programme echoing one another* BWhatCs the ho(r@C The +lack1+earded man 6renched off his gilded helmet and fl(ng it from him, careless of 6here it fell. BWe need ElricJ6e kno6 it, and he kno6s it. ThatCs the tr(th.C B0(ch confidence, gentlemen, is 6arming to the heart.C The Stealer of Souls, ";7$ BWitho(t 8erry .orneli(s 6eCll never get it. We need him. ThatCs the tr(th.C B<Cm pleased to hear it.C 8erryCs voice 6as sardonic as he entered the room rather theatrically and closed the door +ehind him. The 'inal Programme, ";74." !

:n one level, +y E(3taposing this revisionism in his 6riting Moorcock is attempting to reach +ack into the s(+genre he is apparently moving +eyond and dra6 his 06ord and 0orcery a(dience 6ith him. This might +e taken as a comforting gest(re*

demonstrating that the overlapping of different heroes is contin(ing in a slightly

""; " !

0ee Vhttp*DD666.internationaltimes.itDW Moorcock, Appendi3 << from The Cornelius 3uartet KHe6 Iork and ,ondon* )o(r Walls Eight Windo6s, !!"L, p. 4'%.

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7! different g(ise. E/(ally, it also represents a separation 6ith Elric* it is the +reaking apart of e3pectation precisely +y revealing the genre form(la 6hich generates the e3pectations in order to more clearly demonstrate ho6 it 6ill depart from them. ElricCs invasion and sacking of his home city of <myryr to li+erate his co(sin .ymoril from her +rother IyrkoonCs sorcery in B0torm+ringerC is replayed in The 'inal Programme as 8erry .orneli(s attempting to li+erate his sister .atherine from the family estate 6here his +rother )rank has their sister dr(gged. Written the first time as s(+genre fantasy, the second as farce, this plot str(ct(re takes on different resonances thro(gh a process of play 6ith the conventions of fantasy. Moorcock states that his conception of 8erry .orneli(s is as a +eing defined in terms of Ba form of e3aggeration not dissimilar to <talian .ommedia dellCArteC." " Moorcock sees his creation as a manifold of personalities and personae Bcom+ining the endearing and end(ring traits of a n(m+er of my contemporaries as 6ell as +eing a latter day Pierrot, .ol(m+ine, and ?arle/(inC. " Each 8erry .orneli(s

is arg(a+ly the representative of a different and pec(liar moment in a shado6 history of the 6orldF each is th(s an e3pression of the historical moment of his conception rather than a contin(o(s character. Each narrative, then, concerns a different

.orneli(s +(t also constitutes a different .orneli(s according to the ne6 Br(lesC or definitions of the moment. 8erry .orneli(s is th(s not a modern character +(t a characterisation of modernity, an anthropomorphic personification of co(nterfact(al history. ?is advent(res are increasingly o(tlandish and discontin(o(s +eca(se they are inde3ically +o(nd to the material events of the e3terior 6orld over the logic of plot. Each .orneli(s advent(re is a reference to an BidealC 8erry .orneli(s that is then

" "

Moorcock, B<ntrod(ction* My ,ives, My TimesC from The Lives an! Times of @err" Cornelius K,ondon and He6 Iork* )o(r Walls Eight Windo6s, !!$L, p. vii. " <+id.

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7" adapted to the moment. .orneli(s novels and stories are th(s a se/(ence of anarchic B+reaksC 6ith a shared ideal frame of reference. <n this sense Moorcock is conscio(sly making the .ommedia dellCArte +oth a layer of representation, a sym+ol of a pop(lar tradition in art and an e3ample of a pop(lar tradition rec(perated to avant1garde ends K8(les ,aforge and T. 0. EliotCs (se of the .ommedia are +oth disc(ssed +y -o+ert ). 0torey in Pierrot4 $ Critical Histor" of a Mas-L. Moorcock e3plains some of his (se of the .ommediaCs motifs to .olin >reenland in Death Is No >&stacle*

< came across the poet 8(les ,aforg(e, 6ho in the "44!s 6as (sing Pierrot in an intensely modern 6ay. As < said in He6 Worlds "$, he really 6as a prec(rsor of E=ra Po(nd and T 0 Eliot. ,aforg(e 6as the first person to take an e3isting -omantic image & Pierrot e3emplifying the end(ring dilemma of the h(man heart, f(ndamental to all stories & and place it in a conte3t of modern mythology. That 6as the first time anyone had (sed (r+an, scientific, technological images in poetry. BA strange lamp s6ings in my sorry +rain,C says ,ord Pierrot. B<Cll go spend the night on the train.C And he did it 6ith an anarchic attit(de* BThe (niverse is in reverseUC Everything 6as mallea+le. BDescend, (nconscio(s, thro(gh o(r refle3es, Mi3 (p cards, dictionaries, se3es.C Which 6as classic He6 WorldsU ThatCs the point 6hen it s(ddenly hits me, 6hy they prod(ced this st(ff, 6hat it 6as forF and then <Cve got another tool < can (se. <Cm E(st distilling that, all the time, o(t of 6hat <Cm taking in." $ The Banarchic attit(deC Moorcock o+served in ,aforg(eCs (se of the .ommedia also leads (s to the imp(lse to6ard an anarchist aesthetic ascri+ed to Modernism in ?er+ert -eadCs theory of art. Moorcock is follo6ing on deli+erately from this aspect of Modernism in its emphasis on a sense of r(pt(re 6hich manifests thro(gh the disr(ption of esta+lished forms Khere meaning genres s(ch as 06ord and 0orcery as 6ell as other literary modesL. Altho(gh he has said in intervie6 that he felt

Modernism to +e solipsistic, reading it as a separation of the self from everyday

" $

Moorcock in intervie6 6ith .olin >reenland, Michael Moorcoc-4 Death is no >&stacle KManchester* 0avoy, ";;"L, p. '9.

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7 6orking life," % MoorcockCs o6n interests as manifested in the .orneli(s novels are aesthetically similar in their means of e3pression to Modernism in their emphasis on the idea that there is a sense of fragmentation inherent in modernity. Moorcock is taking from the .ommedia dellCArte the characteristic 6hich -o+ert ?enke considers its BheartC and making it central to his prod(ction of fiction* Bthe str(ct(ral tension +et6een linear, 6ell1constr(cted plot +ased on a literary model and the centrif(gal improvisations of the stand1(p performerC. " ' The most important strand 6hich Moorcock adds to the .ommedia to make this leap to6ards a set of images and techni/(es 6hich he considers appropriate to his o6n epoch is from the theatrical techni/(es of Arecht* the masks of the .ommedia archetypes are Bp(t onC +y characters from the genre fiction Moorcock gre6 (p 6ith and as an aspect of his hack16riting. < intend no peEorative sense in my (se of the termF hack16riting is necessarily +o(nd to the idea of pop(lism as that 6hich may +e of lo6 or mediocre /(ality +(t primarily as that 6hich appeals to the largest n(m+er of people +y selling itself to the masses as the Bcommon denominatorC. This inevita+ly dovetails 6ith the political interpretations of pop(lism as an appeal to the people, and, for any leftist 6riter, the idea of pop(lar revolt as a spontaneo(s (prising 6hich constr(cts Bmass1 a(dienceC as B6orking1classesC. MoorcockCs 6ork as a hack16riter is th(s already negotiating 6ith the (topian tradition of interpreting fantasy as an e3pression of a political desire for +etter things, and the c(lt(ral tendency to6ards dismissing fantasy 6ritten for pop(lar entertainment as an BescapistC distraction from the material conditions of life Kthat 6hich is sometimes troped as ideological, a diversion, ro++ing the revol(tionary mindset of its 6illingness to actJDarko 0(vinCs early criticism of
" %

Williams, Mark P., (np(+lished intervie6 BAll P(rpose ?(man Aeing* An <ntervie6 6ith Michael MoorcockC K !!4L. " ' ?enke, -o+ert Performance an! Literature in the Comme!ia !ell0$rte K.am+ridge* .am+ridge University Press, !!"L, p. ".

Mark P. Williams

7$ fantasy fiction in generalL. 0o, from an early point in his career as a 6riter, Moorcock is operating in the oscillating terms +y 6hich contemporary leftism defines its field* the constr(ction of the masses as mostly 6orking1class, passive cons(mers of sensationalist and fantastic fiction, vers(s the vie6 of the masses as the revol(tionary classes K6orking1class, +ohemian and intelligenciaL 6ith the potential to (sher in a ne6 age of e/(ality if they mo+ilise themselves to do so. This is em+odied in the .orneli(s fictions. Disc(ssing the .orneli(s narratives of The Nature of the Catastrophe, -alph Willet descri+ed these te3ts as e3periments 6hich foregro(nd and then fragment the Bar+itrary nat(re of literary +eginnings and endingsC +y their contingent approach to plot* BThe Delhi DivisionCN#O +egins 6ith the identical sentences opening the chapter BThe ?illsC in The English $ssassin altho(gh the protagonist is different* BA smoky <ndian rain fell thro(gh the hills and 6oods o(tside 0imla and the high roads 6ere slippery. NMaEor Hye in The English $ssassinD8erry .orneli(s in BThe Tank Trape=eCO drove his Phantom 2 do6n t6isting lanes flanked +y 6hite fences.C" 7 -eading this in the conte3t of the m(ltiverse he asks* BAre 6e 6itnessing merely different points in time or events in identical (niverses@ The kno6ledge of the t6o passages is (nsettling like a rec(rring dreamC. " 9 Altho(gh the ca(se for repetitio(s sentences and str(ct(res co(ld as easily +e (nconscio(s as deli+erate a(thorial strategy, the techni/(e itself is 6hat allo6s for this am+ig(ity to +ecome a part of the .orneli(s canon rather than something to +e e3cised in editing. The style of the te3ts is anarchic, open to +eing invaded +y random meanings and disr(ptive interpretation. As .olin >reenland points o(t to Moorcock in Death Is No >&stacle, in the .orneli(s

" 7

Willett, -alph, BMoorcockCs Achievement and Promise in the 8erry .orneli(s AooksC Science 'iction Stu!ies I, vol.$, part " KMarch ";97L, p. 97. " 9 i+id.

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7% novels the disr(ptions, the tendency to +e s(ggestive and all(sive in an o+li/(e 6ay, can even affect MoorcockCs planned str(ct(re Keven conf(sing his o6n resol(tions " 4L +(t the effect on the reader is maintained as an openness to anarchic meanings or as an open, anarchic sensi+ility. <t makes something of a post)hoc virt(e of the necessity of repetition fo(nd in te3ts 6hich (se stock characters. -alph WilletCs early assessment of

Moorcock descri+ed the repetitio(s nat(re of the narratives to +e an important feat(re of their effect as avant1garde 6riting. Moorcock is employing his references to the form of the .ommedia as a pattern, or a series of mallea+le archetypesF he is synthesising 6hat he sees as the essence of the original .ommedia* their semi1 improvisational nat(reF their demotic or pop(lar artistic originsF their sym+olic relation to ideas of carnivalF their rec(peration to aesthetic and political agendas. Willett finds the anarchic (ndecida+ility of these te3tsC aesthetic to +e an important strategy of MoorcockCs for challenging the limits of the individ(al novel or story 6here+y the Baction is enfranchised and, in its mirror image, made more am+ig(o(sC." ; As s(ch, 8erry .orneli(s isBNnOot so m(ch a character, as NM. 8ohnO ?arrison pointed o(t, as a techni/(eC. "$! The techni/(e resem+les that of the Dada movement la(ding the pop(list novels of 'antomas, and the 0(rrealists championing ,a(tr5amont for +orro6ing from the pop(lar literat(res of the mid1nineteenth cent(ry in Mal!oror and the PoGsies, frames of reference 6hich 6ere shared +y many of the 6riters involved in New Worl!s.
" 4

The representation of character thro(gh

>reenland* B P0econd :perationQ N$ Cure 'or CancerO comes to an end 6ith a scene 6here everyoneCs shooting each other and Aishop Aeesley, Mit=i and the cardinal steal +ack the machine. ?o6 is that the resol(tion of the plot@ Moorcock* B<tCs not is it@ < tho(ght it 6as. < 6as racing too hard, < s(ppose and got ahead of myself.C >reenland and Moorcock in Death is No >&stacle, p. ;". " ; i+id. "$! Moorcock, B<ntrod(ction* My ,ives, My TimesC, p. vii.

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7' discontin(o(s and fragmentary BselvesC feat(res prominently in Arian AldissCs +arefoot in the Hea! K";77L, 6hich, altho(gh its opening chapter 6as p(+lished +y ?arry ?arrison else6here, 6as serialised in New Worl!s and is closer aesthetically to the avant1garde interests of key New Worl!s contri+(tors 6ho employed and cele+rated characters 6itho(t defined BcharacterC. <n this sense, the Dada gro(pCs cele+ration of 'antomas as a +lank cipher 6itho(t a defined character, might certainly +e considered as a prec(rsor of s(ch 6riting, partic(larly 8.>. AallardCs TravenDTravers ciphers in the Bcondensed novelsC event(ally collected as The $trocit" E hi&ition K";9!L. Moorcock and his contemporariesC artistic interests 6ere already em+racing avant1garde art and ideas and dra6ing on formalistic conventions for str(ct(ring narrative as AallardCs novels The Drowne! Worl!5 The +urning Worl! and The Cr"stal Worl! demonstrate. These te3ts can +e mapped against a clear schema* 0tory* an apocalypseF Main .haracter* a doctor andDor scientist 6ho has a near1>nostic o+session 6ith the shapes of his changing 6orldF Plot* a sym+olic Eo(rney from the margin to the centre of some primordial event inter6oven thro(gh a Eo(rney narrative 6hich recalls .onradCs Heart of Dar-ness. Their concl(sions rever+erate, character distinctions +l(rring +et6een them so that they seem to +e the same* The Drowne! Worl!* B0o he left the lagoon and entered the E(ngle again, 6ithin a fe6 days 6as completely lost, follo6ing the lagoons so(th6ard thro(gh the increasing rain and heatCN.O"$" The Drought4 BTo his s(rprise he noticed that he no longer cast any shado6 on to the sand, as if he had at last completed his Eo(rney across the margins of the inner landscape he had carried in his mind for so many years.C"$ The Cr"stal Worl!4 B?alf an ho(r later, as they moved (p1river, 0anders leaned +ack in his seat 6hen they passed the central 6harves

"$" "$

Aallard, The Drowne! Worl! K,ondon* 2ictor >ollanc= ,td, N";7 O ";;9L, p. "9'. Aallard, The Drought K,ondon* >rafton, ";7'L, p. "44.

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77 N#O she 6atched 0anders 6itho(t 6aving, as the +oat sped (p on the deserted river.C"$$

Each man, so similar to the last, em+races the +leakness and the loneliness of total self1annihilation in the heart of environmental catastrophe at the same point in their narrative Kthe same page in the first and last e3amplesL. What Aallard is giving to other 6riters is an incredi+ly programmatic set of str(ct(res, contracted do6n to +asic forms and interchangea+le characters and scenarios +ased aro(nd alternative visions of socio1environmental apocalypse of 6hich The $trocit" E hi&ition is one logical e3tension. MoorcockCs fictions differ in their approach to this open m(ltiplicity. The distinction is +ased on his (se of the m(ltiverse motifF the str(ct(re of 6hich allo6s s(ch sim(ltaneo(s contraries to e3ist in chor(s andDor contin(ity and 8erry .orneli(sCs advent(res take f(ll advantage of this fle3i+ility. The fig(re has certain fi3ed details Khe is a dandy, he is the hero, he has gadgets and is +oth advent(ro(s and slightly naYveL +(t many of the rest of his characteristics are in fl(3* occ(pation and ha+its, chronotope, nationality and skin1colo(r are all varia+le, shifts 6hich certainly echo AallardCs fictions. Perhaps in response to Moorcock and AallardCs shared

interest in William A(rro(ghsCs famo(s recommendation that Na-e! Lunch co(ld +e read +y starting from any point in the novel, the cover of MoorcockCs Cornelius 3uartet states that the fo(r .orneli(s novels may +e read in any order, conceiving of them Bas a faceted str(ct(re, like a diamond, 6ith a lot of different planes 6hich can +e seen thro(gh other planesC."$% Moorcock later retracted this, +(t the image is an
"$$ "$%

Aallard, The Cr"stal Worl! K,ondon* )lamingo N";77O !!!L, p. "9'. <n Death Is No >&stacle Moorcock reprises the process of devising the .orneli(s +ooks as a 6hole, e3plaining * B< conceived it as a faceted str(ct(re, like a diamond, 6ith a lot of different planes, planes 6hich can +e seen thro(gh other planes. The 6hole /(artet 6as meant to +e integrated, like planes in a prism. The reason < said PThe novels may +e read in any orderQJand pro+a+ly thatCs not a good ideaF <Cd prefer to remove that remark no6, +(t itCs on the Eacket of the latest paper+ack editionJ6as that < tho(gh at the time that they sho(ld all +e transparent to each other.CJMoorcock in >reenland Death Is

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77

79 important one for (nderstanding the approach to the pro+lem of ho6 to (nify political and aesthetic interests. The image of a crystalline str(ct(re echoes a similar image from anarchist philosopher ?er+ert -eadCs (topian novel The #reen Chil! K";$'L. <n -eadCs novel, a s(+terranean KalienL civilisationJpres(ma+ly inspired +y the 2rilCya from A(l6er1,yttonCs The Coming 2ace K"49"LJ6ho live in harmony thro(gh anarchist principles have a mode of artistic creation +ased entirely on creating comple3 crystals* The science 6hich 6e call crystallographyJthe st(dy of the forms, properties and str(ct(re of crystalsJ6as the most esteemed of all sciences in this s(+terranean co(ntryF indeed it might +e regarded as science itself, for on it 6ere +ased, not only all notions of the str(ct(re of the (niverse, +(t e/(ally all notions of +ea(ty, tr(th and destiny."$'

<n this concl(ding (topian section of the novel crystalline str(ct(res em+ody all forms of art* BAesthetic pleas(re 6as a perception of the degree of transgression +et6een artificial form and its nat(ral prototypeC. "$7 Preferences for the different phases Kc(+ic, monocyclic, he3agonalL Bcorrespond to vario(s phases of art in the terrestrial 6orldJ at one e3treme the +aro/(e fantasy of the c(+ic system, at the other e3treme the classic simplicity of the he3agonal systemC. "$9 Aenedict -ead o+serves in his

overvie6 of ?er+ert -eadCs art criticism that the Bdescription of the aesthetics of these crystals, partic(larly in their KaestheticallyL highest forms parallels some of the forms and thinkingC of his 6ritings on modernist art. "$4 The idea of reading the .orneli(s novels as if they too 6ere a crystalline str(ct(re s(ggests that Moorcock intended an interpretive approach to the .orneli(s novels resem+ling -eadCs anarchist aesthetic,
No >&stacle, pp. ;7J;9. "$' -ead, ?er+ert, The #reen Chil! introd(ction +y >raham >reene K,ondon* Eyre M 0pottis6oode, N";$'O ";%9L5 p. "9%. "$7 -ead, The #reen Chil!, p. "9'. "$9 <+id. "$4 -ead, Aenedict, B?er+ert -ead* An :vervie6C from Her&ert 2ea!4 $ +ritish *ision of Worl! $rt ed. Aenedict -ead and David Thistle6ood K,eeds* ,eeds .ity Art >alleries, and ,ondon* The ?enry Moore )o(ndation, ";;$L, p. "".

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74 something operating as a Aarthesean free play of interpretation, 6here reading is not a(thoritatative +(t constantly itself in fl(3. "$; Moorcock seems to have considered free fl(id interpretation to +e the essence of the aesthetic e3pression his te3ts 6ere reaching to6ards, implying that an anarchist aesthetics sho(ld +e anarchic in mi3ing of style and form, and also fl(id and open in its interpretive matrices. 0ince Moorcock retracted his statement 6e have to 6onder if he retracted or merely refined his aesthetic stance and, more importantly, ho6 this manifests in his 6ork. <t m(st +e o+served, for e3ample, that the .orneli(s novels of the 3uartet are act(ally dependent (pon a c(m(lative reading for their effect. When read in chronological order they form a se/(ence of constant

s(persession, of conflict and synthesis. The plot of The 'inal Programme performs its s(persession +y (ltimately (ndermining the distinction +et6een 8erry .orneli(s and his opponent Miss Ar(nner, amalgamating them into a single fig(re, the hermaphrodite .orneli(s Ar(nner, 6ho leads a revol(tion across E(rope 6hich sees h(manity +ecome amphi+io(s and take to the oceans. Aathetically, everyone e3cept .orneli(s Ar(nner dro6ns. 0imilarly, the final te3t of the Z(artet ret(rns to its +eginnings +y (ndermining the reality of 8erry .orneli(s himself, and, in the process, it also (ndermines the distinction +et6een 8erryCs (niverse and o(rs. <n this 6ay, MoorcockCs Z(artet follo6s a process of esta+lishing +o(ndaries for itself and then e3ceeding those +o(ndaries over and over.

"$;

According to -o+ert Melville BPThe >reen .hildQ Nthe opening section of the novelO is +ased (pon a folk tale entitled The #reen Chil!ren, 6hich -ead /(otes in his chapter on )antasy in English Prose St"leC K4$L, he contin(es* B<n English Prose St"le -ead says, Pthere is a nat(ral tendency#for the +allad and folk tale to develop a clear o+Eective narrative, +(t a narrative enc(m+ered +y odd inconse/(ential +(t startlingly vivid and concrete detailsQC. K4;L These are the things 6hich he claims for -eadCs techni/(e* an o+Eective narrative of relatively spare style 6ithin 6hich certain Bstartlingly vivid and concrete detailsC stand o(tF it is 6orth considering this in comparison 6ith MoorcockCs fantasy style.

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7; To ret(rn to David >loverCs comment KBMoorcock seems ca(ght +et6een the t6in poles of individ(alism and comm(nalism in hippie ideology and his de+(nking of the hero fig(re 6as only effectively accomplished, appropriately eno(gh, as the co(nter1c(lt(re +egan to go into declineC "%!L 6e can s(ggest that it 6as necessary in order for MoorcockCs fantasy to +ecome more like a non1violent version of the infamo(s concept of Bpropaganda +y deedC. Hick ?(++le of Ar(nel University spec(lated that it is most significant for reading the development of MoorcockCs .orneli(s fictions that 6e vie6 him as +eing very m(ch Bon the losing side in the Pli+eral h(manistQ 6ar on (topian tho(ghtC, "%" that, in effect, it is thro(gh having the +elief in positive (topian alternatives refuse! that MoorcockCs 6riting finds the energy to really start imagining ho6 to (nify his political and aesthetic interestsF +y no longer +eing s(rro(nded +y /(ite the same s(+c(lt(re he stretches o(t to find ne6 points of contact 6ith 6ider s(+c(lt(res. <t may +e s(ggested that Moorcock 6as at this time invoking and e3ploring the contradictions +et6een p(lp pop(lism and literary e3periment and +et6een (topian ideals and political pragmatism. -ather than a+andoning

e3periment, Moorcock re6orks and reinterprets it constantly* th(s 6e have the foolish 8herek .arnelian from The Dancers at the En! of Time F the spirit of the -(nestaff in Dorian ?a6kmoonCs advent(res +eing em+odied as a strange, innocent +oy named 8ehamia .ohnahliasF 6hile .or(mCs f(ll name .or(m 8haelen <rsei is a .orneli(s anagram. <n this 6ay, Moorcock is disseminating his central idea from the 3uartet, the crystalline str(ct(re of interpretation, across m(ltiple series of +ooks. The +ooks
"%!

>lover, David, BUtopia and )antasy in the ,ate ";7!s* A(rro(ghs, Moorcock, TolkienC Kpp. "4'J ""L from Popular 'iction an! Social Change ed. .hristopher Pa6ling K,ondon* Macmillan, ";4%L, pp. !9J4. "%" ?(++le, Hick, BA .(re for the .ancer of Post16ar AritainJMoorcock as English AssassinC a paper delivered at BThe He6 World Entropy* A .onference on Michael MoorcockC K,iverpool 8ohn Moores, !!4L co1organised Martin .ole+rook and Mark P. Williams.

Mark P. Williams

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9! may +e read in trilogies or /(artets +(t the net6ork of characters formed +y the m(ltiverse has taken on an overarching interpretive /(ality 6hich is distinctly anarchic +y +eing m(ltiple, divergent and contradictory. Tom Aeament gave a (sef(l lect(re on the relation +et6een MoorcockCs m(ltiverses and the origins of the term Bm(ltiverseC, dra6ing on ,ei+nit=. <n ,ei+nit=, Bm(ltiverseC refers to the plenit(de of phenomena present in the (niverse Jin opposition to the sing(larity implied +y the term B(niverseCF Aeament s(ggested that MoorcockCs early (se of the term may o6e as m(ch to ,ei+nit=Cs idea of a Bla+yrinth of freedomC as it does to the pop(larity of alternate (niverses in the 6ork of MoorcockCs contemporaries."% The idea of freedom +eing a la+yrinth of social MoorcockCs most

choices certainly has o+vio(s resonance for an anarchist.

commonly cited philosophical infl(ence on his idea of 6hat anarchism means is Gropotkin, conceived the ideal for anarchist comm(nes and comm(nity as a federation of endless perm(tationF it is s(mmarised +y Daniel >(erin as follo6s* <n GropotkinCs estimation, every comm(ne is not part of E(st one federation of comm(nes, 6hich cherishes li+erty a+ove all else, +(t of all manner of federative links 6hich overlap, inter6eave and s(perimpose themselves one (pon another N#.O <n the same 6ay, Gropotkin is attractive 6hen he moves on from the local comm(nes proper N#O to the affinity gro(ps 6hich can no longer +e tied to a given territory and 6hose mem+ers 6o(ld +e Bscattered over a tho(sand cities and villages,C and 6here N#O Ba given individ(al 6ill find his needs met only +y +anding together 6ith other individ(als sharing the same tastesC."%$ ?ere 6e find a description of the social linkages +et6een neigh+o(rs in comm(nities and looser Baffinity gro(psC, s(ch as shared familial or c(lt(ral +ackgro(nd, 6hich

"%

Tom Aeament, BM(lti1dimensional MoorcockJU+i/(ito(s E3plorer of the )antasy M(ltiverseC at The New Worl! Entrop"5 $ Conference on Michael Moorcoc- K,iverpool 8ohn MooresL, Mark P. Williams and Martyn .ole+rook, 9th 8(ly !!4. "%$ >(erin, Daniel, Ked.L No #o!s5 No Masters Trans. Pa(l 0harkey KEdin+(rgh* AG Press, ";;4L, p. '9.

Mark P. Williams

9!

9" str(ct(res them in a 6ay directly recalled +y MoorcockCs later, more developed, descriptions of his m(ltiverse. K<t also offers a clear analogy 6ith the rhi=omatic or non1hierarchical net6orks posited +y postmodernist philosophy, partic(larly that of Dele(=e and >(attari in $ Thousan! Plateaus K";9 D9%L.L We can th(s +egin to see the m(ltiverse not E(st as a 6ay of linking characters, as it 6as initially, +(t contin(ally reinterpreting the meaning of the characters and their advent(res* for e3ample, the distinctions +et6een ,a6 and .haos as to 6hich is a positive and 6hich a negative force are constantly shifting +et6een the different series of novelsF in this 6ay MoorcockCs m(ltiverse insists on the contin(al /(estioning of eval(ative ass(mptions and of all (nifying a(thorities. ,ike 8erry .orneli(s, the m(ltiverse is remade or reinterpreted in each series, even sometimes in a single novel. < s(ggest that The Con!ition of Mu1a- is a key te3t for (nderstanding this development. This 6ork, its relation to the m(ltiverse, and

MoorcockCs aesthetic interests, is dealt 6ith in more detail in the follo6ing section.

7: (o$ards an Anarchist Aesthetic: (he Multi erse, 4,&eri"ent and the -ifferences #et$een Moorcock and 8!S! 6ohnson To arrive at a disc(ssion of MoorcockCs anarchist aesthetic dra6n from his e3perimental 6ork < 6o(ld like to +riefly consider the .orneli(s novels in light of the a(thor A.0. 8ohnson. Philip Te6Cs +ook on 8ohnson descri+es his 6orks as defined +y Bthe imp(lse to reflect a random chaos in the te3tsC on the one hand and Ba radical political a6areness of pra3is and a +road notion of engagementC on the other, t6o imp(lses 6hich might also +e said to define the e3periments of the New Worl!s 6riters in general and Michael Moorcock in partic(lar. "%%
"%%

,ike Moorcock, Aryan

Te6, Philip, +7S7 @ohnson4 $ Critical 2ea!ing KManchester and He6 Iork* Manchester University Press, !!"L, p. 3ii.

Mark P. Williams

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9 0tanley 8ohnson 6as a ,ondoner from a 6orking class +ackgro(nd, +orn in the same decade, 8ohnson in ";$$ and Moorcock in ";$;. A n(m+er of their aesthetic interests overlap, as 6e shall see, +(t their fictions are distinctly different in tone and style on a n(m+er of levels 6hich renders the similarities +et6een them all the more (sef(l as a comparative e3ercise. At BThe He6 World EntropyC conference in !!4, Hick ?(++le gave a paper s(ggesting that 6e might prod(ctively read MoorcockCs $ Cure 'or Cancer K";7;L and A.0. 8ohnsonCs House Mother Normal K";9"L comparatively as mirroring te3ts concerned 6ith the same themes. <n $ Cure 'or Cancer 8erry .orneli(s moves o+livio(sly thro(gh a 6orld filled 6ith violence and violation, of h(man rights and the +ody, and enco(nters 6ith militarism, evoking a society in severe c(lt(ral and moral decay. When faced apocalyptically 6ith a B+right relief map on 6hich little spots of light flickered 6here cities had +eenC he simply 6onders Bif yo( co(ld change the channelC."%' 8erry accidentally t(nes1in to a disc(ssion of tactics and ethics for dealing 6ith military invasion and marshal la6, from looting to se3(al acts committed +y soldiers* B0e3(al <nterco(rse Ay )orce, 0e3(al <nterco(rse Aet6een Mem+ers :f The 0ame 0e3, 0e3(al <nterco(rse With Animals, 0e3(al <nterco(rse With Minors, 0e3(al <nterco(rse With Enemies :r Those ,ikely To Ae Potential Enemies :r Enemy 0ympathi=ers,C and B.onditions Under Which The Use :f Tort(re May Aecome Hecessary, .onditions Under Which The :rders :f A .ommanding :fficer May Ae Diso+eyed, .onditions Under Which Allies May Ae Gilled :r .onfinedC."%7 The presentation of these B.onditionsC, s(ggesting the moral am+ivalence of >eneral .(m+erland and the military, +(ilds into a kind of ?oratian :de 6here the >eneral is praised in terms 6hich increasingly remind the reader of .onradCs G(rt=.
"%' "%7

The

Moorcock, $ Cure 'or Cancer N3uartetO, p. ;$. <+id., p. ;'.

Mark P. Williams

9$ >eneral sees his Eo+ as (sing the position of the military to inc(lcate a very specific vie6 in the minds of the invaded* from BAmerican strength, American manhood NandO, American kno61ho6C to BAmerican love, American h(mo(r, American health, American +ea(ty, American virilityC."%9 This A(rro(ghsean riff on militaristic tho(ght e/(ates virility and love 6ith money and 6arfare in a relentless tirade of associations, a symptom of reactionary politics spa6ned from the infection of history Kte3tsL +y reactionary a(thoritarians. <n 8ohnsonCs House Mother Normal K";9"L the matriarchal, sadistic ?o(se Mother can certainly +e compared as a satirical fig(re to MoorcockCs vicio(s a(thoritarians on a microcosmic scale. ?o(se Mother +oldly declares her violent and depraved treatment of her geriatric charges* B< disg(st them in order that they may not +e disg(sted 6ith themselvesC."%4 0he makes them play pass the parcel 6ith her dogCs faeces, rationalising* B< am disg(sting to them in order to o+Eectify their disg(st, to direct it to something o(tside themselves, something harmlessC so that they do not (ltimately Bt(rn their disg(st on >odC."%; ,ike $ Cure 'or Cancer, the novel presents a microcosm of a society 6hich is irredeema+ly decayed and still decayingF +oth 6riters seem to +e s(ggesting that there is no real c(re availa+le for the social ills they perceive. The te3t concl(des 6ith a metafictional gest(re 6hich reveals the artifice of ?o(se Mother the character and +aldly states that s(ch disr(ption is the only means of escape on offer. MoorcockCs $ Cure 'or Cancer concl(des 6ith a similarly +leak gest(re 6here+y ,ondon is +om+ed 6ith napalm and chemical agents, altho(gh, significantly, MoorcockCs te3t still appeals to hope and to love 6hile 8ohnsonCs does not.
"%9 "%4

<+id. , p. ;;. 8ohnson, A.0. house mother normal from +S @ohnson >mni&us K,ondon* Pan Macmillan, !!%L, p. ";9. "%; <+id.

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9$

9% <t is also 6orth +riefly comparing The Con!ition of Mu1a- K";9;L 6ith 8ohnsonCs $l&ert $ngelo K";7%L, as their str(ct(res are remarka+ly similar and their interests once more overlap +(t to still more divergent concl(sions. 8ohnson divides $l&ert $ngelo into five sections titled* BProlog(eC, BE3positionC, BDevelopmentC, BDisintegrationC and B.odaC. While MoorcockCs g(iding str(ct(ral model for each .orneli(s novel, and the Z(artet as a 6hole, is descri+ed +y him as Bsomething approaching sonata form* <ntrod(ctionF Development K" and LF -ecapit(lationF

.odaC."'! <n this pattern $ Cure 'or Cancer and The English $ssassin constit(te separate developments of 8erry .orneli(s and alternate versions of one another. ?o6ever, < s(ggest that the +ooks co(ld +e +etter likened to different m(sical genres (nified +y similar motifs and samples* The Con!ition of Mu1a- is 6here the arrangement coalesces. A.0. 8ohnsonCs BDevelopmentC section holds a partic(lar passage on the nat(re of integration, disintegration and reintegration in socio1c(lt(ral terms 6hich, given his a6areness of 8ohnsonCs fictions, MoorcockCs te3ts might +e read as specific responses to* There 6as this tremendo(s need for man to impose a pattern on life, Al+ert tho(ght, to t(rn 6ood into planks or +locks or 6hatever. <nanimate life is al6ays moving to6ards disintegration, to6ards chaos, and man is moving in the opposite direction, to6ards the imposition of order."'" This stark description of a chaotic (niverse 6hich man tries to resist, to impose order (pon, is the opposite of 6hat MoorcockCs aesthetic is reaching to6ards. Al+ert Angelo seems here to deplore entropy and negentropy, the tendency to6ards chaos and the tendency to6ards order, e/(ally as e3ercises 6hich are f(ll of remarka+le
"'!

Moorcock, $ Cure 'or Cancer, p. "%%. 8ohnson, $l&ert $ngelo from @ohnson >mni&us, p. "$$.

"'"

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9' potential +(t, +y lacking an overarching meaning, are (ltimately hopeless. ?ence 8ohnson +reaks (p the narrative of AngeloCs fictional life 6ith a metafictional +(rst of Bf(ck all this ,I<H>C,"' spending the s(+se/(ent section, titled BDisintegrationC, foregro(nding the nat(re of literary artifice as something 6hich is f(ndamentally inade/(ate to its self1appointed tasks. Altho(gh Moorcock constantly interr(pts and disr(pts the narratives of 8erry .orneli(s 6ith ne6spaper stories and adverts, the -eal imposing on the fictive, he does not s(rrender the po6er of the fictive thro(gh the same kind of self1annihilating metafictional gest(res 6hich characterise 8ohnsonCs maEor novels. <nstead of revealing all literary artifice to +e ins(fficient The Con!ition of Mu1a- s(+verts some of its techni/(es to reinstall others* chiefly, it foregro(nds the possi+ility of a ret(rn to realism through fantasy, an accepting of the po6er of literary narrative to create meaning in the real 6orld. < s(ggest that MoorcockCs complaint regarding 8ohnsonCs e3periments 6ith form is that in their metafictional r(pt(re they do a6ay 6ith the social meaning of 6hat happens to charactersF this is precisely the step that the final novel of the .orneli(s Z(artet avoids making. The opening section of The Con!ition of Mu1a- contains a telling all(sion to the nat(re of this +ook as it (nfolds for the reader, a thro6a6ay intimation dropped into the dialog(e* MaEor Hye caref(lly packed (p the rest of the rations. B< 6o(ldnCt mind getting +ack to Alighty myself. Aetter the devil yo( kno6, eh@ A ret(rn to reality.C B:h, .hrist.C 8erry +egan to shiver again. ?e rose. BThatCs the last thing < need.C"'$

"' "'$

<+id., p. "7$. Moorcock, The Con!ition of Mu1a- N3uartetO, p. ';;.

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97 The 6orst possi+le scenario for 8erry .orneli(s is realityF it is 6hat his 6hole e3istence is concerned 6ith escaping from. )rom here the te3t +egins to p(sh this scenario closer, collapsing elements from the previo(s novels into this one in the process, grad(ally 6riting 8erry .orneli(s into PrealityQ. An e3tract from the Jensington Post of ";7' details the death of a mother and her three children in a fire, an echo of 8erry, )rank and their sister .atherine* 2erdicts of PAccidental DeathQ 6ere recorded. B< left the three children sleeping 6hen < 6ent to 6ork that morning,C said Mr .ol(m .orneli(s 6ho had +een staying in the ho(se at the time. )ire :fficer .yril Po6ell said after the fire had +een p(t o(t the +odies of the mother and her three children 6ere fo(nd in the front attic room. Pathologist Dr -.D. Teare said that the ca(se of death 6as asphy3ia d(e to the inhalation of fire f(mes."'% The placement of this +rief epite3t s(ggests the possi+ility that the PrealQ 8erry .orneli(s may have e3isted and may have died tragically yo(ngF or, more significantly, it s(ggests that 8erry .orneli(s is someone 6ho cannot live in reality. The opening of the novel properJa section headed B8...CJreprises sections from +oth $ Cure 'or Cancer and The English $ssassin. <t reintrod(ces (s to Derry and TomCs Department 0tore, this time as an Ba+andoned shellC, 6hich has +ecome Blike the r(ins of Tintagel and Angkor, a mere relicC. "'' This comparison +l(rs the distinctions +et6een the discovery of the healer 8erry .orneli(s in the Edenic roof garden of Derry and TomCs K $ Cure 'or CancerL 6ith his resc(e from s(spended animation at Tintagel +ay KThe English $ssassinL. A ne6 8erry .orneli(s is a+o(t to appear, and this ne6 style of introd(ction in a more traditionally mimetic -ealist vein intimates that it 6ill +e a different 8erry .orneli(s, neither the fantastic
"'% "''

<+id., p. 7! . Moorcock, The Con!ition of Mu1a- N3uartetO, p. 7!$.

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99 one of $ Cure 'or Cancer nor the raving entropy vampire of The English $ssassin. ?e is introd(ced as an idle adolescent 6ith precisely the proprietary attit(de to6ards 6omen that Moorcock has 6ritten against vocifero(sly in The 2etreat 'rom Li&ert" and his essay BWorking in the Ministry of Tr(thC* The yo(ng man had lived most of his life in the three1room apartment and had an intimate kno6ledge of the n(nCs movements as 6ell as an affectionate proprietorial attit(de to6ards them* several had nicknamesJ:ld -atty, 0e3y 0is, Aig+(m, Pr(nefaceJfor he had gro6n (p 6ith themF they 6ere his pets. >iven the opport(nity, he 6o(ld pro+a+ly have died to protect them. ?e did not, of co(rse, regard them as h(man +eings."'7

Until this point 6e have never seen a -ealist 8erry .orneli(sF nor have 6e +een given prior indication that 8erry 6o(ld ever +e portrayed as a -ealist character. <t actively (ndermines the fig(re already esta+lished to the reader as a character derived from genre fantasy stereotypes. We are s(ddenly allo6ed to see the attit(des of someone 6ho might 6ant to see themselves as the (nto(cha+le, glamoro(s fig(re of 8erry .orneli(s the all1p(rpose h(man +eing* a naYve, f(ndamentally impractical and immat(re romantic. )rom this perspective, a pragmatic, hard6orking +(t r(thless +(sinesslike attit(de to the 6orld 6o(ld appear oppositional, confrontationalJ perhaps villaino(s. Predicta+ly then, the villaino(s )rank of The 'inal Programme is here KreLcast as a smartly1dressed spiv dressed in Ba +la=er 6ith polished steel +(ttons, grey flannels, an open1neck 6hite shirt, a yello6 cravat 6ith a horseshoe motifC 6ho e3claims 6hen he sees 8erry* BThey sho(ld never have a+olished Hational 0ervice. ,ook at yo(UC"'9 The (p6ardly mo+ile )rank intends to make money selling local property on to the co(ncil d(ring its gentrification of the area. 8erryCs response to this

"'7 "'9

<+id. , p. 7!%. Moorcock, The Con!ition of Mu1a- N3uartetO, p. 7!7.

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94 sets the tone for the -ealist passages of the +ook and raises the themes of m(ch of MoorcockCs proEect* A+sently, 8erry popped a mandy into his mo(th. B<tCs idealists like me the 6orld needs. Hot grafters like yo(.C This seemed to improve )rankCs spirits. ?e p(t a condescending hand on 8erryCs forearm. BA(t itCs a grafterCs 6orld, my son.C BIeah@C BMost definitely, yo(ng 8erry.C 8erry sniffed. B<Cll let yo( get on 6ith it then.C"'4

This conflict of approaches to the 6orld is 6orked thro(gh to several different concl(sions d(ring the co(rse of the .orneli(s novels and stories. <t is a position 6hich Moorcock himself might +e read as occ(pying, as the roles of p(lp 6riter and literary editor com+ine elements from +oth the grafter )rank and the idealist 8erry as they are presented in this section. <t is indicative of this that neither approach is presented as B6holeC d(ring the co(rse of the novel, the conflict +et6een them is essential to MoorcockCs proEectF anarchism does not lie on one side or another in a disp(te +(t in the negotiation, the +alance, +et6een them. At least t6o different 8erryCs co1e3ist 6ithin The Con!ition of Mu1a-, the idealist adolescent, -ealist18erry, and the )antasy18erry of the earlier narratives. The t6o versions do(+le one another* 6here -ealist18erry merely 6atched the n(ns from afar, )antasy18erry 6alks calmly into a gadget1laden version of the convent to access its secrets 6ith the simpering n(ns standing in his shado6* 8erry str(ggled into his pink t6eed .ardin s(it. The 6aistcoat 6as a little tight and he had to (ndo the sho(lder holster +y a notch +(t other6ise he looked as sharp as he had al6ays done. ?e p(lled his needler free and checked that the maga=ine 6as f(ll, each hollo6 dart containing a neat '!ccs of ,i+ri(m* a perfect h(nting charge. ?e smoothed his long, fine hair a+o(t his face as he stood in front of the
"'4

<+id. , p. 7!4.

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9; looking1glass, 6ell satisfied, in the circ(mstances 6ith his appearance. ?e checked his 6atches. Aoth 6aited at =ero. ?e crossed his 6rists and started the 6atches. The hands moved at a steady rate. N#.O T(rning right into West+o(rne Park -oad he stopped o(tside the main gate of the .onvent of the Poor .lares. ?e did not +other to lock the car. ?e kne6 he co(ld rely on its a(ra to protect it. 0ister E(genia, the Mother 0(perior, herself greeted 8erry as she opened the grilled steel door 6hich led directly into the shado6y 2isitorCs .hapel 6ith its hideo(s green, yello6 and pink .r(cifi3ion a+ove the green mar+le tiles, the +rass, the tasselled p(rple of the alter."';

<t is a telling descriptive detail that this 8erry stands +efore a looking1glass, not merely a mirrorF his is a looking1glass 6orld in relation to the -ealist18erryCs fantasy life. BN?Oigh on pain1killers and a sense of his o6n immortalityC he em+odies the a+sol(te ass(rance 6hich the -ealist18erry cannot attain."7! ?e is the opposing, idealised fig(re of the self1conscio(s a6k6ardness 6ith 6hich -ealist18erry moves thro(gh the 6orld* BAloody hell,C said 8erry misera+ly as he +acked into the corner of the 6hite room, his el+o6 almost dislodging a partic(larly (gly china dog on a shelf, Bthere m(st +e every trendy in the GingCs -oad here, .ath.CN#.O 8erry tasted his p(nch. ?e had got his ne6 +ro6n and 6hite William Morris shirt sleeve 6et ladling the st(ff into his c(p. ?e had only come +eca(se .atherine had told him he 6o(ld +e a+le to make the right sort of contacts. The tro(+le 6as that every time someone spoke to him in one of those high1pitched voices his throat tightened and he co(ld only gr(nt at them."7" -ealist18erry is a socially inept male, reliant on the confidence and capa+ility of his sister to resc(e himF he is a far cry from the s(ave, slick )antasy18erry in 6hose 6orld male po6er, and the po6er of 8erry .orneli(s, predominate and 6omen are happy to reflect men.

"'; "7!

Moorcock, The Con!ition of Mu1a- N3uartetO, p. 7 9. <+id. "7" Moorcock, The Con!ition of Mu1a- N3uartetO, p. 7"".

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4! )antasy18erry is one 6ho has, in the 6ords of Walter Pater 6ith 6hich Moorcock opens the novel, achieved the Bcondition of m(sicC, +(t in a 6arped 6orld of male fantasy, distorted to M(=ak."7 <t is the -ealist 8erry 6hose self1a+sorption

and lack of s(ccess 6ill drive the fantasy of an invinci+le, glamoro(s and )antasy 8erry .orneli(s, th(s s(+verting and parodying itself thro(gh its protagonistCs o6n dream1life. )rank .orneli(s in the 6orld of )antasy18erry is a decaying, physically and mentally inferior fig(re fig(re* B>et o(t of my car,C said 8erry. BIo(Cre coming to +its all over the (pholstery. Io( (sed to +e s(ch a nice yo(ng man, too.C B<Cm a martyr to science, thatCs my tro(+le. < a+andoned a l(crative profession in the property +(siness in order to f(rther my researches and th(s +ecome a slave to tempode3.C )rankCs skin t6itched all over. Then, as 8erry 6atched, he changed to the colo(r of grey flannel."7$

As a grafter in -ealist18erryCs 6orld, taking advantage of others for financial advantage +ecomes literal vampirism in the )antasy18erry narrative* Even as 8erry came in he sa6 )rank stoop and kiss one of the girls f(ll on the mo(th, seeming to s(ck the last of her s(+stance from her. Ho6 she 6as in pretty m(ch the condition in 6hich )rank had +een a moment or t6o ago."7%

)or -ealist18erry, )antasy18erry is a straightfor6ard escape, a depart(re from his all1 too1familiar life into one 6hich conforms more pro3imately to his o6n drives, an egocentric (niverse, +(t since 6e see that -ealist18erry does not live in the same (niverse, nor have access to the (niverse of )antasy18erry, it +ecomes apparent that this fantasy is ideological and escapist. The landscape of ,ondon reflects the

romantic idealism of -ealist18erry as m(ndane details in one narrative 6orld come to

"7

<+id. , p. ';%. <+id. , p. 7$ . "7% <+id. , p. 7$$.

"7$

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4" reveal a deeper, more a(thentic s(+stance +ehind them, a 6orld of advent(res, mysteries and occ(lt devices* ?e recalled a r(mo(r he had heard from a fo(rteen1year1old +iker speed freak 6ho had given him a lift 6hen his Phantom had +een shot (p +y local vigilantes E(st o(tside Airmingham. According to the +iker there 6as at least one ancient t(nnel r(nning (nder ,ad+roke >rove from the .onvent of the Poor .lares. The t(nnel, the speed freak had told him, led into all sorts of other dimensions. <t 6as a familiar r(mo(r. A family legend hinted at something similar."7'

These ra++it holes +eneath the familiar 6orld of ,ondon lead to the 6onderlands of the m(ltiverse allo6ing the novel to +e read in several 6ays. Taken together, these sections either t(rn the narrative into a fantasy anti1novel or a novel containing, and confining fantasy elements 6ithin a -ealist 6orld as psychological representation. :ne interpretation might s(ggest that the te3t creates specific e3pectations, s(ggesting fantasy as a frame of reference, only to s(+vert these e3pectations in the follo6ing section 6here the point of resol(tion lies 6ith the reader accepting them as hall(cination. Alternatively, they can +e read as presenting (nresolved contrary

versions 6hich m(st +e negotiated or tested +y each reader in t(rn, as anti1novel 6here there is no a+sol(tely a(thoritative narrative 6hich confines or str(ct(res o(r reception of them. The effect in each instance is an aesthetically anarchic one* it either offers no end to the possi+le interpretations or presents firm interpretations 6hich are constantly (nder threat of m(ltiple s(+versions. There is, ho6ever, a point at 6hich the -ealist and )antasy 8errys +egin to +l(r 6hich, 6hile accent(ating the tension +et6een the t6o styles of narration, reveals a third 8erry .orneli(s, more like the protagonistKsL of the first three novels 6ith his appearance in this forth novel complicating the readerCs acceptance of
"7'

Moorcock, The Con!ition of Mu1a- N3uartetO, p. 7$$.

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4 the te3t. ?e disr(pts the tension +et6een the fantasy, non1fantasy and anti1novel interpretations +y e3isting in a layer +eyond them 6hich seems to definitively reinstate the m(ltiverse as the a(thoritative metanarrative. This is m(ch like the concept(alisation of fantasy of M. 8ohn ?arrison, partic(larly visi+le in his 2iriconi(m se/(ence of te3ts The Pastel Cit" K";9"L5 $ Storm of Wings K";4!L, In *iriconium K";4 L and *iriconium Nights K";4'L. <n ?arrisonCs 2iriconi(m te3ts the city of 2iriconi(m is al6ays different and al6ays the same. Each Bret(rnC there is a re1imagining of the setting and characters of the previo(s novels* B>eography shifts and epochs 6aver +(t 2iriconi(m s(rvives, an aspect of the Eternal .ity* at once fl(id and intracta+leC. "77 The city is m(ch like MoorcockCs Tanelorn as sym+olic heart of, and metaphor for, the m(ltiverseF it is sometimes s(+stit(ted for the idea of itself, sometimes only e3ists as an idea. .olin >reenland and Hick Pratt descri+e ?arrisonCs deli+erate

(ndecida+lity as a process of deli+erately (nsettling the reader +y Bsa+otaging the familiar machinery of 0)C, ref(sing its demands of logical relationships 6ith progress in favo(r of a more associative (se."79 <t is clearly related +oth to AallardCs techni/(es in his Bcondensed novelsC and MoorcockCs 8erry .orneli(s fictions, +(t it remains aesthetically distanced +y necessity at this timeF ?arrisonCs fiction does not address politics directly, his fictions are aesthetically anarchic +(t not politically anarchist. As Hick )reeman o+serves, Bit has never +een ?arrisonCs intention to provide ans6ers to the pro+lems he identifies and dramatisesC in his 2iriconi(m narratives so they do not reach Ba harmonio(s political position +eyond the +roadly h(manisticC."74
"77

>reenland, .olin, and Pratt, Hick, BUnsettling the WorldC Kpp. "!1"9L Savo" Dreams KManchester* 0avoy, ";4%L, p. "$. "79 <+id. "74 )reeman, Hick, B PAll The .ities That There ?ave Ever AeenQ* In *iriconiumC Kpp. 9'J4;L Pareital #ames4 Critical Writings &" an! on M7 @ohn Harrison ed. Mark Ao(ld and Michelle -eid K,ondon* )o(ndation 0t(dies in 0cience )iction, !!'L, p. 47.

Mark P. Williams

4$ ?arrisonCs later novels have clearer political criti/(eF Light K !! L, for e3ample, criti/(es postmodernism as an aesthetic of escapism. The follo6ing passage seems to +e a response to the (se of the Bcarnivales/(eC in postmodernist criticism 6here ?arrison (ses Light to /(estion the desire to +e (ni/(e thro(gh commodified forms* .irc(s 6as in the streets. <t 6as inside peopleCs heads. Eat fire@ Everyone 6as a fire1eater. Everyone had geek genes and a story to tell. 0entient tattoos made everyone the <ll(strated Man. Everyone 6as high on some flying trape=e iss(e of their o6n. <t 6as the flight into the grotes/(e."7;

?ere, ?arrison is perhaps all(ding to the fantasy of 6riters like Angela .arter Kpartic(larly Nights at the CircusL 6here characters are kno6ingly sym+olic and (se story self1refle3ively. What clearly links ?arrison and MoorcockCs techni/(es are t6o interrelated ideas* "L that fantasy forms are constit(ted afresh each time they are 6ritten and so the BsameC characterDsetting can have different /(alities each time it is (sedF and L that fantasy forms have an implicit politics em+edded 6ithin them. <ntrig(ingly, altho(gh Moorcock retains a more overt political foc(s, his later 6ork and ?arrisonCs fictions have moved closer to one another in style and content* +oth presenting 6orlds 6hich dramatise political and social pro+lems in detail 6hile offering only provisional responses rather than clos(re. MoorcockCs recent e3tensions of his m(ltiverse e3tend the idea of open1ended fiction to +oth narrative str(ct(re and the overarching fantasy mode. Altho(gh he has contin(ed to 6rite .orneli(s narratives Kmost nota+ly 'iring the Cathe!ral, a response to >eorge W. A(shCs response to ;D"", 6ritten and p(+lished in !! L, he has c(r+ed some of its stylistic e3tremes and s(+limated them to alternative forms. The 0(rrealist entropy of 8erryCs m(ltiverse reappears, or is re16ritten, as
"7;

?arrison, M. 8ohn, Light K,ondon* >ollanc=, !! L, p. "74.

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4% c(lt(ral entropy* 6here one historical form of energy release is taken (p and mo+ilised +y many other gro(ps in the polyglot lang(age of the imposing city of ,ondon in Jing of the Cit" K !!!L. The ver+ose style of Jing of the Cit", 6ith its kno6ing .ockney narrator Denny Dover and intensely rhythmic pacing imitates the chant1like (r+an shamanism of <ain 0inclair, mi3ing contracted metaphors 6ith personal and local history. Thro(gh DennyCs narration Moorcock attempts to e3press the constant e3changes and historical c(lt(ral linkages of contemporary m(ltic(lt(ral modernity as a ling(istic process 6here+y the entropy of one generationCs BsystemC is (sed to organise ne6 (r+an identities +y contemporary generations moving in 6ider systems of social order. <n this novel Moorcock cele+rates the conveyance of history +y lang(age, calling on the Bvital heartC of comm(nication as the tr(e spirit of ,ondon* )rom Arookgate to Aom+ay to Aoston all these rich lagoons of argot and cant, pidgin and patois and parlay spill one into another and make a stream and make a flood that roars +ack into every g(tter and pipe and crack in the ,ondon pavement."9!

,ang(age as maEor +odies of 6ater s(ggests t6o images* first, the constant fle3i+le and negotiated process of re1naming seas, lakes and oceans according to historical regime or national origin 6here the same BterritoryC can +e kno6n (nder many signs and 6hich can +e +oth colonial and post1colonial, a(thoritarian and resistantF second, the image of fl(idity itself as something 6hich is inherently constantly deterritorialising itself, constantly flo6ing a6ay some6here else, something 6hich resists a(thority and Bfinds its o6n levelC, (nfi3a+le precisely +eca(se it is process itself. ?ere MoorcockCs vision of the lang(age of the (r+an environment has moved on from the failed romantic fig(re of the disappointed ";7!s, represented +y the BrealC
"9!

Moorcock, Jing of the Cit" K,ondon* 0cri+ner, !!!L, p. 4.

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4' 8erry .orneli(s, to +ecome the more cynical voice of papara==o photographer Denny Dover. )(rther, MoorcockCs lang(age in the novel has ret(rned to a renegotiation 6ith -ealism. Where the BrealC 8erry .orneli(s of The Con!ition of

Mu1a- failed to play in a s(ccessf(l rock +and, Denny s(cceeded and then moved on to more l(crative enterprisesF Denny is th(s partly a synthesis of the +ohemian 8erry 6ith his hard1nosed +rother )rank and partly something closer to MoorcockCs o6n +ackgro(nd. ?e +ecomes a means for placing some a(to+iographical detail 6ithin the str(ct(re of the novel as a fig(re 6ho might represent an alternate Michael Moorcock, as he might have +een had he made certain choices. This savvy, s6aggering voice allo6s Moorcock to +lend his o6n polemical position 6ith that of a ta+loid ne6spaper, creating a Bhard1edgedC rant capa+le of s6inging from media hyper+ole to social E(stice. <nto Jing of the Cit" Moorcock s/(ee=es shorthand forms of his o6n passionate interest in progress, making Denny ac/(ainted 6ith the East End characters and novelists, s(ch as -o+in .ook Ka.k.a. Derek -aymondL, and 6ith the real mem+ers of ?a6k6ind and The Deep )i3, s(ch as the (+i/(ito(s <an [,emmy[ Gilmister, 6hom Moorcock has kno6n and played alongside. Denny Dover is an a(to+iographical avatar of Moorcock in one sense, yet remains clearly distanced in many important respects. ?e represents some aspects of MoorcockCs personal history one moment, em+odying character fla6s Moorcock has al6ays condemned in others the ne3t. This indirect relationship to the a(thor mimics the relation of the m(ltiverse to the (niverse o(tside the fiction* aKn internally consistentL parallel 6hich implicitly criti/(es its original, +oth reflecting and deviating, as a mirror and a filtering lens. Jing of the Cit" concl(des in the near f(t(re 6here Denny, having Z(i3otically Eo(rneyed to Gosovo to cover the conflict and +een inE(red +y Bfriendly

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47 fireC concl(des his convalescence in a cy+erp(nk1inf(sed ,ondon 6here a more Anarchistic form of governance has arisen in the 6orld. <n this political environment and social order corporations and governments are made acco(nta+le and responsi+le directly to comm(nity gro(ps. This He6 WorldKsL :rder proposes a peacef(l dialogic system of international democrati=ation, starting +y removing BMonetarism NasO a philosophy of divisionC, to +(ild a 6orld of egalitarian comm(nities and li+eration, free from monopoly Kin +oth state and m(ltinational formL making companies Bresponsive rather than aggressive in their trading techni/(esC. "9" <t s(ggests a post1 revol(tionary society 6hich is not (nrecognisa+ly altered +(t clearly differently organised, a fleeting vision of an anarchist f(t(re logically connected to o(r present. <n this connection it is diffic(lt not to relate MoorcockCs 6ork to the c(rrents of postmodernism, partic(larly since the intellect(al circles 6hich have prod(ced the chief theorists and theories of postmodernism are of the same generations as Moorcock. Postmodernism is m(ch like He6 ,eft anarchism in certain 6ays +eca(se it has emerged from the same set of c(lt(ral net6orks 6hich e3tend +et6een E(rope, America and Aritain. -ichard >om+inCs 6ork, s(ch as The >rigins of Mo!ern Leftism K";9'L and The 2a!ical Tra!ition K";94L, details ho6 one 6ay of constr(cting the movements as a (nified tradition 6as s(perseded +y a tendency to6ards dividing them into interest gro(ps."9 The reality of postmodernism can +e

arg(ed to +e derived from 6hether or not this tendency is vie6ed as a c(lt(ral move or a movement of c(lt(ral theory. Moorcock has termed, half1Eokingly, his o6n .orneli(s fictions Bpostmodernist +efore the term 6as inventedC,"9$ +(t his o6n political commitments are firmly against the idea of treating all possi+le
"9" "9

Moorcock, Jing of the Cit", p. %"4. >om+in, -ichard, The >rigins of Mo!ern Leftism K,ondon* Peng(in, ";9'L and The 2a!ical Tra!ition K,ondon and He6 Iork* Meth(en, ";94L. "9$ Moorcock, in Williams, (np(+lished intervie6, BAll1P(rpose ?(man AeingC K !!4L.

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47

49 metanarratives as a (nified plane irrespective of their relevant ethical claims. ?is politics demands a political commitment. As 6e shall see, so do those of the 6riters 6ho 6ill follo6 in this thesis, altho(gh their relative positions in respect to postmodernism vary, their commitment to ethical and political ideals does not.

Conclusions MoorcockCs m(ltiverse (nifies the demands of an anarchic avant1garde aesthetic 6ith political commitment to an anarchist perspective. MoorcockCs (se of the form of the m(ltiverseJconsisting of +oth parallel and nested (niverses 6hich overlap and interactJhas developed from a simple techni/(e for linking his heroic fantasy narratives together into a statement of (nending pl(rality and development, an overarching anarchic frame6ork for a free play of interpretation. Where a 6riter can create se/(els and pre/(els in a single contin(ity 6here consistency, and the stat(s /(o, m(st +e maintained, in a m(ltiverse alternate contin(ities can +e developed in parallel to s(ggest radically different alternatives to the present 6orld as it is no6 as alternate nows. What MoorcockCs corp(s of 6riting makes clear mimetically +y having a m(ltiverse linking 8erry .orneli(s, von Aek, Garl >loga(er, 8herek .arnelian and the parallel stories of historical fictions, is that he 6rites 6ith intense deli+eration in each genre, e3ploring themes and characters thro(gh a m(ltiplicity of scenarios. MoorcockCs m(ltiverse is one long manifesto for progressive change. The m(ltiverse is also the name of MoorcockCs online disc(ssion comm(nity for(m* thro(gh this for(m he maintains an interest and engagement 6ith anarchist tho(ght and 6ith the contemporary voices of protest 6hose allegiances go along 6ith anarchism V666.m(ltiverse.orgWF the for(m has specific threads for disseminating commentaries a+o(t the infringement or validation of civil rights and freedom of Mark P. Williams 49

44 speech aro(nd the 6orld."9% <t +ecomes a kind of concrete s(pport net6ork of readers 6ith shared interests loosely +(t persistently connected to his fictions. As a literary device the m(ltiverse (nites the farce of the Dancers at the En! of Time, the +lack comedy and ironic positioning of 8erry .orneli(s and more character1driven novels s(ch as Jing of the Cit" 6itho(t closing do6n potentialities. The m(ltiverse operates as an opening +racket 6ith no possi+ility of clos(reJto 6hich f(rther opening +rackets can +e addedJconstantly allo6ing for complimentary or contradictory re6riting +y ref(sing finality. There is a constant opening o(t, the contin(o(s (nfolding of the m(ltiverse, 6hich allo6s the possi+ility of allegorical and historical comparison in genres concerned 6ith immediacy. < s(ggest that

MoorcockCs early conception of the .orneli(s Z(artet as a Bfaceted str(ct(reC 6as 6holly s(+limated to the overarching str(ct(re of the m(ltiverse, at first (nconscio(sly and then 6ith increasing deli+eratenessF that his re6ritings of early te3ts and 6riting of se/(els to them 6hich cross1reference his other novels represent the more significant f(lfilment of this ideal anarchist aesthetic than his imp(lses to6ard 0(rrealism or a+s(rdism can accomplish in themselves. The m(ltiverse as a 6hole can th(s +e (nderstood as a series of Bdifferent planesC of meaning B6hich can +e seen thro(gh other planesC in an anarchic free play of interpretation 6here each interpretation is e/(al to each other interpretation* the m(ltiverse as a 6hole can f(nction Bas a faceted str(ct(re, like a diamond, 6ith a lot of different planes 6hich can +e seen thro(gh other planesC in a 6ay that the Cornelius 3uartet cannot +eca(se of the demands of narrative."9'
"9%

This incl(des threads on the decentralising of the U0 +anks, +anned +ooks, female genital m(tilation and protests against the A(rmese regime, see* Vhttp*DD666.m(ltiverse.orgDforaDfor(mdisplay.php@ s\Mdayspr(ne\Mf\"4, ! D!%D!;W "9' <n Death Is No >&stacle Moorcock reprises the process of devising the .orneli(s +ooks as a 6hole, e3plaining * B< conceived it as a faceted str(ct(re, like a diamond, 6ith a lot of different planes, planes 6hich can +e seen thro(gh other planes. The 6hole /(artet 6as meant to +e integrated, like planes in a prism. The reason < said PThe novels may +e read in any orderQJand pro+a+ly thatCs not a good ideaF

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4; MoorcockCs m(ltiverse has +oth politically anarchist content and an anarchic aesthetic. <t stands anarchically against the concept of monoc(lt(res,

cele+rating the interaction of m(ltiple 6orld vie6s, e3pressing MoorcockCs desire to see an end to centricism Kphallocentricism, ethnocentricismL in favo(r of e/(ality and pl(rality. The m(ltiverse has th(s developed into a means for asserting his anarchist politics in an aesthetic medi(m. <t allo6s him to retain +oth -ealist narratives, 6here alternate historical perspectives can +e offered 6ithin the mode of the dominant literary disco(rses of historiographic fiction, in parallel 6ith his interests in 0(rrealism as an anarchic aesthetic of resistance. The m(ltiverse is a practical tool for holding +oth approaches together as of potentially e/(al val(e* as alternate B(niversesC they share the m(ltiverse on an e/(al plane. Moorcock descri+es the m(ltiverse as +eing dependent on a Bcosmic +alanceC and this +alance is directly analogo(s to his vision of anarchism, something not affiliated to la6 or chaos +(t nat(rally prod(ced thro(gh the +alance +et6een themF the form of the m(ltiverse stands for MoorcockCs strategy of pl(ralistic dialog(e, dialectical progression, thro(gh negotiation and de+ate, and it f(nctions as the techni/(e thro(gh 6hich he maintains its process in his fiction. These approaches to pl(ralism and dialectical progression and strong opposition to a(thoritarian centrism are the (nifying methods of leftist fantasy 6hich < 6ill identify in +oth s(+tly and radically changing manifestations in the 6riting of Angela .arter, Alan Moore, >rant Morrison and .hina Mi5ville. These 6riters all engage e3plicitly 6ith left 6ing politics thro(gh their fantastic fictionsF each (ses a com+ination of pop(lar or generic motifs and te3t(al strategies alongside theoretical

<Cd prefer to remove that remark no6, +(t itCs on the Eacket of the latest paper+ack editionJ6as that < tho(gh at the time that they sho(ld all +e transparent to each other.CJMoorcock in >reenland Death Is No >&stacle, pp. ;7J;9.

Mark P. Williams

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;! literalisation to prod(ce avant1garde effects 6ithin their 6riting dra6ing (pon the heritage of anarchic avant1garde aesthetics s(ch as 0(rrealism in diverse 6ays.

Cha&ter ($o: Angela Carter)s Surrealist Political Aesthetic!

0: Situating Carter This chapter considers Angela .arter as a 0(rrealist, an arg(ment e3tended from Hichola PitchfordCs verdict that .arterCs fiction demonstrates her strong political inclinations +eca(se Bit is impossi+le to separate fantasy from pragmatism, s(+stance from style, or old stories from ne6 versions if one is to (nderstand the real political po6er of fictions.C"97 ?o6 then, is political commitment, s(ch as a feminist stance, to +e located in respect to 0(rrealism in the 6riting of Angela .arter and ho6 are 6e to sit(ate her 6ritings 6ithin a contin((m of other 6riters@ As ever, the /(estion remains the same as that asked +y the Left 2eview in the early t6entieth1cent(ry* 6hat is the most effective or appropriate 6ay to e3press radical political ideas 6ithin an aesthetic medi(m@F sho(ld these ideas +e e3plored 6ith a meas(re of distance or e3pressed more directly in overtly political terms@F sho(ld formal considerations or BcontentC +e privileged in political fiction@ This chapter e3amines ho6 the aesthetic of 0(rrealism in .arter is linked to left radical politics, specifically ho6 it connects her 0ocialist and feminist perspectives.

"97

Pitchford, Hichola, BAngela .arterC Kpp. %!;J !L from $ Companion to the +ritish an! Irish Novel 98=C.K::: ed. Arian W. 0haffer K:3ford* Alack6ell, !!'L, p. %"$.

Mark P. Williams

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;" .arol Mc>(irk, revie6ing three separate +ooks on .arter for Science 'iction Stu!ies, demonstrates the pro+lematic nat(re of descri+ing .arterCs 6ork 6ith a series of /(eries on ho6 to locate .arter* <s she +est approached thro(gh her ideas or thro(gh her imagesJ i.e., her +y t(rns gothic and festive representations of the +ody@ <s she a philosopher or a gadfly@ <s she tragic or comic, postmodern or s(rreal or realistic@ Are 6e +eing invited to a l(stily transgressive carnival or a grim and decadent mas/(erade@ Did .arter 6rite fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, feminist polemic, or anti1feminist polemic@ The ans6er is Ies."99 The distinctions Mc>(irk esta+lishes Kand finds (nresolved in all three +ooks (nder revie6L are all /(estions of 6hether .arterCs prose is Baesthetically distancedC and ironic, or BcommittedC, (nironically, to an emancipatory politics. <t is perhaps so diffic(lt to define .arterCs 6ork as a corp(s +eca(se it maps a series of shifts 6hich are themselves related to 6ider shifts in the interests of the WomenCs Movement and the historical development of feminism. <n her anthology charting the development of )eminism and the WomenCs Movement,0HL5 0LI5 0II4 'rom Women0s Li&eration to 'eminism K";44L, Amanda 0e+estyen descri+es some of the diffic(lties of definition she enco(ntered in trying to collate a set of histories 6ithin a feminist frame6ork. <n the process she offers a very (sef(l distinction* <n the co(rse of ! years, WomenCs ,i+eration has thro6n (p its 6aves of opposition. )irst les+ian 6omen, then 6orking1class 6omen, then Alack, then 6omen 6ith disa+ilities have changed the movement that they Eoined. Io( co(ld call these gro(ps the official opposition, the political conscience. There has to +e an unofficial opposition, event(ally voting 6ith their feet N#.O Most are not e31feminists, even less post1feminists, more 6hat < once 6rote a+o(t as gra!uate feminists* Bthat moment 6hen a 6oman shifts from +eing feminist1as1noun Kradical feministD socialist
"99

Mc>(irk, .arol, BAngelaCs AshesC a revie6 of three +ooks on .arter from Science 'iction Stu!ies R9;, vol. 7 part $, Hovem+er ";;; online at* http*DD666.depa(6.ed(DsfsDrevie6sXpagesDr9;.htmRcarol, "$D!$D !!4.

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; feministD les+ian feministL to feminist1as1a!Eective* feminist academic, feminist 6riter, feminist therapist.C"94 When considering the 6ork of Angela .arter as a politically engaged 6riter it is important to note that her 6riting demonstrates some of the same characteristics of this B(nofficial oppositionC 6ithin the history of feminism* the shift from feminist1as1 no(n K0ocialist feministL to feminist1as1adEective, 6hich, 0e+estyen arg(es, occ(rs 6hen feminism +ecomes an integral part of the 6ork of the 6riterDartistDactivist 6ithin a 6ide critical vision of contemporary society. < s(ggest that .arterCs fictions

thematise these shifts thro(gh the relations +et6een her characters, and that 6e can locate her as feminist 0(rrealistF she demonstrates her feminist leanings 6ithin a process of 0(rrealist r(pt(re 6ith the BgenericC modes she employs 6ithin her te3ts. H(mero(s other commentators have disc(ssed the relation of specific .arter te3ts to the imagery of the 0(rrealists and to the ideas of 0(rrealism* from 0(e -oeCs BThe Disorder of Love4 Angela .arterCs 0(rrealist .ollageC and 0(san -(+in 0(leimanCs BThe )ate of the 0(rrealist <magination in the 0ociety of the 0pectacleC K'lesh an! the Mirror ed. 0age, ";;%LF to more contemporary conference papers on B-e1reading 0(rrealism Thro(gh Angela .arter* The 'emme)enfant Tears Thro(gh the Te3tC K.atriona McAra, BThe )airy Tale After Angela .arterC, !!;L comparing key images from Angela .arterCs +loo!" Cham&er K";9;L 6ith Dorothea TanningCs 0(rrealist novel Chasm4 $ Wee-en! K !!%L, first p(+lished as $&"ss K";99L. :ther scholars have dra6n attention to lost or forgotten links +et6een .arter and the 0(rrealists, s(ch as Anna Wat= of Uppsala University 6ho tells (s that in ";9 .arter 6as contracted to translate ]avi5re >a(thierCs SurrGalisme et Se ualitG K";9"L and

"94

0e+estyen, Amanda, /(oting her article from New Socialist KDecem+er, ";47L in 0HL5 0LI5 0II4 'rom Women0s Li&eration to 'eminism ed. Amanda 0e+estyen KAridport, Dorset* Prism Press, ";44L, p. ; .

Mark P. Williams

;$ did so, the final te3t never emerging for eval(ation."9; There are ample indications of contin(o(s interactions +et6een .arter and 0(rrealism, and if 6e take into acco(nt certain redefinitions of 0(rrealism as a specifically political and emancipatory aesthetic, an arg(ment for6arded vario(sly in The Surrealist Min! K";;"L5 The #enres an! #en!ers of Surrealism K";;;L and +y the editors of Surrealism $gainst the Current K !!"L, 6e can revie6 the 6hole of .arterCs corp(s in light of her varying engagements 6ith 0(rrealism in her anti1realist and fantastic fictions, and see ho6 this might +e (nified 6ith .arterCs political interests. .arterCs left 6ing political stance is 6ell doc(mented, from her famo(s (tterances s(ch as* B<Cm a 0ocialist damn itU ?o6 can yo( e3pect me to +e interested in fairies@C K";4%"4!L to her placing of socialist rhetoric in the mo(ths of incongr(o(s characters s(ch as :+eron, king of the )airies in > Come Anto These ,ellow San!s K";9;L. Aeca(se she insists on the interpenetration of political and aesthetic interests her 6ork m(st +e considered in respect to a tradition of politically engaged literat(re. Moorcock is a (sef(l comparison* .arter shares +oth historical ties and fictional interests 6ith MoorcockF she is from a similar area of ,ondon and is of the same generation. ,ike Moorcock, she demonstrates an a+iding interest in pop(lar

literat(res as a c(lt(ral manifestation of the interests of 6orking class, +ohemian and yo(th c(lt(res. .arter employs the generic modes of pop(lar fiction and mass c(lt(re thro(gho(t her 6ork to enter into a political dialog(e 6ith c(lt(re as a 6hole, +y e3ploring ho6 its fringes are form(lated in respect to its centres. Unlike Moorcock she is /(ick to demonstrate scepticism and offer criti/(e of the fringes* 6here he often spreads his critical messages over a n(m+er of te3ts, d(e to developing his techni/(e
"9;

Wat=, Anna, BAngela .arter and SurrGalisme et Se ualitGC the Modern )iction Het6orkCs conference on Angela .arter at Horthampton University, 8(ne !!;, see Anna Wat= BAngela .arter and ]avi5re >a(theirCs SurrGalisme et Se ualitGC Contemporar" Women0s Writing K0ep, !!;L. "4! ?arron, Mary intervie6ing .arter for The #uar!ian K 'th 0ept, ";4%L, p. "!.

Mark P. Williams

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;% within a pop(list, p(lp milie(, .arter concentrates her critical techni/(es, starting from a distanced position, outsi!e the BgenericC modes she is engaging 6ith. ?er 6ork appears to +egin from a position 6hich implicitly favo(rs an aesthetically distanced perspective over a politically committed one, yet she seeks to close do6n the distance in other 6ays, actively em+racing genre techni/(es for specific p(rposesF this immediately s(ggests a critical relationship 6ith postmodernism.

%: Post"odernis" and Magic Realis" Where then does Angela .arterCs 6ork stand in respect to postmodernism@ >iven that she has often +een disc(ssed as +elonging to postmodernist categories s(ch as magic realism, is her relationship 6ith postmodernism less pro+lematic or critical@ As 6e have seen, MoorcockCs stance in respect to postmodernism is necessarily a hesitant one, since he is committed to the emancipatory metanarrative of anarchism. < s(ggest that .arterCs stance is e/(ally ca(tio(s and that, in fact, postmodernism is a pro+lem 6hich she engages 6ith thro(gh her 6ork* the fictions of .arterCs 6hich have +een most often descri+ed as postmodernist are in fact negotiations &etween the intellect(al imp(lses identified as postmodernism and other politically committed positions. < resist the tendency in literary criticism to place .arter 6ithin a tradition of Bmagic realismC derived from Aorges and Mar/(e= +eca(se in claiming .arterCs 6riting as a BAritish versionC of magic realism there is a distinct tendency to6ards K(nintentionallyL e3oticising the magic realist tradition in the act of appropriating it, 6hich 6orks against the postcolonial criti/(e of m(ch magic realist fiction. Postcolonialism is cr(cial to (nderstanding magic realism in conte3tF Maggie Ann Ao6ersC +ook MagicMalN 2ealism gives a rehearsal of the critical stance of postcolonial magic realism as follo6s* Mark P. Williams ;%

;' The <ndian critic G(m G(m 0angari proposes that the magical realist attack on dominant c(lt(re and its a(thoritative version of the tr(th act(ally provides a ne6 and more Bcomprehensive mode of referentialityC K";49* "7$ N"4"OL. Ay this she means that it provides a ne6 6ay of (nderstanding categories 6itho(t having to rely on a+sol(te tr(th or fi3ed definitions. This point of vie6 is shared +y many critics of magical realism 6ho recognise that +y +reaking do6n the notion of an a+sol(te tr(th, and a sing(lar version of reality, magical realism allo6s for the possi+ility of many tr(ths to e3ist sim(ltaneo(sly. "4 <n this instance, the tr(ths 6hich co1e3ist are the contrary metanarratives of colonising and colonised c(lt(res. The pro+lem 6ith this perspective 6hen it applies to Western1 orientated +ooks is that it can still perpet(ate a tacit :rientalism* it incidentally p(ts for6ard the implication that inserting magical elements into -ealism is more Ba(thenticC &ecause it is non1Western. <t is +ased (pon an ass(mption that the -ealist genre is inherently normatively Western KmetaphysicallyL and that the incl(sion of the fantastic 6ithin it is therefore a(tomatically s(+versive of this. Moreover, BmagicC is, in this schema, considered intrinsically progressive in a 6ay that an e3perimental Modernist or 0(rrealist frame of reference, or other genre fiction techni/(es, 6o(ld not +e +eca(se of their association 6ith E(ropean Kor E(rocentricL art. 0(rrealism and the +orro6ing of genre fiction tropes are tacitly ass(med to +e e/(ally +o(nd to modernity and to Western metaphysics and therefore less a(thentic positions from 6hich to /(estion the validity of Western val(esF this is pro+lematic. The introd(ction of BmagicC +ecomes codified as an e3oticising gest(re complicit in ideology despite the fact that this is e3actly the reverse of its intent. <n this conte3t the presence of pre1literate c(lt(ral traditions s(cc(m+s to a de1 politicisation 6here the BmagicC of Bmagic realismC is cons(med as an a(thentic novelty characteristic of a non1Western perspective Kdespite the a(dience for novels in

"4" "4

0angari, G(m G(m, BThe Politics of the Possi+leC, Cultural Criti6ue, 9, )all, pp. "'9147 Ao6ers, Maggie Ann, MagicMalN 2ealism K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, !!%L, p. 9".

Mark P. Williams

;'

;7 general +eing predominantly Western orientatedL, and appears primarily as a market1 category* local colo(r, minority interest. This tension can disr(pt the f(nctions

ascri+ed to magic realism, even in the process of asserting it, and it is precisely s(ch thinking that .arterCs 6riting e3plicitly opposes. :n the comparison +et6een her 6ork and >a+riel >arcia Mar/(e=, .arter comments in intervie6 6ith 8ohn ?affenden that Bthe kinds of social forces 6hich prod(ce a 6riter like Mar/(e= are in fact very different from those that prod(ced, say, meC."4$ 0he ref(ses the concept(al conflation of her o6n 6ork 6ith that of a magic realist tradition, saying B6e donCt have an illiterate and s(perstitio(s peasantry 6ith a very rich heritage of a+str(se fictional materialC in Aritain and Horth Western E(rope, BNoO(r literary heritage is a kind of folkloreC."4% ?er fictions concentrate on the social forces that prod(ced

herself* .arter criti/(es those social forces from 6ithin (sing the traditions of literary fiction 6hich most clearly e3press the (nderlying social character as she sees it, foc(ssing on the Bmoment 6hen things of 6hich yo( have a theoretical kno6ledge act(ally start to apply to oneselfC."4' To place .arterCs 6ork into a Bmagic realistC tradition 6o(ld +e to place it into a field of kno6ledge 6here magic is pres(med to operate co(nter to the materialist concerns of her fiction rather than as a metaphor for e3pressing a materialist criti/(e of her o6n society. The distinction is importantF it reorientates ho6 6e might receive .arterCs relationships 6ith other modes of fiction in terms of category resistance and category invocation 6ithin her 6ritings. Anne ?egerfeldtCs introd(ction to Lies That Tell the Truth4 Magical 2ealism Seen Through Contemporar" 'iction from +ritain

"4$

.arter in ?affenden, 8ohn, Kpp. 971;7L Novelists in Interview K,ondon and He6 Iork* Meth(en, ";4'L, p. 4". "4% <+id., pp. 4"J . "4' <+id. , p. 94.

Mark P. Williams

;7

;9 e3plains that her approach to the /(estion of category is +ased on the conE(nction of literary effects 6hich Bgive rise to magic realismCs typical feat(resC* K"L magic realismCs adaptation of other genres and modesF K L its (se of e31centric focalisersF K$L its criti/(es of paradigms of kno6ledge prod(ctionF K%L its inversion of the Western categories of BrealC and BfantasticCF and K'L strategies of literali=ation. <t 6ill +e seen that these techni/(es, 6hile on the s(rface /(ite dissimilar, act(ally are complementary, each contri+(ting to the postcolonial proEect that is central to magic realist fiction."47 The three categories of ?egerfeldtCs 6hich can +e most directly applied to .arterCs 6ork are* Be31centric focali=ersC, Bstrategies of literali=ationC and Bcriti/(es of paradigms of kno6ledge prod(ctionC. These feat(res are present in .arterCs 6ork in 6ays 6hich are not BmagicKalL realistC nor BpostcolonialC +(t are associated 6ith a recognisa+le historical criti/(e of the avant1garde, specifically, 0(rrealism and its affliation 6ith contemporary 0) and fantasy. )rom an avant1gardist perspective the Badaptation of other genres and modesC and inverting the BWestern categories of PrealQ and PfantasticQC are +oth part of the same overall proEect, +ringing a+o(t revol(tionary tho(ght thro(gh E(3taposition and defamiliarisation Kostranenie9ILL* 6e can identify this imp(lse from Arecht to Areton and their follo6ers, and also thro(gh Darko 0(vinCs conception of Bcognitive estrangementC 6ithin 0) and fantasy. The idea of BE31centricityC is important to +oth aesthetic and political avant1gardes* (psetting the definitions of the centre re/(ires a foc(s on the marginal. <t is a point >ayatri 0pivak makes in her comparison of the Bdeep str(ct(resC of Mar3ism, )re(dianism and feminism in terms of their shared emphasis on the importance of the latent content of lang(age and c(lt(re KB)eminism and .ritical

"47

?egerfeldt, Anne .., Lies That Tell the Truth4 Magical 2ealism Seen Through Contemporar" 'iction from +ritain KHe6 Iork and Amsterdam* -odopi, !!'L, p. 7. "49 2iktor 0hklovsky /(oted in Darko 0(vin, B:n the Poetics of the 0cience )iction >enreC in Science 'iction ed. Mark -ose KEngle6ood .liffs, H8* Prentice1?all, <nc., ";97L, p. 7!.

Mark P. Williams

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;4 TheoryC"44L. )rom this idea 0pivak theorises that the history of critical theory

indicates that it is primarily from marginalised positions that the c(lt(ral centre can +e effectively criti/(ed. ?egerfeldt arg(es that a defining characteristic of magic realism is the Bm(ltiple encoding of marginalityC thro(gh Bthe rec(rring com+ination of the female gender 6ith t6o other traditionally recognisa+le categories of the marginal* the physical a+normality and an affiliation 6ith the 6orld of entertainment K varietG, the circ(sLC 6hich are highly visi+le in .arterCs 6ork."4; < arg(e that .arterCs (se of m(ltiply1encoded marginality follo6s a similar Bdeep str(ct(ralC path to 0pivak, dramatising a conflict +et6een vario(s forms of Bincred(lity to6ards metanarrativesC K,yotardL, +oth intellect(al and anti1intellect(al, and +et6een vario(s perm(tations of Mar3ian criti/(e, all of 6hich .arter treats ironically. This might +e regarded as similar to ,inda ?(tcheonCs description of postmodern irony as that 6hich irred(ci+ly s(+vertsF 6here non1postmodern irony is +ased on the implied s(periority of a transcendent s(+Eect position Kone 6ho is (ltimately kno6ingL* BNpOostmodern irony is s(spicio(s of any s(ch claim to transcendence, (niversality and po6erC.";! Altho(gh +oth forms of irony rely on self1refle3ive distancing, ?(tcheon arg(es that postmodern irony does not seek to resolve or transcend the contradictions it foregro(nds, avoiding aesthetic clos(re in its e3position of the BdisE(nctiveC. <n the process postmodernism can +e said to avoid actively e3pressing an" positive position 6itho(t irony, a political criti/(e of its po6er common among modern Mar3ists and feminists. ?(tcheon demonstrates an a6areness this pro+lem, 6riting* Bpostmodern irony is the str(ct(ral recognition that disco(rse today cannot avoid ackno6ledging its
"44

0pivak, >ayatri .hakravorty, B)eminism and .ritical TheoryC Kpp. %97J;$L in Mo!ern Criticism an! Theor"4 $ 2ea!er, N0econd EditionO ed. David ,odge and Higel Wood K,ondon* ,ongman, !!! N";44OL. "4; ?egerfeldt, Lies That Tell the Truth, pp. " 719. ";! ?(tcheon, ,inda, BThe Po6er of Postmodern <ronyC from #enre5 Trope5 #en!er4 Critical Essa"s &" Northrop 'r"e5 Lin!a Hutcheon an! Shirle" Neuman K:tta6a, .anada* .arleton University Press, ";; L, p. $'.

Mark P. Williams

;4

;; sit(ation in the 6orld it represents* ironyCs criti/(e, in other 6ords, 6ill al6ays +e at least some6hat complicito(s 6ith the dominants it contests +(t 6ithin 6hich it cannot help e3istingC.";" The most significant pro+lem of postmodern irony is the one 6hich she ackno6ledges as the maEor criticism from +oth Mar3ist and feminist positions, B6hether this Plightness of tho(ghtf(lnessQ can go +eyond the desta+ilising and dismantling to constr(ct something ne6C."; <n Postmo!ern 2evisionings of the Political, Anna Ieatman goes f(rther, stating that the fo(ndations of feminism and postmodernism are firmly +ased 6ithin the str(ct(res of representation they offer criti/(e of* (niversal li+eralism and Enlightenment reason. <n +eing dependent on concepts of Bthe val(e of individ(al self1determination and its relationship to the self1determining properties of the citi=en comm(nity or polityC these principles m(st +e ca(tio(s to avoid (ndermining their o6n position. ";$ 0he 6rites that Bthe hallmark of a postmodern emancipatory politics is taken to +e its insistence that meaning, tr(th, identity, right and comm(nity are all val(es that lie within a politics of representationC and that this sho(ld +e a step to6ards making a practical, positive change.";% )ollo6ing these perspectives <

s(ggest that .arterCs novels are predicated on 6riting an immanent criti/(e of the c(lt(ral forms 6hich +ecame kno6n as BpostmodernismC, dra6ing on a history of politically committed positions 6hile ackno6ledging that the formation of her o6n criticism in the post1";7!s critical theoretical frame6ork is necessarily +o(nd to repeat a n(m+er of the same characteristics of BpostmodernityC. As Patricia Wa(gh 6rites, B.arterCs resistance to a f(lly postmodern semiosis 6as al6ays +ased in her recognition that 6itho(t an identity gro(nded in Pe3periences of the +odyQ, even one
";" ";

?(tcheon, BPostmodern <ronyC, p. $7. ?(tcheon, BPostmodern <ronyC, p. %'. ";$ Ieatman, Anna, BPrefaceC to Postmo!ern 2evisionings of the Political K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";;%L, p. 3. ";% <+id.

Mark P. Williams

;;

"!! fract(red +y differences of race, class, se3(ality, and ethnicity, feminism co(ld hardly s(rvive as a political movement of solidarity among 6omen.C ";' < +elieve that .arter recognises postmodernismCs dominance as a set of techni/(es, +(t 6hile (sing the same frame of reference, does not 6holly accept BpostmodernismC as a critical tactic, offering instead a ret(rn to a politically committed approach. .arter (ses dialectical e3changes +et6een postmodernist techni/(es and approaches 6hich maintain the political metanarrative of emancipation and < arg(e that these correspond to the dialectic of imagination and materialism em+edded in 0(rrealism. David P(nter offers a description of the dialectical formations 6ithin .arterCs fictions in his essay on BAngela .arterCs Magic -ealismC. Despite P(nterCs title < contend that the aesthetic P(nter is act(ally descri+ing is not magical realism +(t 0(rrealism. P(nterCs reading of .arter sei=es on moments 6ithin her fictions 6here characters (ndergo crises of realisation a+o(t the overdetermined nat(re of their o6n e3istence. ?e arg(es that s(ch moments for characters lead to

corresponding readerly moments and th(s form an important part of .arterCs political engagement. At these moments, .arterCs te3ts present 6orlds 6here everything is a plen(m of contradictory metanarratives al6ays already too f(ll of contradictory histories and meanings in the form of stories. These moments present sim(ltaneo(sly a 6orld of ill(sions and trickery, lang(age and mind games, 6hile also saying that everything in her fictions remains e3actly as it seems* image is essence. This is a critical adaptation of 0(rrealist (se of fantasy* contradictory images reflect a greater contradiction of essence. P(nter 6rites that her fiction demonstrates some of the death of affect fo(nd in postmodernist and B+lank generationC 6riting KP(nter refers to

";'

Wa(gh, Patricia, BThe Woman Writer and the .ontin(ities of )eminismC from Contemporar" +ritish 'iction K:3ford* Alack6ell, !!7L, p. ";'.

Mark P. Williams

"!!

"!" Aret Easton EllisC #lamoramaL 6hile e3hi+iting an o+session 6ith meaning and detail* What .arter is saying here is, perhaps, of a piece 6ith NtheO fear of c(lt(ral red(ctivism Nof #lamoramaO. To +e e3actly 6hat it seems, the 6orld 6o(ld have to stand +et6een s(ch red(ction Nto BWhat yo( see is 6hat yo( getCO and the manic roaring in the ears of vertigo, of +eing e3posed to Btoo many rosesCN.arter, B,ady of the ?o(se of ,oveCOF a +alance 6o(ld have to +e str(ck on this diffic(lt, geometry1defying terrain. A(t if everything is Be3actly as it seemsC, 6hy 6o(ld this sim(ltaneo(sly imply that 6e are trapped in ill(sions@ Aeca(se, to (se the most o+vio(s key from .arterCs o6n 6ork, 6e have to r(n the tricky co(rse +et6een admitting the (nyieldingness of the 6oods, the immova+le fi3ity of the castle on the one hand, and on the other the ceaseless restlessness of desireF 6hich may +e ill(sion +(t nevertheless makes the 6orld go ro(nd N.O";7

P(nter is descri+ing a distinctly Alth(sserian sense of materialism 6ithin the fantastic elements of .arterCs prose 6hich is orientated sim(ltaneo(sly to6ards t6o loci* )irst, an e3ternalised perspective, e3posing the linkages of economic, political and ideological practices as an act(ally e3isting real 6orld, independent of s(+Eective e3perienceF second, a perspective, employing psychoanalysis and an emphasis on s(+Eectivity, 6hich insists on the po6er of fantasy to shape the real and to invest it 6ith meaning. These t6o loci, (nderpinning .arterCs fictions, are also part of the central de+ates of feminism 6ith the left in the ";9!s, as the contri+(tors to Papers on Patriarch"4 Conference Lon!on 98LH indicate +y referring e3plicitly to Alth(sser in artic(lating a need for feminism to form(late an ideological criti/(e of the Bacceptance of patriarchal oppression as nat(ral N6ithO alternative e3planations of it as socially determinedC to open (p an imaginative space for 6hat gendered relations might +ecome, alongside an o+Eective criti/(e of ho6 they act(ally e3ist. ";9 ?ard1
";7

P(nter, David, BAngela .arterCs Magic -ealismC, The Contemporar" +ritish Novel ed. 8ames Acheson and 0arah ..E. -oss KEdin+(rgh* Edin+(rgh University Press, !!'L, p. '9. ";9 ?immel6eit, 0(san, Tomlin, Allison and McGen=ie, Margaret, opening statements of the WomenCs P(+lishing .ollective, Papers on Patriarch"4 Conference Lon!on 98LH KArighton* WP., N";97O ";94L, p."J .

Mark P. Williams

"!"

"! headed critical vision and e3perimental creative 6himsy are clearly co1e3istent in .arterCs 6ritingF in 0(rrealism they are similarly intimately related. .arterCs engagement 6ith +oth the imaginary potential offered +y fantasy and 6ith the o+Eective relations of the 6orld sim(ltaneo(sly, are aspects of her political perspective as seen thro(gh E(3taposition and the mi3ing of registers and images. :ne of the key characteristics of .arterCs 6ork can th(s +e said to +e an interest in collage 6hich dra6s directly on 0(rrealism in +oth imagery and conceptsF for Annette 0handler ,evitt BThe m(ltiplicity16ithin1(nity of collageC makes it the ideal metaphor for grasping the essence of 0(rrealism. 0he 6rites that the

Be3perimentation of the avant1garde in Paris d(ring the first decades of this Nt6entieth1Ocent(ry, as 6ell as its 6illingness to +reak r(les, to mi3 media and genres, moods and techni/(esC formed a (nifying aesthetic* BPN(Onderlying all 0(rrealist art N#O is the collage aestheticQC.";4 0ignificantly, ,evitt concl(des that the only 6ay to contin(e the 0(rrealist tradition is to s(+vert it, s(ggesting that* N<Of it +ecomes more and more diffic(lt to create ill(sion KBill(sion is no longer possi+le, +eca(se the real is no longer possi+le,C says 8ean Aa(drillardL or to tell the difference +et6een ill(sion and reality N#O then it seems logical for artists of daring 6ho (nderstand the tradition to make (se of N0(rrealismO to dissect and, in part, to parody itself.";; Altho(gh this statement is open to some criti/(e it e3presses a certain dissatisfaction 6ith the e3isting modes of (nderstanding relations +et6een postmodernity and postmodernism, and 6ith the 6ays that Bs(+versionC can +ecome accepted as commonplace 6itho(t +eing consideredF the avant1garde is contin(o(s aesthetic revol(tion. <t characterises the discontents of postmodernism, some of 6hich have +een dealt 6ith in chapter one and more 6ill +e disc(ssed in s(+se/(ent chapters, +(t
";4

,evitt, Annette 0handler, The #enres an! #en!ers of Surrealism KAasingstoke* Macmillan, ";;;L, p. "!. ";; ,evitt, #enres an! #en!ers of Surrealism, pp. "$%J$'.

Mark P. Williams

"!

"!$ 6hat is of interest here is the 6ay that .arterCs approach to 0(rrealism as fantasy manifests in her novels thro(gh a process of s(+version and dialectical self1 interrogation similar to that 6hich 0handler ,evitt identifies as cr(cial to its efficacy as an avant1garde form. 0arah >am+le 6rites that* <n an intervie6 cond(cted in ";99, ,orna 0age /(otes .arterCs description of The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman as the first +ook in a trilogy of Bspec(lative novelsC, the second vol(me of 6hich 6as The Passion of New Eve. ?o6ever, as Elaine 8ordan points o(t, the third vol(me of this s(pposed BtrilogyC 6as either never 6ritten, or remained p(rposely am+ig(o(s. !!

)or all its am+ig(o(s relation to them, < arg(e that the third +ook of this spec(lative trilogy, 6hich completes the dialectical movement, is Nights at the Circus, 6hich +rings to f(lfilment some of the 0(rrealist ideas of The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman and The Passion of New Eve.

%%! Surrealis": %dentifying the Political Aesthetic We m(st no6 (nderstand 0(rrealismCs claims to6ard +eing a politically emancipatory mode. The prolific art critic and anarchist ?er+ert -ead em+raced 0(rrealism as the f(llest e3tension of his o6n left political interests availa+le in the aesthetic arena. ?e descri+ed the 0(rrealist imp(lse in Mar3ian materialist terms, stating that* 0(rrealism is the only movement in modern art o(tside -(ssia 6hich* has an aesthetic em+racing every manifestation of the creative imp(lse, +reaks 6ith every convention of +o(rgeois academic art,

!! >am+le, 0arah, The 'iction of $ngela Carter4 $ 2ea!er0s #ui!e to Essential Criticism K.am+ridge* <con Aooks ,td., !!"L, p 9".

Mark P. Williams

"!$

"!% claims to +e the only tr(e application of the principles of dialectical materialism. !"

-ead favo(rs 0(rrealismCs 6ide1ranging approach to the f(nction of Art as something 6hich is concerned 6ith striving constantly to6ards the f(llest possi+le e3pression of the stat(s of +eing in the 6orld, hence its claim to +e the Bonly tr(e application of the principles of dialectical materialismC. <t emphasises the importance of the internal and e3ternal 6orld +eing (nderstood together as a totality of h(man e3perience. )or -ead, 0(rrealism aims to e3press ho6 +oth rational and non1rational elements of the h(man mind can operate together to provide an emancipated 6ay of life. 8. ?. Matthe6s arg(es that Bthe s(rrealist mindC finds the pinnacle of its e3pression in a p(re e3pression of d(ality* sim(ltaneo(sly Bself1refle3ive 6hilst nevertheless seeking to devise and implement e3tra1 or anti1refle3ive creative methodsC, designated +y Matthe6s as the BantirationalC, and 6hich operates in constant, (nsettling dialog(e 6ith the rational.
!

<n the 0(rrealist tradition, to

Matthe6s, the opposite of the rational +ecomes the Banti1rationalCF it is not the lack of rationality, the irrational, +(t the conscio(s e3ploration of 6hat lies +eyond the scope of the rational, i.e., the fantastic in the imagination is also the fantastic in reality. <n this sense, 0(rrealism is something 6hich is al6ays 6orking to find and engage 6ith that 6hich is B+eyondC the p(rvie6 of the immediately real thro(gh fantastic 6orlds or estranged vie6s of the e3isting 6orld and thro(gh in/(iry into the modes of e3pression of other c(lt(res. 0(rrealism is historically concerned 6ith (nderstanding the

perspectives offered +y different c(lt(res on its o6n materialist theoryF this manifests
!" !

-ead, ?er+ert, B0(rrealismJThe Dialectic of ArtC, University of East Anglia photocopy. Matthe6s, 8. ?., The Surrealist Min! K,ondon and Toronto* Associated University Press, ";;"L, pp. %1$!.

Mark P. Williams

"!%

"!' as an interest in ho6 other c(lt(res descri+s the relationship +et6een the rational and anti1rational aspects of s(+Eective e3perience, something disc(ssed +y a n(m+er of commentators in 2efusal of the Sha!ow4 Surrealism an! the Cari&&ean Ked. Michael -ichardsonL. The 0(rrealists themselves descri+e their attempt to find a B+eyondC in terms of BspiritC, 6here the term can act as a catch1all for +oth sec(lar and non1sec(lar meaningsF deriving some of their ideas from ?egel, this (se of the term implies a parity 6ith the translations of BgeistC as something potentially (nresolvea+le as BmindC or BspiritC, 6here it can also stand for the materialist conception of a historical idea that has reached its apogee. -(th AraddonCs lengthy and comprehensive +iography Surreal Lives K !!!L, opens 6ith the description of ho6 the term B0(rrealismC 6as coined +y >(illa(me Apollinaire aro(nd ";"9 Kaltho(gh he (sed it earlier, it 6as not yet definedL as a for6ard1looking description for Bthe He6 0pirit no6 a+roadCF its description a prod(ct of BApollinaireCs /(enchless appetite for the ne6C,
!$

6here it

implies that 0(rrealism is the 1eitgeist or spirit of the age as 6ell as all(ding to Mar3Cs famo(s opening of The Communist Manifesto 6here he 6rites that BNaO spectre is ha(nting E(ropeJthe spectre of .omm(nismC.
!%

Araddon goes on to s(ggest that

this appetite received relatively little 6elcome in the )rench c(lt(re of the time, s(ffering as it 6as (nder the shado6 of the )irst World War. This sceptical and distant reception of 0(rrealism is one 6hich .arterCs o6n descriptions of 0(rrealism tend to6ards miming* a cele+ration of its revol(tionary potential +(t then a 6ithdra6al from its Be3cessC, she sees in it the po6er of revol(tionary desire +(t interrogates it from a feminist perspective.
Araddon, -(th, Surreal Lives4 The Surrealists 989L.98=C KAasingstoke* PapermacDMacmillan, !!!L, p. "!. !% Mar3, The Communist Manifesto from Jarl Mar 4 Selecte! Writings ed. David Mc,ellan K:3ford* :3ford University Pres, ";99L, p. ".
!$

Mark P. Williams

"!'

"!7

%%%: Fe"inis" ersus Surrealis" ?o6 does 0(rrealism relate to feminism@ Penelope -osemont 6rites on this s(+Eect in the introd(ction to her anthology, Surrealist Women K";;4L* Unlike most t6entieth&cent(ry c(lt(ral and political c(rrents, the 0(rrealist Movement has al6ays opposed overt as 6ell as !e facto segregation along racial, ethnic or gender lines. )rom the very first iss(e of La 2evolution surrGaliste, movement p(+lications have feat(red 6ritings +y 6omen alongside those of their male comrades N#.O As one perceptive commentator has pointed o(t, BHo compara+le movement o(tside specifically feminist organi=ations has had s(ch a high proportion of active 6omen participantsC. !'

There is a pro+lem here* despite the assertion of the egalitarianism of the 0(rrealists it can +e noted from the vol(me of 6ritings on 0(rrealism that many critics perceive it to +e a primarily male1orientated or male1centred mode, either +eca(se of the preponderance of disc(ssions of Areton, Ar(nel, Ernst, T=ara and others 6hich sit(ate them as central artists, or +eca(se of e3cess emphasis on certain marginal male fig(res. The case of Arta(d is partic(larly telling as an e3ample* Antonin Arta(dCs rep(tation for disr(ptive drama and personal BmadnessC has +een given a certain Ayronic glamo(r in co(nter1c(lt(ral circles 6hich has +een denied to, say, ,eonora .arrington, 6ho also s(ffered from mental illness and had even closer ties to key fig(res like Ma3 Ernst and 6hose 6ritings and art are at least as eclectic and interesting. -osemontCs anthology attempts to demonstrate thro(gh its range and scope of 6ork that this archival fever for centralising the movement aro(nd its most visi+le men 6as not part of 0(rrealist practice, something that the editors of the

!' -osemont, Penelope, <ntrod(ction to Surrealist Women4 $n International $ntholog" K,ondon* The Althone Press, ";;4L, p. 333.

Mark P. Williams

"!7

"!9 anthology Surrealism $gainst the Current conc(r 6ith. !7 They state that the

0(rrealist ideal is Bproteiform, defined not +y 6hat it is +(t 6hat it 6ill +ecome N#.O the 6ill to discover the point at 6hich opposing categories are no longer perceived contradictorily Kthe Ps(preme pointQLC and for the 0(rrealists as a gro(p, the collective egalitarian method 6as essential to this.
!9

The shared thesis of +oth anthologies is

that m(ch 0(rrealist tho(ght and p(+lication 6as gro(nded in the idea of gro(p prod(ction and against emphasis on BcentralC individ(als, sanctioning all 0(rrealist activity primarily in respect to the gro(p as a solidarity movementF as s(ch it 6o(ld +e at the disposal of all mem+ers, internationally and across gender divides. <n .arterCs maEor essay on the 0(rrealists as a gro(p, BThe Alchemy of the WordC, she gives a +rief history of 0(rrealist ideas and her o6n enco(nter 6ith them 6hich reveals m(ch a+o(t her o6n attit(de to art and literat(re. .arter

cele+rating 6onder and pleas(re from a left radical egalitarian perspective, finds 0(rrealism to +e a defining aesthetic* B0(rrealism cele+rated 6onder, the capacity for seeing the 6orld as if for the first timeC +(t in a 6ay 6hich 6as Bnot a naYve 6onderC, +eca(se BNtOhe s(rrealists did not live in naYve timesC, this aesthetic 6as Eoyo(s and radical. !4 Altho(gh she disc(sses them as a historical moment in the development of +oth E(ropean art and, similarly, as a moment of the past in her o6n personal artistic development, the essay s(ggests that theirs is a past 6hich demands e3cavation* The T(rich Dadas cele+rated the end of the 6orld, and of art 6ith it. ?o6ever, the -(ssian -evol(tion of ";"9 s(ggested the end of one 6orld might mark the commencement of another 6orld, one in 6hich h(man +eings themselves might take possession not only of their o6n lives +(t also of their o6n means of e3pressing the reality of that life, i.e. art. <t is possi+le for the tr(e optimist to vie6 the end the 6orld 6ith sang1froid. What is so great a+o(t all this crap@ Might there +e
-ichardson, Michael and )iEalko6ski, Gry=(s=tof KedsL Surrealism $gainst the Current K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!"L. !9 :p. cit, p. 7. !4 .arter, BThe Alchemy of the WordC Kpp. 79J9$L from E pletives Delete!4 selecte! writings K,ondon* .hattoMWind(s, ";; L, p. 79.
!7

Mark P. Williams

"!9

"!4 something +etter@ 0(rrealismCs (nderc(rrent of Eoy, of delight, springs from its faith in h(mankindCs a+ility to recreate itselfF the conviction that str(ggle can +ring something +etter. !; This emphasis on the avant1garde as an end1point 6hich operates also as a ne6 +eginning e3tends implicitly from .arterCs o6n s(pposed closing 6ords on 0(rrealismF her o6n BreEectionC of 0(rrealism, consigning them to her o6n personal history, marks also the +eginning of her (sing them to initiate something ne6. Aeca(se of 0(rrealismCs perceived conception and development +y men and for men Kthe dominating fig(re of Andre Areton seeming to +e centralJsomething more recent commentaries /(estionL, its ina+ility to Brecognise NherO o6n rights to li+erty and love and vision as an a(tonomo(s +eingC, .arter claims she Bgot +ored 6ith it and 6andered a6ayC. "! Iet in her 6ork she ret(rns repeatedly to 0(rrealism, referring to 0(rrealists te3t(ally in most of her maEor 6ork and employing many of their te3t(al devices in transformed g(ise. We can see some trace of ackno6ledgement of that in BThe Alchemy of the WordC, 6here .arter takes the E(3tapositions of the 0(rrealists as the fo(ndation of some of her o6n, finding in them things 6hich can still +e of (se, critical and creative* The s(rrealists soon incorporated Mar3, yet, 6ith digestions like so many +oa constrictors, 6ere greedy for occ(lt phenomena and (tilised a poetic methodology +ased on analogy and inspiration. ""

< read this as indicative that she sa6 something in this tradition 6hich woul! make room for her rights to li+erty and love and vision, if it 6ere adapted s(ita+ly to her o6n interests in the feminist conscio(snessF < arg(e that this is the essence of her

!; "!

<+id. .arter, BAlchemy of the WordC, p. 9$. "" .arter, BAlchemy of the WordC, p. 74.

Mark P. Williams

"!4

"!; engagement 6ith 0(rrealism* contin(ing the proEect +y transforming and (pdating its techni/(es. .arterCs (se of generic narrative forms is central to this.

1: Fro" The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman to The Passion of New Eve: (he alternating currents of Surrealis" .arterCs most 0(rrealist 6ork is that 6hich makes most active (se of generic modes to disE(nctive effectF this manifests in the lang(age and str(ct(res of The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman and The Passion of New Eve as a strong conE(gation of pop(list modes of 6riting and 0(rrealist imagery and concepts.

%: (he Machinery of -esire and the uses of Surrealist i"agery Aoth Desire Machines and New Eve employ 0(rrealist ideas in setting their scenes and initiating their plots. Dr ?offmanCs machines are strongly connected to the idea of the modern metropolis as a material intersection +et6een mind and place* .onsider the nat(re of a city. <t is a vast repository of time, the discarded times of all the men and 6omen 6ho have lived, 6orked, dreamed and died in the streets 6hich gro6 like 6ilf(lly organic things, (nf(rl like the petals of a mired rose and yet lack evanescence so entirely that they preserve the past in hapha=ard layers, so this alley is old 6hile the aven(e that r(ns +eside it is ne6ly +(ilt +(t nevertheless has +een +(ilt over the deep1do6n, dead in the gro(nd relics of the older, perhaps the original, h(ddle of alleys 6hich germinated the entire /(arter. Dr ?offmanCs gigantic generators sent o(t a series of seismic vi+rations 6hich made cracks in the hitherto imm(ta+le s(rface of the time and space e/(ation 6e had informally form(lated in order to realise o(r city and, o(t of these cracks, 6ellJno+ody kne6 6hat 6o(ld come ne3t. "

"

.arter, The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman, K,ondon* Peng(in, N";9 O ";4 L, p. "9.

Mark P. Williams

"!;

""! This e3plicitly echoes the +asis of the 0(rrealist !Grive, that there are hidden spaces 6ithin the city 6hich can +e reached +y 6andering randomly, and have an altogether different atmosphere. The concept has +een handed do6n thro(gh the 0it(ationist <nternational as the idea of BpsychogeographyC, a correlation +et6een randomly discovered (r+an space and li+eration from everyday life. K<t is also a term revived +y, among others, Alan Moore and >rant Morrison.L <n descri+ing the material str(ct(re of the city as a place of preserved, concreti=ed time, the disr(ption instit(ted +y ?offman, Bne+(lo(s timeC, is directly akin to the social revol(tionary forces 6hich s6eep He6 Iork in New Eve* something 6hich connects mind 6ith space in a concrete 6ay. Evelyn e3periences He6 Iork as a series of seismic disr(ptions in his o6n life, from +eing (prooted from England to +eing deprived of his Eo+ +y physical e3p(lsion from the (niversity and then +y the e3plosive demolition of the physical +(ilding em+odying the instit(tionF mental and physical disr(ptions echo one another, mental ones prefig(ring physical ones. While DesiderioCs description of life in a city (nder psychic attack is one of s(stained degradation of the senses* Bthe c(m(lative psychological effect of all these distortions, com+ined 6ith the dislocation of everyday life and the hardship and privationsC prod(ce the same effect Evelyn finds in his escape from He6 Iork* Beach one of (s 6as trapped in some do6n6ard1drooping convol(ted spiral of (nreality from 6hich 6e co(ld never escapeC.
"$

EvelynCs

apparent escape from the city is e3perienced not as release from chaos +(t as a descent into ne+(lo(sness like the Eo(rney in Desire Machines* Descend lo6er, descend the diminishing spirals of +eing that restore (s to o(r so(rce. Descend lo6erF 6hile the 6orld, in time, goes for6ard and so presents (s 6ith the ill(sion of motion, tho(gh all o(r

"$

.arter, Desire Machines, p. !.

Mark P. Williams

""!

""" lives 6e move thro(gh the c(rvilinear galleries of the +rain to6ards the core of the la+yrinth 6ithin (s. "%

Evelyn and Desiderio[s picares/(e Eo(rneys are +oth physical and internal, marked o(t +y the determinism fo(nd in the protagonistCs and other charactersC names. DesiderioCs name means BdesireC and descri+es his o6n narrative in terms of a /(est to recover a lost o+Eect of desire, Al+ertinaF he em+odies the narrative he is asked to (ndertake. 0imilarly EvelynCs gender transformation prepared for +y the BHe6 EveC of the title, is foreshado6ed +y his gender am+ivalent name recalling Evelyn and Evelyn Wa(gh. Aoth te3ts +egin 6ith a confessional style 6hich indicates to the reader the nat(re of the narrative as it 6ill (nfoldF Desire Machines indicates that it is +ased on desire and imagination +eing made concrete, New Eve indicates that it is concerned 6ith the c(lt(ral imaginary of ?olly6ood. Aoth are concerned 6ith the distinctions, social and imaginary, +et6een the real and the ill(sory. They esta+lish themselves thro(gh a series of contraries 6hich conflict and are resolved, often violently, str(ct(red aro(nd a se/(ence of do(+les 6hich act as deferred o+Eects of desire. Desiderio finds that his interest, his desires, in vario(s people prove to +e desires for Al+ertina in m(ltiple disg(isesF even his /(est to stop Doctor ?offman leads in this direction since Al+ertina is ?offmanCs da(ghter. The c(lmination of his desires +eing realised res(lts in his finally destroying the o+Eect of desire, killing Al+ertina, only to spend the remainder of his life thinking a+o(t her. 0imilarly, Evelyn desires the ?olly6ood movie star Tristessa +(t defers his desires on to Bsome girl or otherC
"'

in ,ondon, and the mysterio(s ,eilah in

He6 Iork. ?is o6n Eo(rney takes a significantly different t(rn from DesiderioCs 6hen he +ecomes female +(t is other6ise str(ct(red +y enco(nters 6ith sym+olic
"% "'

.arter, The Passion of New Eve K,ondon* 2irago, N";99O ";4 L, p. $;. .arter, New Eve, p. '.

Mark P. Williams

"""

"" fig(res. The generic markers of the te3ts are (sed against the generic e3pectations that they s(ggest. This inversion is performed thro(gh the (se of do(+les 6hich enact a 0(rrealist dialectic +et6een rational and anti1rational positions. Do(+ling is key to Desire Machines4 as n(mero(s commentators have o+served, the Minister of Determination and Doctor ?offman do(+le one another, forming a d(alism 6hich enacts Platonic philosophical positions as AndreiE >asiorek s(ggestsF the acro+ats of desire 6ho gang1rape Desiderio are do(+led +y the centa(rs 6ho gang1rape Al+ertina later in the novelF and the 0adeian .o(nt is do(+led +y the .anni+al1pimp enco(ntered on the coast of Africa. The .o(nt acts as a s(rrogate for Doctor ?offman, sym+olising the free reign of ?offmanCs (nleashed desires, li+eration, +ecome oppressive and violent* a 0adeian li+ertine. Do(+ling also occ(rs +et6een Desire Machines and New Eve* Al+ertina is do(+led +y +oth ,eilah and TristessaJ6omen 6ho are not 6hat they seemF the Acro+ats of Desire and the .enta(rs are do(+led +y the +r(tal Tero and his haremF 6hile Mother com+ines the mad1scientist characteristics of ?offman 6ith the am+ig(ities of his do(+les The .o(nt and the .anni+al1pimp. MotherCs si=e is e/(al and opposite to that of the gigantic .anni+al1pimp, she is his dialectical opposite* Desire Machines* NThe .anni+al1pimpO 6ore the pelt of a tiger 6rapped ro(nd his middle and the root1like toes 6hich protr(ded from his sandals 6ere str(ck 6ith rings containing gems of ama=ing si=e and peerless 6ater, as 6ere his hands, 6hich 6ere so heavily +e1ringed they looked as if they 6ere mailed 6ith Ee6els. ?is appalling face s(ggested more than A=tec horrors and, no6 the c(rtain 6as open, < co(ld see that the cave +ehind him 6as an arcade of h(man skeletons. "7 Passion of New Eve* NMotherCsO pondero(s feet 6ere heavy eno(gh to serve as ill(strations of gravity, her hands, the shape of giant fig1leaves, lay at rest on the +olsters of her knees. ?er skin, 6rinkled like the skin of a +lack olive, r(cked like a >reek peasantCs goatskin +ottle, looked as rich as tho(gh it might contain 6ithin itself the so(rce of a marvello(s, dark,
"7

.arter, Desire Machines, p. "';.

Mark P. Williams

""

""$ revivifying river, as if she herself 6ere the only oasis in this desert and her crack the so(rce of all the life1giving 6ater in the 6orld. "9 Mother declares her intentions in dialectical terms, saying that BWoman has +een the antithesis in the dialectic of creation /(ite long eno(ghC,
"4

her response is a 0(rrealist

assa(lt on the sym+olic order of patriarchy, saying +i+lically* B?ail, Evelyn, most fort(nate of menU Io(Cre going to +ring forth the Messiah of the AntithesisUC.
";

The oppositions +et6een the .anni+al1pimp and Mother are, also, revealed as parodies of one another. The .anni+al1pimp states that his reasons for r(ling as a canni+al are derived from a 0adeian reading of -o(ssea(, a deli+erate privileging of the non1rational and the physical over Enlightenment reasonF he is the voice of a+sol(te patriarchy, 6here patriarchy is not the invisi+le press(re of hegemony +(t deli+erate and vindictive, and he speaks as a dark reflection of Enlightenment reason. ?e is also a parody of the disco(rses of nineteenth1cent(ry advent(re fiction speaking 6ith the voice of +enign colonialism 6hile em+odying the stereotypical, racist imagery of colonial te3ts. As s(ch he is a manifestation of the Banti1rationalC* the stereotype ventrilo/(ising the stereotyperCs attit(des, he declares he is Bhappy only in that < am a monsterC,
!

and is Bpro(d to say that not a single one

of my harem N#O has ever e3perienced the most fleeting ecstasy NorO slightest pleas(reC d(e to having their clitoris removed.
"

Mother +oth reflects and negates

this stance, +(t as an e/(ally pro+lematic response, proclaiming herself Bthe >reat Parricide N#O the .astatri3 of the Phallocentric UniverseC, em+odying the rhetoric

of 2alerie 0olanas in the SCAM Manifesto K";74L, she is a+o(t to 6age a

"9 "4

.arter, New Eve, p. ';. .arter, New Eve, p. 79. "; <+id. ! .arter, Desire Machines, p. "7". " <+id. .arter, New Eve, p. 79.

Mark P. Williams

""$

""% revol(tionary gender16ar. The presence of s(ch e3aggerations is m(t(ally e3cl(sive in many respects, in Desire Machines and New Eve, s(ch characters 6hich appear as reflections of one another inevita+ly call forth the physical negation of one another. Hegation +et6een contraries is a critical concept 6hich adds 6eight to the allegorical aspect of .arterCs fiction. Elaine 8ordanCs reading of Passion of New EveCs allegory as essentially alchemical is (sef(l to consider as a part of .arterCs interest in 0(rrealism +oth in this novel and in its relationship 6ith Desire Machines* <n The Passion of New Eve Nthe phases of action and commentary in the plotO are modelled on those of the alchemical search* first nigre!o, the melting of the metals, as in the chaos of He6 Iork 6here +lackness act(ally holds a promise for the f(t(re as yet (nseenF then the 6hitening phase in 6hich elements separate o(t, as in the fragments of American lifestyles Eve enco(ntersF and finally ru&e!o, the red fire of revol(tion 6hich may prod(ce p(re gold. $

The fires of revol(tion and the idea of a Bhighest pointC 6here contradictions can +e resolved are also characteristics of the rhetoric of dialectics employed +y 0(rrealistsF this is 6hy alchemy 6as an important metaphor for them to dra6 (pon, partic(larly for 6omen 0(rrealists s(ch as ,eonora .arrington in The Hearing Trumpet K";9%L* it is o(tside the socially reg(lated systems of meaning. <n 0(rrealist terms, alchemy operates sym+olically +(t not metaphysicallyF it is al6ays gro(nded in some social reality, as it is in .arter. Elaine 8ordan dra6s attention to the .=ech alchemist 6ho Evelyn enco(nters in He6 Iork. <n that scene .arter foreshado6s the events that 6ill occ(r later in the novel, partic(larly thro(gh a sym+olic print on the old manCs 6all sho6ing Ba hermaphrodite carrying a golden eggC that Be3ercised a c(rio(s fascinationC over
$ 8ordan, Elaine, BThe Dangers of Angela .arterC Kpp. "";J$"L from New 'eminist Discourse ed. <so+el Armstrong K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";; L, p. " $.

Mark P. Williams

""%

""' Evelyn.
%

This image forms a part1prophecy for EvelynCs o6n transformation +(t

also reveals the (nderlying am+ig(ity of his o+session 6ith Tristessa. TristessaCs name is also foreshado6ed in one of the alchemical +ooks, Bthe Splen!or Solis of 0aloman TrismosinC, 6hich is redolent of the name ?ermes Trismegist(s K?ermes the Bthrice greatCJgreat in alchemy, astrology and the(rgy or greatest priest, philosopher and king, depending on the acco(ntL. The titles of the alchemical te3ts .arter

introd(ces into New Eve, BSplen!or SolisC and B$tlanta 'ugiensC, hint at apocalypse or coming ne6 age, +(t the presence of s(ch pse(do+i+liographic so(rces is also something common to .arterCs pro+a+le so(rces for s(ch names* the early (topias of Thomas More, )rancis Aacon and Margaret .avendish, 6ho all (se p(nning or s(ggestive ,atinate or >reek so(rces to emphasise to their kno6ing readership that the te3t is similarly a 6ork of Be3perimental philosophyC like the 0(rrealists. The .=ech alchemistCs 6ords a+o(t Bfr(ctifying chaos of anteriority, the state +efore the +eginning of the +eginningC effectively signal that this is a modern novel of e3perimental philosophy concerned 6ith 6orking its tho(ght e3periments (sing the landscape of the contemporary city.
'

The presence of BrealistC elements

6ithin these novels sho(ld th(s +e read as signalling the (se of -ealist rhetoric in s(ch a 6ay as to foregro(nd its socially constr(cted nat(reF literal o+Eects and sym+olic o+Eects e3change places in these .arter novels. What Elaine 8ordan 6rites of .arterCs short fiction is e/(ally tr(e of the lengthier fictions, that BThe killing of the o+Eect of desire in Nthe stories of The +loo!" Cham&erO is not a killing of 6omen, +(t a killing of masc(line representations in 6hich some 6omen coll(deC.
7

<n this 6ay

6e m(st read .arterCs te3ts as specific confrontations 6ith a masc(line c(lt(ral te3t 6hich mimic it in order to force a 0(rrealist disE(nct(re. ?er fictions operate thro(gh
% '

.arter, New Eve, p. "$. .arter, New Eve, p. "%. 7 8ordan, BThe Dangers of Angela .arterC, p. " 9.

Mark P. Williams

""'

""7 a masc(line c(lt(ral te3tCs rhetoric +y analysing and identifying s(+1c(lt(rally specific images one at a time and s(+verting them. The idea of representation as a form of s(+version is thematised thro(gho(t +oth novels. Doctor ?offman descri+es the operation of his eponymo(s machines thro(gh the 0(rrealist conception of Bo+Eective chanceC* BThese machines 6ere form(lated on the model of o+Eective chance, taking Po+Eective chanceQ as the definition of the s(m1total of all the coincidences 6hich control an individ(al destinyC.
9

-ead metafictionally, this is a description of the f(nction of plot. The

Bdesire machinesC themselves are Bsi3 cylindrical dr(ms of stainless steel rotating on invisi+le a3esCF
4

they seem to correspond n(merically to the layers of ne+(lo(s time

6hich Desiderio has passed thro(gh +et6een leaving the city Kin chapter oneL and entering BThe .astleCKchapter eightL. <f 6e take each chapter as representing a distinct area then they correspond to the vario(s imaginary conflicts 6hich Desiderio has faced* from anthropological to >(lliverian. We might call Bo+Eective chanceC

over!etermination* as s(ch it has +oth socio1political and aesthetic dimensions. .arter is incorporating ManCs <mage of Woman into specific genre1+ased images of 6omen in order to then set them into conflictF the imaginary lands and ne+(lo(s times operate as sets of sym+ols, genres or modes, the conventions of 6hich contradict and resist one another. .arter makes her male protagonists in Desire Machines and New Eve (ndergo social tra(mas, o+Eectification and h(miliation, and violence and rape, in the co(rse of their Eo(rneys, things 6hich might +e more commonly associated 6ith female protagonists, as disr(ptions of e3pectation. This disr(ption of e3pectation has a disE(nctive 0(rrealist impact +eca(se it develops e3pectations predicated on generic
9 4

.arter, Desire Machines, p "!. <+id.

Mark P. Williams

""7

""9 lang(age and convention +efore s(+verting themF as .arter says of her later character, 8ack Walser, in intervie6 6ith 8ohn ?affenden BitCs ama=ing ho6 many people find it offensive 6hen yo( do that to a chap,C gendered e3pectation and genre e3pectation operate together.
;

%%: (he concrete and Surrealist "aterialis" in the no els < have indicated some of the 6ays in 6hich Desire Machines and New Eve are t6o alternate variations of the same novelistic str(ct(re, 6orking thro(gh some of the same pro+lems (sing similar imagery. Their concl(sions are different in important respects +(t they also reflect one another in others* neither presents a complete resol(tion of the pro+lems +et6een masc(linity and femininity 6hich the plots enact. This is, < arg(e, +eca(se they +oth represent the same 0(rrealist aesthetic 6orking to6ards a higher moment* they are +oth forging a path for another, f(t(re te3t, to follo6 to prod(ce 0(rrealist 6riting 6hich co(ld +e (sef(l to feminism* feminist 0(rrealism. < 6ill no6 +riefly indicate 6here these ideas have some of their

theoretical gro(nding in the 0(rrealist 6ritings 6ith 6hich .arter 6as familiar from her time in 8apan* the 6riting of Ado Gyro(. .arterCs time in 8apan is descri+ed as an enco(nter 6ith 8apanese c(lt(re as a system of signs, ,orna 0age has already disc(ssed the parity +et6een -oland AarthesC Empire of Signs and .arterCs 'irewor-s collection, partic(larly B)lesh and the MirrorC. <t 6as at this time that .arter 6as commissioned to translate

]avier >a(thierCs SurrGalisme et Se ualitG K";9"L $! and read the 6ork of Ado Gyro( on 0(rrealism, desire and the nat(re of the imagination. This late enco(nter 6as
.arter in ?affenden, Novelists in Interview, p. 4;. 0ee Anna Wat= BAngela .arter and ]avi5re >a(thierCs SurrGalisme et Se ualitGC Contemporar" Women0s Writing K0ep, !!;L
$! ;

Mark P. Williams

""9

""4 descri+ed +y 0(san -(+in 0(leiman in BThe )ate of the 0(rrealist <magination in the 0ociety of the 0pectacleC as having a Btremendo(s effectC 6hich .arter descri+ed in conversation as +eing 8apanCs Bo6n version of ";74C. $" Adonis Gyro( K"; $1";4'L 6as a late 0(rrealist 6ith a deep interest in cinema and in pop(lar and pop(list c(lt(re. >reek1+orn, +(t +ased for m(ch of his life in )rance, he 6rote film criticism and created eight short films +et6een ";'9 and ";7', and one longer film, a version of The Mon- K";9 L, +ased on M.>. ,e6isCs novel, 6ritten +y ,(is Ar(nel 6ith 81. .arriere. Gyro( 6rites on pop(lism and the marvello(s as fo(nd in marginal c(lt(re, cele+rating an anti1elitist Keven anti1 intellect(alL 0(rrealism that he fo(nd in the lo61art spectr(m of cinema* B< ask yo(, learn to go and see the P6orstQ filmsF they are sometimes s(+limeC.
$

?is 6ords on

Berotic terrorC films are partic(larly s(ggestive for reading .arterCs Desire Machines 6here, on the s(+Eect of Bthe semi1pornographic shorts 6e (sed to see +efore the 6ar in slot1machinesC, he 6rites*

What co(ld +e more mysterio(s and (n(s(al than those ladies in f(r coats getting o(t of their +o(rgeois cars to pl(nge 6ith dancerCs steps into the forest 6here they revealed themselves to (s in some strange rite or other@ N#.O A(tomatism, o+Eective chance, revolt and love have met the most poetic of rende=vo(s in an immense commercial machine 6hich they can transform from top to +ottom. K941;L

.arter revisits these ideas critically in Desire Machines, 6here the peepsho6 is +ased on the imagery of +oth pornography and 0(rrealist paintings, comparing the t6o. <n this section of the novel .arter s(ggests that +oth pornography and 0(rrealism present h(man forms, female in partic(lar, as estranged. <n presenting female +odies as +oth
0(leiman, BThe )ate of the 0(rrealist <magination in the 0ociety of the 0pectacleC Kpp. ;4J""7L from 0age, ed. 'lesh an! the Mirror, p. "!! and p. ;;. $ Gyro(, Ado, BThe Marvello(s is Pop(larC from The Sha!ow an! Its Sha!ow4 Surrealist Writings on the Cinema ed. Pa(l ?ammond KEdin+(rgh* Polygon, ";;"L, p. 9;.
$"

Mark P. Williams

""4

""; fragmentary and e3cessively se3(alised, a+stracting a single aspect of female s(+Eectivity, these images comment on the 6ider ideological s(perstr(ct(re 6hich interpellates 6omen as s(+Eects* BE3hi+it one* < ?A2E AEEH ?E-E AE):-EC sho6s*

The legs of a 6oman, raised and open as if ready to admit a lover, formed a c(rvilinear tri(mphal arch. The feet 6ere decorated 6ith spike1heeled, +lack leather p(mps. This anatomical section, composed of pinkish 6a3, dimpled at the knee, did not admit the possi+ility of a torso. K%%L The female +ody in this image e3ists only in pieces orientated primarily aro(nd se3* the vagina forms a peepsho6 6ithin the peepsho6, acting Bas a frame for a perfectly ro(nd hole thro(gh 6hich the vie6er glimpsed the moist, l(3(riant landscape of the interiorC.
$$

)(sing the metaphor of 6oman1as1terra incognita 6ith the feminisation

of (ne3plored land common to imperialist disco(rse, this interiority is a literal landscape, Ba miniat(re +(t irresisti+le vista of semi1tropical forest 6here ama=ing fr(its h(ng on the treesCKi+id.L. .arter is th(s employing Gyro(Cs s(ggestion that pornographic fantasy machinery can reveal hidden aspects of a society +(t is importing into the imagery a critical content 6hich +egins to raise /(estions a+o(t the mode of the narrative and DesiderioCs position as a man. <t is dra6n from her critical vie6 of the manifestations of se3(al imagery and sym+olism in 8apanese c(lt(re. As has +een o+served +y ,orna 0age and others, one addition to the pantheon of pop(lar genres as they appear in transformed mode in Desire Machines is that of Manga, specifically the ero)guro manga, the Berotic grotes/(eC comic +ooks, 6hose content is primarily concerned 6ith portraying naked flesh in +i=arre conE(gation 6ith the demonic, 6hich +orro6s from the imported transgressions of the
$$

<+id.

Mark P. Williams

"";

" ! E(ropean avant1gardes and gives them a (ni/(ely 8apanese modification K-omain 0locom+e identifies elements of >erman E3pressionism and >eorge Aataille appearing in his o6n favo(rite practitioner of ero)guro, 0(ehiro Mar(o $%L. .arterCs o6n description of Manga from ";9" s(ggests that, Bfrom their contents, they 6o(ld appear to +e directed either at the cra=ed se3 maniac or the dedicated s(rrealistCF she sees them as arenas devoted to e3pressing Bthe latent content of lifeJpictorial le3icons of the most ferocio(s imagery of desire, violence and terror, er(pting amid go(ts of gore, red1hot from the (nconscio(s.C $' The comparison .arter dra6s indicates the nat(re of her am+ivalence to6ards certain e3pressions of 0(rrealism* the transgressive techni/(es adopted +y 0(rrealism necessarily flirt 6ith some of the things it criti/(esF there is no 6ay of kno6ing 6ith certainty 6hether the Bdedicated s(rrealistC or the Bcra=ed se3 maniacC forms the most significant part of the act(al a(dience for s(ch artistic proEects. The game of transgressive art in general is that it affronts the maEority of its a(dience, 6hether act(ally Gpater le &ourgeois or some more comple3, deconstr(ctive techni/(e, to make a specific political point, it risks +eing seen as grat(ito(s. .arterCs (se of 0(rrealism in Desire Machines and Passion of New Eve demonstrates her a6areness of this pro+lem and her attempt to resolve it. Heither te3t is necessarily a resol(tion tho(ghF as 6e shall see, they are +oth partial in different 6ays. .arterCs article on the portrayal of 6omen in ero)guro manga as +(rned or ravaged doves disc(sses the am+ivalence in the imagery for the p(rposes of feminist orientated criti/(e. Hoting that, B6hichever 6ay the 6omen go, they all go
0locom+e descri+es 0(ehiro Mar(oCs 6ork as +eing a Eo(rney Bto the +ottom of a s6eet, mor+id, delicate, e3/(isite kingdom of hell N#O 6here Aataille met Edoda6a -ampo, 6here s6eat and +lood streamed, mi3ed 6ith sperm. N#.O The pallid, scarred and +loody ghosts of 8apanCs Taisho eraJa +rief, decadent periodJhere came 6ith the schi=ophrenic monsters of >erman e3pressionist cinema,C from his introd(ction to 0(ehiro Mar(o Altra #ash Inferno Trans. 8ames ?avoc M Takako 0hinkado K,ondon* .reation Aooks, !!"L, p. '. $' .arter, B:nce More <nto the MangleC Kpp. $4J%%L originally p(+lished in New Societ"5 from Nothing Sacre!4 Selecte! Writings K,ondon* 2irago, N";4 O !!!L, p. $;.
$%

Mark P. Williams

" !

" " thro(gh the mangleC, she 6rites that there is something in the imagery 6hich reveals not only a fear of the feminine +(t a specific fear of the transformative, f(t(ristic feminine that makes masc(linity o+solete*

<f the ravaged dove is the norm, Woman in the strips is nevertheless a s(+tly am+ig(o(s fig(re. :ne series specialises in erotic f(t(rology. Again the art6ork is at a high level. The latent content pres(ma+ly reflects the fears that ha(nt the doctorCs col(mns. KB?o6 can < enlarge my penis@CL A race of s(per6omen has +y1passed the male in its search for se3(al gratification, and, in designs of a pec(liar p(rity, (ses devices, masterpieces of 8apanese technology, s(ch as chairs 6ith +reast1 massaging hands, and electronic lickers. $7 The sym+olic BWomanC is a po6erf(l fig(re despite the repetition of imagery in 6hich 6omen are rendered po6erlessF .arter sees in the image of e3cessively se3(alised femininity a masc(line fear that the Bravaged doveC is someho6 more virile and independent than the male vie6er. .arter s(ggests these images prod(ce an am+ig(o(s femininity in implication 6hich threatens patriarchal po6er +y its very e3istence and so m(st +e o+sessively dominated sym+olically. <n the grotes/(e and 0(rrealist nat(re of these images she finds a 6ay of addressing +oth the c(lt(re in 6hich she is a foreign o+server, do(+ly coded as BWomanC and B gaiEinC, and a perspective for engaging 6ith her o6n c(lt(ral +ackgro(nd and heritage. ?ere, .arter is in conc(rrence 6ith Penelope -osemontCs conviction that the 0(rrealist criti/(e is necessarily concerned 6ith material social interactions* 0(rrealism +egins 6ith the recognition that the real Kthe real real, one might say, as opposed to the fragmented, one1dimensional pse(do1 real (pheld +y narro6 realisms and rationalismsL incl(des many diverse elements that are ordinarily repressed or s(ppressed in e3ploitative, inegalitarian societies. $9

$7

.arter, B:nce More <nto the MangleC, p. % . -osemont, Penelope, Surrealist Women, p. 333iii.

$9

Mark P. Williams

" "

" )rom this perspective 0(rrealism means that 6hich is irred(ci+le, and 0(rrealist art is that 6hich strives to e3press something of the irred(ci+le in lived e3perience. This vie6 of 0(rrealism em+races the e3pression of radical s(+Eectivities in an environment 6here they have +een marginalised. A(t .arter is also pro+lematising the Bli+erationaryC tendency to6ards transgression* her 6riting spec(lates 6hether there is an e/(ality of e3pressing these divergent BrealismsC, or if some remain s(ppressed. 0o, 6hile she is s(ggesting that the e3pression of s(ch transgressive imagery can +e employed and inha+ited +y the marginalised for emancipation, she also ca(tions against transgression (ndermining its o6n criti/(e of central c(lt(re +y licensing transgressions of those 6ho are already c(lt(rally central over the transgressions of those on the margins. Ay 6orking thro(gh alternative vie6s of ho6 this might 6ork dialectically she assesses the relationship +et6een c(lt(ral centres and c(lt(ral margins to discover its normative and transgressive aspects and eval(ate them in terms of lived e3perience thro(gh her characters. Women as they appear in The Passion of New Eve K";99L are e3plicitly dangero(s, threatening and more technologically and se3(ally sophisticated than men. Their danger tho(gh, comes from the fact of their marginali=ation and oppression 6ithin the frame6ork of everyday lifeF it is a form 6hich the narratorCs attit(de to6ards 6omen prepares (s for* BThe last night < spent in ,ondon, < took some girl or other to the moviesC.
$4

They form gangs and movements in a gendered conflict* Ba

cop pointed o(t to me, inscri+ed on a 6all, the female circleJth(s* ^ 6ith, inside it, a set of +ared teeth. Women are angry. Ae6are WomenUC.
$;

This anger +rings a+o(t a

revol(tion, +(t it does not necessarily +ring a+o(t a resol(tion of the ideas and

$4 $;

.arter, New Eve, p. '. .arter, New Eve, p. "".

Mark P. Williams

"

" $ pro+lems 6hich the novel has raised* if rationality and ideology have ret(rned to reign at the concl(sion of Desire Machines, am+ig(ity reigns at the end of New Eve.

%%%: Conclusion ersus Conflict

<n +oth Desire Machines and New Eve, .arter s(ggests that the only 6ay to live thro(gh direct e3perience of the contradictions of modernity is to reach an accommodation 6ith their conflicts. ?o6ever, +oth te3ts s(ggest that their

protagonists have not done so 6ith complete s(ccess* Time lay more thickly a+o(t me than the mists. < 6as so (n(sed to moving thro(gh time that < felt like a man 6alking (nder 6ater. Time e3erted great press(re on my +lood vessels and my eardr(ms, so that < s(ffered from terri+le headaches, 6eakness and na(sea. N#.O He+(lo(s time 6as no6 time pastF < cra6led like a 6orm on its +elly thro(gh the clinging m(d of common time and the +are trees sho6ed only the dreary shapes of an eternal Hovem+er of the heart, for no6 all changes 6o(ld henceforth +e as they had +een +efore, a+sol(tely predicta+le. %!

Hot only does this ret(rn to rationality and ideology entail the pain of gro6ing older, imagination and li+eration have no6 passed 6ith DesiderioCs yo(thf(lness, it also entails the +eginnings of a sense of loss and of nostalgia. )or all the dangers of the 6ar of the dreams, Desiderio is clearly regretf(l that it is over. The movement thro(gh thickening time and the sense of time accreting aro(nd the character are also fo(nd at the end of New Eve, and, altho(gh the scenario is different and the concl(sion does not mark a ret(rn to normal +(t is played o(t against the +eginnings of a revol(tion, there is a similar am+ig(ity* Walls of meat and slimy velvet. <n6ard.
%!

.arter, Desire Machines, p.

".

Mark P. Williams

" $

" % A visceral yet perfectly rhythmic agitation ripples thro(gh the 6alls 6hich ingest me. <Cm not so scared as once < 6o(ld have +een, to go 6orming my 6ay thro(gh the 6arm meat of the insides of the earth, for < kno6 no6 that Mother is a fig(re of speech and has retired to a cave +eyond conscio(sness. Everything takes place more slo6ly than yo( can +elieve possi+le. < have +een s(+d(ed to the leis(rely pace of Eocene time. %"

?ere too, o(r protagonist is 6orm1like in moving thro(gh a s(+stance 6hich is like earth and yet not like earth. ?ere again are the references to ne6 definitions of time, this time is prehistoric. Perception of time and space has +een shaken E(st as the events of the story have shaken distinctions +et6een genders and +et6een characters and fig(res of speech. The frame of reference .arter provides still emphasises the relevance of the imaginary to the material, not as its :ther +(t as part of it, an element 6ithin it 6hich is +eyond its control, 6hich can prove disr(ptive, +(t 6hich is nevertheless something 6ithin the totality. These novels are alternate variations of a 0(rrealist E(dgement on .arterCs contemporary 6orld in the ";7!s and B9!sF their sym+olism and slippage are (nderpinned +y materialism and, +eca(se .arter is dealing 6ith 6hat she sees aro(nd her, they are only partial responses. Each offers something of a corrective to the other, and, as < shall s(ggest, to earlier .arter 6orks, +(t they offer no f(lly realised synthesis. These are revelationary te3ts 6hich pose /(estions rather than offering ans6ers. Ho6 < 6ill disc(ss 6here some of these /(estions are derived from and 6here their sol(tions seem to lead.

3: Nights at the Circus: Re olution and Resolution <f .arterCs novels The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman and The Passion of New Eve can +e regarded as s(stained attempts to negotiate 6ith the dominant
%"

.arter, New Eve, p. "4%.

Mark P. Williams

" %

" ' conflicts of modern c(lt(re thro(gh the dominant conflicts of contemporary aesthetic theory, then Nights at the Circus performs a do(+le movement* it is +oth the c(lmination of this approach and a ret(rn to the roots of the conflicts in /(estion. Nights at the Circus ret(rns to the historical +asis of the t6entieth1cent(ry avant1 gardes* the revol(tionary activism of 0ocialists and 0(ffragists and the e3perimental art and literat(re of the nineteenth1cent(ry. <t is a synthesis of the ideas of the earlier novels 6ith a transformed version of a historical literary scenario. ,ike the preceding novels, it takes the form of a picares/(e Eo(rney from the centre of a city o(t into the 6ilderness. Again, like the preceding novels, the transformations of characters in Nights at the Circus signal the transformation of political and aesthetic positionsF in this 6ay it 6orks aro(nd a central tension +et6een complicity and resistance.

%: (he -ialectic of Fe ers and Walser Nights at the Circus makes f(ll (se of the techni/(es 6hich ,inda ?(tcheon terms historiographic metafiction,
%

a characteristic 6hich places it against a +ackgro(nd of

postmodernist theory. Iet the novelCs setting at the t(rn of the t6entieth1cent(ry and its dialectical disc(ssions of historical str(ggles for li+eration, of E(ropean 6orking1 classes and 6omen, place an emphasis on materialist, left radical criti/(e 6hich do not s(+vert the historical Btr(thC of s(ch str(ggles, as a postmodernist historiographic metafiction might, +(t cele+rate them. The metafictional aspect of the te3t revolves aro(nd the characters of 0ophie )evvers, an aerialiste and p(rveyor of artifice, of the marvello(s and the anti1realist, and 8ack Walser, a Eo(rnalist dealing in the seemingly o+Eective narrative description of realismF their Eo+s and characters are +oth related to specific attit(des to6ards metanarrative thro(gh their respective attit(des to6ards the
%

0ee ?(tcheon, ,inda, The Politics of Postmo!ernism K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";4;L.

Mark P. Williams

" '

" 7 telling of stories. They seem to present a simple +inary opposition +et6een realism and fantasy 6hich emphasises the rational on one side and the anti1rational on the other, 6here a postmodernist fantasy 6ill +e (sed to s(+vert a non1postmodernist realism, +(t more detailed e3amination presents pro+lems for s(ch a reading. <f 6e consider the narrative str(ct(res of Desire Machines and New Eve, 6e can see a compara+le gendered opposition developing +et6een Walser and )evvers as developed +et6een Desiderio and Al+ertina and +et6een Evelyn and ,eilahD,ilith. Walser is a passive fig(re 6hose e3periences prod(ced no permanent affect (pon his interiority, he Bhad not e3perienced his e3perience as e3perienceC, so that he is Blike the +oy in the fairy story 6ho does not kno6 ho6 to shiverC.
%$

?is life

appears to +e the st(ff of great advent(re fiction* B.all him <shmaelF +(t <shmael 6ith an e3pense acco(ntC, yet Bsandpaper his o(tsides as e3perience might, his in6ardness had +een left (nto(chedC. %% ?e is B(nfinishedC someho6, roles and e3periences are temporary, .arterCs narrator even comments* B< say he had a propensity for Pfinding himself in the right place at the right timeQC nevertheless B himself he never fo(nd, since it 6as never his self 6hich he so(ghtC. %' ?is character at the start of the novel is that of a B+lankC, depthless character 6ho e3ists only thro(gh his role* Eo(rnalist and hard1+oiled Bman of actionC.
%7

Walser enacts a stance of permanent Bs(spension of

+eliefC, a form of incred(lity to6ards the narratives of others* Bhe 6as necessarily a connoisse(r of the tall taleCF he plans to 6rite (p his e3perience of )evvers as part of a series of intervie6s Btentatively entitled* P>reat ?(m+(gs of the WorldQC.
%9

?e

represents one approach to postmodernity, a postmodernism of affectlessness 6here Be3perienceC is only e3perienced as narrative Kas opposed to 6here BnarrativeC refers
%$ %%

.arter, Nights at the Circus, p. "!. .arter, Nights at the Circus5 pp. ;J"!. %' .arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. "!. %7 <+id. %9 .arter, Nights at the Circus5 pp. "!J"".

Mark P. Williams

" 7

" 9 to a systematising of sense e3periencesL. <t is an irony that his postmodernist,

ironical stance, is also implicated in the s(ccess of its o+Eect* his act of attempting to e3pose )evvers as fake 6ill have a positive effect, co(nter to that 6hich might +e pres(med to +e its intent* Bdo not think that the revelation that she is a hoa3 6ill finish her on the hallsF far from it. <f she isnCt s(spect, 6hereCs the controversy@ WhatCs the ne6s@C. %4 Postmodernist ironyCs reversal is the positive val(e, not the negative limit of postmodern representationF postmodernist narratives not concerned 6ith the difference +et6een Btr(thC and BstoryC may seek to s(+vert dominant ideology +(t this /(ality is also present 6ithin the dominant ideology of postmodernity Ks(ch as media c(lt(reLJWalserCs position as Eo(rnalist is already on the c(sp of one postmodernism, +(t not in a s(+versive one. )evversCs characterisation contrasts 6ith Walser in t6o 6ays* first, the e3cessive emphasis on polysemy +y 6hich she is characterised K6hich Walser is setting o(t to red(ceL and a corresponding theatricality +y 6hich she performs +oth her femininity and the Ba(thenticityC of her origins. )rom her very introd(ction she is descri+ed as having a Bvoice that clanged like d(st+in lidsC 6ith Bmar+ly thighNsOC and her s(rro(ndings as Ba mistresspiece of e3/(isitely feminine s/(alorC.
%;

?er

grotes/(eness represents, according to Mary -(ssoCs chapter from The 'emale #rotes6ue5 the recovery of the +ody as site of political activism, 6riting that B Nights at the Circus is (ni/(e in its depiction of relationships +et6een 6omen as spectacle, and 6omen as prod(cers of spectacleC.
'!

.arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. "". .arter, Nights at the Circus5 pp. 9J;. '! -(sso, Mary, The 'emale #rotes6ue4 2is-5 Mo!ernit"5 E cess K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";;'L, p. "7'.
%;

%4

Mark P. Williams

" 9

" 4 0econd, a+etted +y ,i==ie, )evvers also presents an (nderpinning of social realism to her performances and to her tall tales, as here 6here she e3plains 6hat happened to the fello6 prisoners of Madam 0chreck* Al+ertDAl+ertina got a post as ladiesC maid 6ith o(r 8enny and tho(gh sDhe says sDhe is m(ch confined +y female garments all the time, 8enny 6o(ld not +e 6itho(t her treas(re. )anny ret(rned to her native Iorkshire 6here, 6ith the aid of her savings at Madame 0chreckCs, she esta+lished an orphanage in a mill1to6n for the children of operatives killed in accidents on the looms, so she no6 has t6enty lovely +a+ies to call her PmamaQ. ?appily, since < came into my good fort(ne, < have +een a+le to interest a good friend, the academician, 0ir -J)J in .o+6e+s. ?e perceived her (ni/(e /(ality of vision and trained her hand to match her sight. Ho6 she had a fine rep(tation as a painter in chiarosc(ro, so yo( co(ld say that, tho(gh she had not come o(t of the shado6s, all the same she had made the shado6s 6ork for her. BAs for the Aea(tyJ,C BJshe is 6ith (s still.C N#.O BAnd, sir,C concl(ded )evvers, in a voice that no6 took on the som+re, maEestic tones of a great organ, B6e do +elieve#her dream 6ill +e the coming cent(ry. BAnd, oh >od#ho6 fre/(ently she 6eeps.C '"

?ere the fantastic is presented as ine3trica+ly linked 6ith concrete social sit(ations and 6ith art* .o+6e+sC artistic a+ility is an analog(e for )evversC o6n storytelling. )evversC interests constantly +alance the s(+Eective and the o+EectiveF Walser seeks to find a 6ay to red(ce them to one category* salea+le narrative. <n doing so Walser is (nkno6ingly removing the lived e3perience of str(ggle 6hich the narratives of these other 6omenCs lives 6ithin )evversC story represent. Maintaining his incred(lity to6ards them as stories 6hile deciding to report them flatly as s(ch, another part of his B>reat ?(m+(gsC idea, not only implicitly depoliticises )evversC stories, it also separates them from her performance. )evversC story performance is part of her

'"

.arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. 47.

Mark P. Williams

" 4

" ; artistry +(t it is also part of the 6hole of 6hat 6e (nderstand +y B)evversC as person, artiste, myth, history, fa+rication and fact. The incl(sion 6ithin her fantastic stories of gritty social realism concerning the lives of the 6omen she kne6 is integralF Walser attempts to separate them into salea+le narrative fragments of reversi+le val(e +eca(se he does not see the dialectic +et6een reality and imaginary as important to lived e3perience as a 6hole. .lassical mythology, +i+lical imagery, the m(sic hall tradition, To(lo(se ,a(trec and Alfred 8arry are all invoked 6ithin the opening pages of Nights at the Circus in respect to the persona of )evvers. The novel thematises 0(rrealism +y /(estioning the appropriateness and relative limitations of representation thro(gh the perspective of Walser, for 6hom the remainder of the te3t charts a series of dialectical movements from tentative s(spension of dis+elief to gen(ine +elief in )evvers +ased on a (nification of the fantastical and anti1rational elements of her story 6ith the BrealistC elements K6hich he is, initially concerned 6ith verifyingL. Walser o+served that the girl 6ent no f(rther than any other trape=e artiste. 0he neither attempted nor achieved anything a 6ingless +iped co(ld not have performed, altho(gh she did it in a different 6ay, and, as the valkyries at last approached 2alhalla, he 6as astonished to discover that it 6as the limitations of her act in themselves that made him +riefly contemplate the (nimagina+leJthat is, the a+sol(te s(spension of dis+elief. )or, in order to earn a living, might not a gen(ine +ird16omanJin the impla(si+le event that s(ch a thing e3istedJhave to pretend she 6as an artificial one@ ' Walser initially vie6s )evvers as an o+Eectified 6oman, a mystery to +e solved like an (nopened lac/(ered p(==le +o3, not an e/(al +eing +(t a fantastic c(riosity. The error of o+Eectification seems to +e the lesson of her personal narrative, 6ith Walser playing the a(dience1s(rrogate +eing ta(ght that lesson. ?is initial c(riosity a+o(t her
'

.arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. "9.

Mark P. Williams

" ;

"$! is detachedly Eo(rnalistic, foc(ssing on the details of her story 6ith the impression that these details 6ill (ncover some (nconstr(cted /(ality, perhaps an essential Btr(thC a+o(t her, that he can sell as his o6n* Bthe girl 6as r(mo(red to have started her career in freak sho6s. K.heck, noted Walser.LC.
'$

?e also notes that Ban ac/(ired

grace asserts itself, pro+a+ly the res(lt of stren(o(s e3ercise. K.heck if she trained as a dancer.LC '% What he is confronted 6ith, ho6ever, d(ring his reportage is a series of (nverifia+le assertions of varying pla(si+ility and s(+Eective and o+Eective content 6hich increasingly challenge the reality of his ne(tral 6orldvie6 and force a reassessment of his interpretation of s(rface and role in the formation of identity. )evversC narrative style, a 6e+ of self1mythologising reco(nted in a 6ide, e3aggerated manner, is a steady ref(tation of the a+ility of WalserCs Eo(rnalism to reveal Btr(thC as meaning in 6hat she saysF she is the one in control of information, and, largely, of interpretation of that information* she seeks control over the str(ct(ral code 6hich directs the meanings 6hich accr(e aro(nd her. A(t the most important aspect of this is the mi3ing of elements of Btr(thC 6ithin the e3cesses of )evversC narrative, it intimates that her style of self1p(+licity involves the manip(lation of tr(th thro(gh direct and indirect meansF she leaves the B+are factsC availa+le only 6here they might s(pport her story and then speaking only s(ch Btr(thC as lends veracity to her o6n glossF Btr(thC matters to )evvers only in terms of agenc"*

BMy feathers, sirU < dye themU DonCt think < +ore s(ch ga(dy colo(rs from p(+ertyU < commenced to dye my feathers at the start of my p(+lic career on the trape=e, in order to sim(late more perfectly the tropic +ird. <n my 6hite girlhood and earliest years, < kept my nat(ral colo(r. Which is a kind of +londe, only a little darker than the hair on my head, more the colo(r of that on my private ahem parts.

'$ '%

.arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. "%. .arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. "7.

Mark P. Williams

"$!

"$" BHo6, thatCs my dreadf(l secret, Mr Walser, and, to tell the 6hole tr(th and nothing +(t, the only deception 6hich < practice on the p(+licUC '' The gilded Bsim(lationC of +eing more e3otic than she is, is her only deceptionF arg(a+ly this is +arely a deception, rather an e3aggeration of characteristics already present, a /(estion of make(p and performance. <f this is deception then the

implication for gender relations s(ggests that the social interactions of men and 6omen are centred aro(nd that deception, something 6hich the s(+se/(ent pages on )evversC (p+ringing in a +rothel then s(pport. There is a critical edge to even the most seemingly (ng(arded statements made +y )evvers in this novel. Anne ?egerfeldt descri+es the disill(sionment of Walser in terms of a totalising s(+version of a BscientificC vie6point, 6riting that ,i==ie and )evversC manip(lations of Walser +y Ba+s(rdly applying the scientific method to a completely incongr(o(s o+EectC, a flying 6oman, f(nction to B(ndermine the scientific paradigm, revealing ho6 scientific disco(rse f(nctions as a strategy of a(thorisationC.
'7

<nstead,

< read these scenes 6here Walser is BfooledC to +e rather concerned 6ith interrogating postmodernist representation thro(gh story rather than /(estioning BscientificC methods, given that, as a Eo(rnalist, WalserCs frame of reference for checking facts is as +ased on the telling of Kcorro+orativeL stories as it is on o+Eective KscientificL facts. .arter is, < 6o(ld say, concerned to demonstrate that s(+Eective and o+Eective representation m(st +e taken together to realise a f(lly materialist representation K6hich is more in keeping 6ith the am+itions of 0(rrealismL. <t is th(s not a+o(t 6holly s(+verting +(t of dialectically moving +et6een the t6o modes. Walser

himself stands for the constant sense of incred(lity to6ards narrative thro(gho(t the first t6o sections of the te3t* his is the stance of postmodernismF B)evversC is a self1
'' '7

.arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. '. ?egerfeldt, Lies that tell the Truth, p. "9$.

Mark P. Williams

"$"

"$ creating plenit(de 6hich e3ceeds this and 6ith 6hich Walser is attempting to negotiate. WalserCs principal error is treating )evvers as a mystery to +e solved, a fantastic o+Eect to +e either marvelled at or decoded, rather than perceiving her as a totality, i.e. as a person 6ith 6hom he is interacting, as a s(+Eect of o+servation rather than an o+Eect. The t6ists and t(rns of )evversC BrealityC in the novel are all +ased on her play 6ith and resistance to more hostile fig(res 6hich each tries to red(ce her to some kind of o+Eect of either teratology or marvel. <n this sense, .arterCs fiction is concerned 6ith escaping, thro(gh a 0(rrealist dialectic, the idea of pigeonholing people Kmainly 6omenL as BeitherDorC categories, as Be3oticC o+Eects or forms, and as red(ctive interpretations. )evvers foregro(nds this relationship, disc(ssing her

apprenticeship in the +rothel in semiotic terms, saying* Bfor seven long years, sir, < 6as no(ght +(t the painted, gilded sign of love, and yo( might say, that so it 6as < served my apprenticeship in &eing loo-e! atJat +eing the o+Eect in the eye of the +eholder.CN.arterCs italicsO.
'9

< 6ill no6 disc(ss t6o of the more prominent attempts to red(ce )evvers* that of Mr .hristian -osencre(t= and the -(ssian >rand D(ke. < arg(e that they represent t6o attempts to fi3 the meaning of )evvers, one in terms of art and sym+olism, the other thro(gh capital and rare o+Eects. ?er conflicts 6ith these fig(res signal the dialectical progression of her character.

%%: Mr Christian Rosencreut9: Art, Authority and Meaning When )evvers is kidnapped and taken to .hristian -osencre(t=Cs >othic ho(se interte3t(ality and overdetermination form a crescendo of imposed meaning 6hich
'9

.arter, Nights at the Circus, p. $.

Mark P. Williams

"$

"$$ )evvers escapes from to ret(rn to the real 6orld. <t forms a parody of postmodernist play 6here the relation of the s(+Eect to concrete social circ(mstances is almost concealed +y the emphasis on a pl(rality of meanings 6hich deny )evvers any voiceF the play of signs and the s(+version of the categories of BfantasyC and BrealismC is determined +y social agency. -osencre(t=Cs introd(ction is a monolog(e 6hich does not allo6 for )evvers to so m(ch as introd(ce herself* BWelcome, A=rael,C he says. BA=rael, A=rail, Ashriel, A=riel, A=aril, >a+rielF dark angel of many names. Welcome to me, from yo(r home in the third heaven. 0ee, < 6elcome yo( 6ith roses no less parado3ically vernal that yo(r presence, 6ho, like Proserpine, comes from the ,and of the Dead to herald ne6 lifeUC '4

)rom here the >othic overdetermination of )evvers is rendered more heavily +y the feverish imagination of Mr .hristian -osencre(t= than it has +een +y the reader, first thro(gh a riddle and then into a +arrage of literary reference. The crescendo of meanings he adds to the interpretations 6hich have already +een placed on )evversC fantastic +ody +ecome +oth grotes/(e and meaningless* this is the attempt to red(ce the 6orld to a single system of meaning 6hich can +e perceived in totalityF that system may ascri+e m(ltiplicities of meaning to )evvers +(t it 6ill al6ays regard her as an o+Eect 6ith a meaning, rather than a s(+Eect engaged in the active generation of meanings. -osencre(t= terms )evvers BPZ(een of the am+ig(ities, goddess of in1 +et6een states, +eing on the +orderline of species, manifestation of Arioroph, 2en(s, Achamatoth, 0ophiaQC.
';

)evversC narrative scepticism +rings (s +ack do6n to earth,

o(t of -osencre(t=Cs idea of higher realms and into the material reality at hand +eneath the rhetoric* prostit(tion and kidnapping. The mystical lang(age co(ching
'4 ';

.arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. 9'. .arter, Nights at the Circus5 pp. 4"J4 .

Mark P. Williams

"$$

"$% 6hat is a scene of s(preme female e3ploitationJ-osencre(t= intends to sacrifice )evversJreads as a contin(ation of the narrative strategies .arter adopted in The Sa!eian Woman, taking the lang(age, the references and the style on +oard for 6hat it can offer, +(t t(rning in her concl(sion to offer a sta(nch criti/(e of the social e3ploitation 6hich 6as nevertheless involved. The scene 6ith .hristian -osencre(t= is a rehearsal of some of the meanings 6hich have accr(ed aro(nd )evvers thro(gho(t the te3t* the >reek classical and +i+lical imagery s(ggested +y the story of )evversC ?ellenic +irth and angelic 6ings, going as far as the d(ngeon1like display in the ho(se of B,iving 0keletonC Madame 0chreck. 7! This renders m(ch of the all(sion of the preceding pages of the novel o+vio(s, almost s(perfl(o(s to critical el(cidation. .arter is (sing her

interte3t(al techni/(es against themselves to demonstrate ho6 they can operate to limit, as 6ell as enhance, (nderstanding in a material sense, )evvers escapes sym+olism thro(gh literalness* she can escape +eca(se she physically has 6ings and is a+le to fly. Understood as a self1s(+verting scene, )evversC flight at the end of this se/(ence is an escape from a tyranny of imposed meanings 6hich are to +e read as not simply phallocentric Kaltho(gh -osencre(t=Cs masc(linism is o+vio(sL +(t also as systemic to the mode .arter has chosen to 6rite in. <t is a mimetic version of the desire .arter states in intervie6 6ith 8ohn ?affenden K Novelists in InterviewL to escape from +oth BmanneristC representation and from the feeling that her fictions are similar to literary criticism, an escape to6ards engaging 6ith social pro+lems. This is pro+lematic* the act of 6riting against literat(re prod(ces literary convention, so she

7!

.arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. ';.

Mark P. Williams

"$%

"$' 6rites an alternate form of criticism into her fiction precisely +y 6orking 6ithin and +et6een these imp(lses. .arter has set (p a novel f(ll of interte3t(al reference, 6ith a lead character 6ho is partic(larly s(rro(nded +y them, and in 6hose person a n(m+er of disparate frames of reference coalesce. 0he has +(ilt (p the e3pectation that this character is to +e either taken serio(sly in their fantastic form or, alternatively, (ltimately (ncovered in a ret(rn to something approaching realism. This tension has +een cr(cial from the opening page and has +een disc(ssed at length +y .arter critics, nota+ly +y Pa(lina Palmer in B.oded Manne/(in or Aird WomanC,
7"

6here the

am+ig(ities of )evversC +ody are disc(ssed as literalisations of partic(lar disco(rses and disc(rsive practices. )evversC +ody is a te3t to +e read and, 6ith a postmodernist heritage th(s foregro(nded, the novel appears to +e operating in a postmodernist vein, 6hich 6o(ld effectively resolve some of the am+ig(ity, and it is not entirely 6hat happens in the te3t. <nstead, at this point of greatest +readth of interte3t(ality so far, 6here )evvers herself is +eing made most resol(tely te3t(al, .arter p(shes the novel into self1parody. 0he re1instit(tes the demand of the reader to find o(t 6hat is B+eneathC the story 6e are +eing Ke3travagantly and e3aggeratedlyL told* the possi+ility of -ealism is creeping +ack. The a+s(rd fig(re of Mister .hristian -osencre(t= is, 6e are told, an alias for a mem+er of Parliament 6ho has spoken against 6omenCs s(ffrage, a name Walser, o(r investigative Eo(rnalist is given +(t 6hom 6e as readers have no access to*

7" Palmer, Pa(lina, B)rom P.oded Manne/(inQ to Aird Woman* Angela .arterCs Magic )lightC, in Women 2ea!ing Women0s Writing, ed. +y 0(e -oe KArighton* ?arvester, ";49L.

Mark P. Williams

"$'

"$7 BIo( m(st kno6 this gentlemanCs nameUC insisted )evvers and, sei=ing his note+ook, 6rote it do6n. 0he had a fine, firm, flo6ing italic hand. :n reading it* B>ood >od,C said Walser. B< sa6 in the paper only yesterday ho6 he gives the most impressive speech in the ?o(se on the s(+Eect of 2otes for Women. Which he is against. :n acco(nt of ho6 6omen are of a different so(l1s(+stance from men, c(t from a different +ody of spirit cloth, and altogether too p(re and rarefied to +e +othering their pretty little heads 6ith things of this 6orld, s(ch as the <rish /(estion and the Aoer War. 7 These t6o te3t(al details, the real name and the fact that 6e have no access to it, pres(ppose the reinstit(tion of some kind of Platonic historiographic realism, as if, given s(fficient scr(tiny of the records of Parliamentary speeches, it might +e possi+le to find a correlate to his character. .arter is not +l(rring the distinction +et6een realist and anti1realist fictions Kaltho(gh she has done so else6hereL, +(t is rather setting each (p as a competing set of e3pectations and allo6ing them to d(el in the readerCs mind. Thro(gh that d(el she presents (s 6ith a series of moments 6here 6e are forced to reconsider o(r relationship 6ith the te3t. Ay taking +oth possi+ilities serio(sly sim(ltaneo(sly she can prod(ce a series of 0(rrealist gest(res 6ithin the novel* +(ilding (p an e3pectation thro(gh BgenericC techni/(es of one kind only to (pset it (sing another, and so on. This novel is perhaps most important as a

c(lmination of this techni/(e as it has appeared in her earlier novels, Desire Machines and New Eve, +eca(se its concl(sion might +e arg(ed to lead to6ards the historiographic realist, and to6ards the str(ggle for socialism in the t6entieth cent(ry, as Hichola Pitchford s(ggests K$ Companion to the +ritish an! Irish Novel , !!'L, or it might lead to something altogether more te3t(al and ineffa+le, a meditation on the nat(re of fantasy. We are left teetering on the +rink of either possi+ility, s(ggesting that the c(lmination of .arterCs stance is that 6e m(st so teeter in order to really feel the
7

.arter, Nights at the Circus, pp. 94J9;.

Mark P. Williams

"$7

"$9 force of historical events as +oth imaginary and concrete. This is, if anything, an ending 6hich s(ggests 0ocialist 0(rrealism. Moreover, coming in ";4% it is

anticipating the e3pansion of the process of historiographic play termed B0teamp(nkC. 0teamp(nkCs development as a mode dra6s on similar e3amples from post1";7!s c(lt(re to those 6hich inform .arterCs 6ork, stories s(ch as Mary >entleCs BA 0(n in the AtticC K";4'L, first p(+lished alongside, among others, 8oanna -(ss and Tanith ,ee in Dispatches from the 'rontiers of the 'emale Min! K";4'LF 7$ it forms 6hat might +e termed Balternate fantasyC Kas opposed to alternate historyL, transplanting as it does the concerns of m(ltiple historical periods and genres. <t is concerned 6ith imagining the relationship of past and present as interpenetrating constr(cts 6ithin the pop(lar imagination, revealing an interest in many of the same themes as .arterCs novel* the thematising of the past as a fantasy of the present. ,et (s t(rn no6 to the materialism of fantasy.

%%%: (he Grand -uke and the force of Ca&ital

The episode 6here )evvers meets the >rand D(ke presents her as +eing ca(ght +et6een the poles of complicity and resistance to the po6er of capital. 0he is a6are of the relation of her o6n val(e to the D(ke and that of relative economic forces* B<f all the 6omen in the 6orld had 6ings, heCd keep his Ee6els to himself to play at d(cks and drakes on the icy 6aters of the Heva. My val(e to him is as a rara avis.C. 7% The fantastical aspect of )evvers, her 6ings as m(ch as her performances, are all related to

>reen, 8en, and ,efan(, 0arah KedsL Dispatches 'rom the 'rontiers of the 'emale Min! K,ondon* WomenCs Press 0), ";4'L. 7% .arter, Nights at the Circus, p. "4'.

7$

Mark P. Williams

"$9

"$4 the material e3changes of commodity. ?er theatricality and artifice sell an image of herself as an art o+Eect 6hose e3changes she can control, +(t only to a certain e3tent. The >rand D(ke is the fig(re 6ho represents the acc(m(lation of s(rpl(s val(e as o+Eects KBdead la+o(rC, Mar3, Capital5 v9L, removed from the living 6orld of la+o(r and prod(ction* this is represented +y the >rand D(keCs collection of eggs made from rare Knon1organic and non1livingL minerals, 6hose insides sim(late life. ,i==ieCs voice +ecomes a Mar3ian Kand metafictionalL echo in )evversC head at this point in the te3t, reminding her BAll yo( can do to earn a living is to make a sho6 of yo(rself N#.O )or yo(, its al6ays a sym+olic e3change in the market1placeF yo( co(ldnCt say yo( 6ere engaged in prod(ctive la+o(r, no6 co(ld yo(@C. 7' The po6er of the >rand D(ke to make her into an o+Eect is greater than that of .hristian -osencre(t= +eca(se it is the po6er of acc(m(lated s(rpl(s val(e, 6ealth, to set a price on art o+EectsF 6here .hristian -osencre(t= 6as only in a position to fi3 her meaning as a sign in e3changes of kno6ledgeJthe >rand D(ke is not interested in )evversC meaning, only in her rarity as an o+Eect. An art o+Eect can resist attempts to render its meaning a(thoritatively +y polysemy, +y irony and s(+versionF it cannot resist its o6n commodification, nor choose its o6n val(e in the market, the po6er of capital determines the val(e of rare o+Eects. <n the enco(nter 6ith .hristian -osencre(t=, )evversC a+ility to master her o6n polysemy is 6hat allo6s her to escape Kans6ering -osencre(t=Cs riddle 6hile managing to keep her miniat(re s6ord on her personLF the >rand D(ke can only +e escaped +y overcoming his a+ility to red(ce her to a commodity, it is sho6n as a more precario(s and dangero(s negotiation* there are no 6indo6s to escape thro(gh and the >rand D(ke is Ba man of /(ite e3ceptional physical strength, s(fficient to pin even her to the

7'

<+id.

Mark P. Williams

"$4

"$; gro(ndC. 77 ?er 6ay aro(nd this is a pro+lematic one* she e3ploits the other aspect of her +eing 6hich might +e s(+Eect to commodification, her feminine se3(ality* Ba deep instinct of self1preservation made her let his rooster o(t of the hen1coop for him and r(ffle (p its feathers, as he 6as r(ffling hersC. 79 <t is a negotiation +et6een the threat of red(ction, literali=ed in the fear that )evvers 6ill find herself shrinking to fit the miniat(re cage that the D(ke has prepared for her, and the red(ction to an o+Eect for male se3(al desire. Desire

Machines and New Eve have already demonstrated that .arter vie6s this +alance 6ith d(e ca(tion. The te3t elides the details of )evversC act(al escape in an almost filmic or cartoon1like +l(rring +et6een an art o+Eect 6ith a miniat(re train and the act(al Trans)Si&erian E press )evvers +oards. This +l(rring coincides 6ith the melting of an ice carving of )evvers, another art o+Eect attempting to fi3 her representationF its melting seems to allo6 )evvers herself to melt from one scene to another in the co(rse of a sentence*

Then came a 6et crash and clatter as the ice1carving of herself collapsed into the remains of the caviar in the room +elo6, casting the necklace 6hich had tempted her among the dirty s(pper things. The +itter kno6ledge that sheCd +een fooled sp(rred )evvers into action. 0he dropped the toy train on the <sfahan r(nnerJmercif(lly, it landed on its 6heelsJas, 6ith a gr(nt and a 6histle of e3pelled +reath the >rand D(ke eEac(lated. <n those fe6 seconds of his lapse of conscio(sness, )evvers ran helter1skelter do6n the platform, opened the door of the first class compartment and clam+ered a+oard. B,ook 6hat a mess heCs made of yo(r dress, the pig,C said ,i==ie.
74

The >rand D(keCs gr(nt and 6histle +ecome the so(nd of the train leaving the platform and 6e are left 6ith only impression, mirroring WalserCs loss of control over
77 79

.arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. ";". <+id. 74 .arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. "; .

Mark P. Williams

"$;

"%! events in the earlier scenes in the +ook. We are told earlier in the scene that BWalser 6o(ld have recognised the sensation 6hich gripped herF he had felt m(ch the same in her dressing room at the Alham+ra, 6hen midnight str(ck the third timeC.
7;

As

readers 6e are presented 6ith a 0(rrealist logic in the shift +et6een the scenes, accent(ating the severity of the enco(nter 6ith the >rand D(ke* 6e cannot reconstr(ct ho6 she coul! have got a6ay, 6e only kno6 that she did and that it has proved very costly to her personallyF 6e are denied s(fficient access to the site of the scene, it is (nrepresenta+le, tra(matic and se3(alised, at the very least a sym+olic rape* The 6eeping girl thre6 herself into the 6omanCs arms. <t 6as the dark a+yss of the night, into 6hich the moon pl(nges. <n this a+yss she had lost her magic s6ord. The station master +le6 his 6histle and 6aved the flag. The train, slo6ly, slo6ly, +egan to p(ll its great length o(t of the station, dragging 6ith it its freight of dreams. 9! The dreams 6hich freight this train are only magical in the 6ay that )evversC s6ord is magical, sym+olically, +(t they are still material. BDreamsC here means marvels and fantasies, the circ(s, +(t also means hopes and aspirationsF all of these things are tied to commodification and the po6er of capital, the escape is th(s an am+ig(o(s one* this train and its miniat(re are still s(ggestively close to one another. This enco(nter is the one 6hich marks the +eginning of the change for )evvers 6here she gives (p a part of the artifice and deception 6hich formerly characterised her relationships. -eciprocally, WalserCs o6n personality has +een forced to on the e3ternal characteristics 6hich have formerly never to(ched his interiority. )evvers is a fig(re 6hose meanings are constantly s(+verted and

/(estioned +y Walser (ntil his o6n meaning, his field of c(lt(ral reference, +ecomes

7; 9!

.arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. ";!. .arter, Nights at the Circus5 p. "; .

Mark P. Williams

"%!

"%" lost. ?e then tries to fill this apparent KpostLmodernist lack 6ith the c(lt(re of a BprimitiveC tri+e. ?ere the novel takes on the /(estions of a(thenticity inherent in disco(rses 6hich contrast modern 6ith pre1modern. Walser, seeming to +e lost to modernity, Eoins a c(lt(re 6hich has not yet +ecome modernised, in the process +ringing the forces of modernity 6ith him. ?is healing, +ro(ght a+o(t in a

comfortingly a(thentic 6om+ of pre1modern e3istence is a fantasy of +eing Bo(tsideC history, or historical forces, 6hich in his enactment he demonstrates to +e nothing +(t an ill(sion Kca(sed +y a +(mp on the headL. ?e is rendered a(tomatic in his reactions Ks(pposedly a privileged positionL yet it is his ret(rn from this state of +lankness, a void sym+olising the +lankness of his interiority prior to this, 6hich signals the evol(tion of his character. <t appears to +e a 0(rrealist gest(re Walser has performed* effectively destroying his preconceptions and acting (nconscio(sly in order to s(rpass the states of +oth rationalism and irrationalism as inade/(ate to e3pressing the nat(re of his reality. The irrational 6orld of the 0haman is on the +rink of e3tinction at the hands of historical forces of rationalismF Walser m(st find a 6ay to overcome this 6hich is compati+le 6ith his o6n materialist stance thro(gh a dialectic of rationalDanti1rational. ?e th(s ret(rns to himself, having fo(nd himself committed to a partic(lar position, no longer (nto(ched +y e3perience as )evvers is not longer /(ite so s(rro(nded +y tall tales. Their (nion, in la(ghter, at the end of the novel, 6ith

)evvers, nat(rally, on top, has +een made possi+le +y their m(t(al changes, +y their responding to each otherCs dialectical position and negotiating +y making compromises as material s(+Eects.

Conclusions: Socialist, Fe"inist, Surrealist

Mark P. Williams

"%"

"% .arterCs novels emphasise the materialism of the imaginary life +y emphasising the literariness of themselves 6hile taking their fictional 6orlds serio(sly as suchF it is important to disting(ish this from other metafictional gest(res 6here the intention is to 6holly s(+vert the medi(m. .arter is (sing the fictive medi(m to p(t for6ard a critical message a+o(t the material importance of fictionsF like Ado Gyro(, she proclaims the val(e of fantasy from a standpoint 6hich ackno6ledges its impossi+ility as its greatest po6er. Gyro( 6rites that it is Bas a frantic materialist that < love the impossi+leC,
9"

e3panding this to a philosophical declaration that 0(rrealism

can in fact onl" come a+o(t from a materialist standpoint. ?e contin(es* 0o1called Bs(pernat(ralC phenomena are only (nkno6n h(man forces or the magnificent sym+ols of terrestrial po6er. Any religio(s, esoteric Kin the theological senseL, mystical interpretation of these phenomena can only diminish their li+erating significance. That famo(s BreasonC pert(r+ed +y the fantastic and immersed in s(rreality attains the a(thentic sense of materialism, 6hich is not limited to its manifest content. Everything < kno6, everything < can find, everything that can move me, everything that e3ists is fo(nd on earth. This ever"thing is endless and the marvello(s it conceals accepts no idealistic, deistic or any 6ay non1e3istent accretion that destroys it. 9

To Gyro( it is the ine3plica+ility or impossi+ility of the (nkno6n forces of the (niverse 6hich allo6s for the 0(rrealist comparison +et6een the marvello(s 6ithin the everyday 6orld and the possi+ility of revol(tionary activity* things that seem to +e impossi+le, or are fantastically impro+a+le, happening in a 6holly h(man 6orld, 6itho(t attri+(tion to s(pernat(ral agency or divine teleology, serve to demonstrate +oth the richness of the material 6orld and its revol(tionary potential thro(gh the very act of imagining the Bimpossi+leC. )antasy 6itho(t a religio(s1theological content is

9" 9

Gyro(, BThe )antasticJThe Marvello(sC from The Sha!ow an! its Sha!ow, p. "79 Gyro(, BThe )antasticC, p. "74.

Mark P. Williams

"%

"%$ fantasy as a cognitive estrangement of the (nrepresenta+le fantastic content of the -eal. <t is clear that .arterCs thinking moves in similar 6ays to this. ?er 6ords to 8ohn ?affenden 6hen /(estioned on the relationship of the Bhighly styli=ed and decorative apparat(sesC of her novels to socio1historical reality, demonstrate a strongly 0(rrealist stance mod(lating the matter1of1fact tones of a 0ocialist* :+vio(sly the idea that my stories are all dreams or hall(cinations o(t of 8(ng1land, or the notion that the 6orld 6o(ld +e altogether a +etter place if 6e thre6 a6ay o(r rationality and 6ent la(ghing do6n the street, or even the one that schi=ophrenia is an enriching e3perience, thatCs all nonsense. < can see ho6 it m(st look to some readers, +(t the point is that if dreams are real as dreams, then thereCs a materiality to sym+olsF thereCs a materiality to imaginative life and imaginative e3perience 6hich sho(ld +e taken /(ite serio(sly. 9$

9$

.arter in ?affenden, Novelists in Interview, p. 4'.

Mark P. Williams

"%$

"%% .arter is responding in t6o 6ays to /(estions of literat(reCs aesthetic and political val(e in this /(estion and ans6er. )irst, it is a response to the Mar3ian Bc(lt(ral st(diesC approach to literat(re 6hich attri+(tes literat(reCs val(e as an o+Eect of st(dy primaril" to its sociological f(nctionsF this is something criti/(ed e3tensively else6here, see for e3ample, 8(lian MarkelsC disc(ssion of the critical heritage attached to -aymond Williams and )rederic 8ameson in The Mar ian Imagination K !!$L. 0econd, it is a reEoinder to the theoretical

ela+orations of the post1";74 generation of theorists 6ho help +(ild o(r notion of postmodernism, 6hose heritage com+ines elements of -.D. ,aingCs anti1 psychiatry movement 6ith ne6 critical terms s(ch as Bschi=oanalysisC developed +y >illes Dele(=e and )eli3 >(attari in $nti)>e!ipus K)rench ";9 , English ";99LF .arterCs 6ritings sho6 she is clearly interested in the same concepts and /(estions +(t is o+vio(sly ca(tio(s a+o(t ho6 to engage 6ith them. The insistence on the importance of reading the fac(lty of the imagination into the material lives of people as active s(+Eects is characteristic of 0(rrealismF it mirrors 0(rrealismCs interest in (sing the irrational, or 6hat .arter descri+es a+ove as BdreamC, for rationalist, materialist ends* li+erty and social E(stice. 0arah >am+le o+serves that .arterCs relation to her sense of BEnglishnessC and national identity 6as one s(ff(sed 6ith contradiction, .arterCs (se of 0(rrealism is of apiece 6ith this. 0he presents 0(rrealism and its s(spicio(s reception +y BThe AritishC /(ite ind(lgently, teasing intellect(al rhetoric 6ith the voice of its BotherC, the Banti1 intellect(alC masses. 0he is ironic, and sarcastic, in taking on the common sense

voice of the Bordinary AritonC in s(ch a 6ay as to display m(ltiple facets of her attit(de to6ards s(ch o(tlooks.

Mark P. Williams

"%%

"%'

The Aritish co(ld never take N0(rrealismCsO philosophic pretensions serio(slyF none of the s(rrealists kne6 any maths, and +esides, they kept dragging se3 and politics into everything, incl(ding the relations +et6een men and 6omen and the individ(al and the state, 6here every good Ariton kno6 se3 and politics have no right to +e. 9% .arter presents se3 and politics in all of her fictions as necessary parts of the e3pression of the 6hole s(+Eect. ?ere .arter 6rites 6ith the BcommonsenseC tones of Bthe AritishC that she is criti/(ing, something 0arah >am+le identifies as a central d(alistic imp(lse in .arterCs 6riting in general. >am+le compares the d(alistic

imagery of events designed to define BAritishnessC 6ith .arterCs o6n take on national identity, finding Ba pec(liar synchronicityC +et6een B.arterCs reEection of homogeno(s concepts of national identity and selfhoodC and the ";'" )estival of Aritain (sing the heraldic ,ion and Unicorn to sym+olise Aritishness. >am+le s(ggests that .arter is creating a d(alistic relationship +et6een fantastical and fact(al to e3pose already e3isting d(alistic characteristics. This (se of BdisE(nction and contradictionC 6hich

>am+le and others find in .arterCs fiction, Bsplit as it is +et6een fa+(lation and political p(rposeC, can +e (nderstood as (se of 0(rrealist techni/(es.
9'

.arterCs desire to layer her te3t(al referencing after medieval reading practices is a do(+le one* to create literat(re for simplistic and direct readings as 6ell as, sim(ltaneo(sly, more comple3 readings, 6itho(t sacrificing one interpretative comm(nity over another. 0he is an BacademicC 6riter intensely a6are of the nat(re of her position and constantly /(estioning, enco(raging her readership to /(estion all positionsF it is a 0(rrealist gest(re, (sing the pop(list and intellect(al modes together to s(persede the shortcomings of +oth. .arter (ses fantasy in all its pop(list and

intellect(al forms in her fictions to develop a model of materialist 6riting dra6ing on

9% 9'

.arter, BThe Alchemy of the WordC, p. 7;. >am+le, 0arah, $ngela Carter4 $ Literar" Life, second edition KAasingstoke* Palgrave, N !!7O !!;L, pp. ";7J !!.

Mark P. Williams

"%'

"%7 0(rrealism as an emancipatory techni/(e to +e p(t to the service of left radical str(ggle for feminists and socialists. .arter com+ines 0(rrealism 6ith a love of the vario(s aesthetic forms of contemporary 6riting, e3ploring the 6ays it can (nify political and aesthetic demands 6ithin a fantasy frame6ork.

Cha&ter (hree: Alan Moore)s %""aterialist criti*ue: su&erheroes and esca&e 0: Alan Moore and Antino"ian :istory This chapter 6ill analyse the relationship +et6een politics and the imagination in the fantasy 6ork of Alan Moore. <t 6ill demonstrate that MooreCs fictions, in terms of their political commitment and their aesthetic practices, are +ased (pon the resol(tion

Mark P. Williams

"%7

"%9 of political contradiction thro(gh the po6er of the imagination in a 6ay 6hich reveals him to +e a modern antinomian. <n MooreCs 6ork, fantasy landscapes sym+olise the shared space of the imagination and characters represent or espo(se political vie6s and aesthetic practices 6hich contest, share and affect that landscapeF his s(perheroes fight to defend the imagination. ?e self1conscio(sly conte3t(alises his 6ork 6ithin a >nostic -omantic tradition 6hich favo(rs the po6er of the imagination, mod(lating it 6ith materialist criti/(e. MooreCs fantasy 6ork is (nderpinned +y a desire to e3pose and cele+rate the (ndergro(nd for its (topianism. ?e is an antinomian insofar as he is e3plicitly concerned 6ith visionary fantasy as a space 6hich reveals the co(nter1 histories of resistance to po6er, cele+rating the (nofficial and the alternative, and the possi+ilities of political (topias. ?is fictions are also antinomian in that they dra6

(pon a history of heretical, revol(tionary and (topian 6ritings +y religio(s, c(lt(ral and political dissenters to demonstrate this. <n his recent p(+lication Dogem Logic K0ept, !!;L, Moore delivers a short history of s(+versive and (nofficial p(+lishing in Aritain and its contestatory relationship 6ith central c(lt(re entitled B>oing Undergro(ndC. 97 ?e provides a loose -omantic narrative 6hich connects BZ(akers, Ana+aptists, Antinomians, Moravians, M(ggletonians, -anters, ,evellers and DiggersC 6ith the lang(age of post1";7!s (topian gro(ps 6ho dra6 (pon them,
99

and

e3plains the relationship he sees +et6een the historical periods he dra6s together +y +lending historical idioms 6ith those of ";7!s (ndergro(nd 6riting and anarchist pamphlets*

0ome of the -anters N#O preached a creed of se3(al li+eration and a+andonment of earthly goods in pamphlets kno6n as Bfiery flying rollsC,
Moore, B>oing Undergro(ndC Kpp. J9L Dogem Logic ;9 KGnocka+o(t AooksD.lose Enco(nters* Horthampton, 0ept !!;L. 99 Moore, B>oing Undergro(ndC, p. .
97

Mark P. Williams

"%9

"%4 prophetic te3ts penned +y s(ch 6orthies as the mighty A+ie=er .oppe. The Diggers 6ere g(errilla gardeners 6ho gre6 crops on common land that had +een fenced off and enclosed +y no+lemen at the +eginning of the N"9 thO cent(ry, 6hile ,evellers 6ere t6o1fisted anarchists 6ho 6anted to get rid of no+lemen and r(lers altogether. Ki+id.L

Moore then details ho6 some meanings of B(ndergro(nd p(+lishingC have shifted historically from +eing religio(s and political to +ecoming the germ of an BalternativeC c(lt(re or set of Bs(+1c(lt(resC. ?is o6n contemporary interest lies in developing the c(lt(ral connections +et6een the BalternativeC traditions of antinomian 6riting, r(nning from -anters and ,evellers thro(gh to the (ndergro(nd p(+lications of the B7!s, International Times and >1, and from The *illage *oice to New Worl!s and 0avoy Aooks. 94 Writing that BThe (ndergro(nd press left a legacy of tolerant,

progressive ideas that have m(ch enriched societyC Moore cele+rates the ";7!s (ndergro(nd as the first place that 6orking1class people from 6hite, provincial England Bheard a+o(t +lack po6er, gay rights or 6omenCs li+erationC, adding that Bp(+lications like >ay He6s or key feminist maga=ine 0pare -i+ 6o(ld pro+a+ly not e3isted 6itho(t their more freaky forer(nners to serve as inspirationC.
9;

Altho(gh

this last assertion is open to criti/(e Kas other commentators have s(ggested, the (ndergro(nd press 6as vie6ed as inspiration only as often as it 6as seen as part of the pro+lem 4!L, MooreCs 6ider point is that 6ild and fantastical e3pressions of the imagination are among the essential preconditions for the c(lt(ral enrichment of society as a 6hole. This can +e seen in his all(sions to visionary 6riting in his intervie6s and in the interte3t(al all(sion of his comic +ook 6ork.

<+id. , pp. %J9. <+id., p. 9. 4! )or a more n(anced disc(ssion of the comple3 relationships +et6een these p(+lications, see Higel )o(ntain An!ergroun!4 The Lon!on $lternative Press5 98HH)L= K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";44L.
9;

94

Mark P. Williams

"%4

"%; MooreCs vie6 of the relationship +et6een imagination and reality reflects the lang(age of visionary nonconformists s(ch as William Alake, 8ohn A(nyan and Margaret .avendish, the D(chess of He6castle, all of 6hom manifest as epite3ts or interte3t(al appropriation in his 6ork.
4"

Their names are (sed as

constellations to navigate +y in his 6riting and, as < shall indicate, his (se of the visionary tradition is a 6ay of rec(perating the -omantic imagination for his o6n contemporary left radical position. As his 6ords on the nat(re of fantasy indicate, MooreCs tho(ght is closely related to a ";7!s tradition 6hich com+ined psychedelic c(lt(re and fantasy 6ith political dissent* )antasy and psychedelic dr(gs are often held (p as +eing, say, prime aven(es of escapism. To me itCs E(st the opposite* )antasy ena+les yo( to look at the real sit(ation thro(gh a different lens. )antasy is incredi+ly important N#O central to the h(man e3perienceF this is not some frivolo(s sort of light, decorative thing. 4 )oregro(nding fantasy as cognitive estrangement in this 6ay links his 6ork 6ith the co(nter1c(lt(ral rec(perations of visionary te3ts and religio(s antinomianism* to Moore, the imagination is the most important element of +eing h(man, the one 6hich ties together and comm(nicates +et6een all others. ?e +orro6s from Aleister

.ro6ley the term BmagickC to designate this, meaning a 6ritten form of the imagination 6hich links all other h(man fac(ltiesF for Moore, BmagickC is homologo(s 6ith BfantasyC* it is conscio(s and mediated, and primarily 6ritten, and an affective medi(m 6hich can address the real 6orld thro(gh the imaginary. .omic +ooks are an important manifestation of this in pop(lar media +eca(se they are among
AlakeCs painting #host of a 'lea K"4";L appears in 'rom Hell KGnocka+o(t Aooks* ,ondon, !!!* ch. ;, p. "'L and the character of Alake himself appears later to connect the painting more directly 6ith MooreCs -ipper Kch. "%, p. "! and pp. "7J"9LF Alakean all(sion appears 6ithin Watchmen, incl(ding a chapter title B)earf(l 0ymmetryC Kch. 'L and in his >reen ,antern story BTygersC KThe DC Aniverse Stories of $lan Moore KHe6 Iork* D. .omics, !!7* pp. "' J7$LF 8ohn A(nyanCs .hristian appears in the +ackgro(nds of League of E traor!inar" #entlemen K,a 8olla, .alifornia* Wildstorm, !! , !!$L, and enters Margaret .avendishCs BAla=ing WorldC in +lac- Dossier K,a 8olla* Wildstorm, !!4L. 4 Moore, intervie6 for S'4 AJO PTrips Through Time an! Space0, K.hannel %* dir. Dprod(cer Mark .arlish, !!"L.
4"

Mark P. Williams

"%;

"'! the fastest1p(+lisha+le forms, +eca(se they are highly accessi+le and, most importantly for Moore they promote m(ltiple approaches to the vis(al +y presenting a (nity of 6ord and image 6hich transcends +oth. ?is specific relationship 6ith the fig(re of the s(perhero as an e3pression of the imagination is central to his constr(ction of the val(e of the comic +ook medi(m and of art in general. <t +egins 6ith a restatement of the pro+lem of political fantasy* is s(perheroic fantasy escapist KideologicalL or li+erating. MooreCs personal o(tlook is informed +y a 6orking class perspective and strong affinity for left radical ca(ses. This is e3pressed thro(gh his advocacy of anarchist criti/(e of contemporary society and campaigning for les+ian and gay rights, informed +y his +ackgro(nd and those of his closest friends. <n response to the introd(ction of 0ection 4 o(tla6ing the BpromotionC of homose3(ality, he organised and p(+lished the maga=ine, $$2#HD M$rtists $gainst 2ampant #overnment Homopho&iaN K";44L, headed +y his poem The Mirror of Love promoting the history of homose3(al c(lt(re.
4$

Else6here, he has also cele+rated the Bmillennial To(rettesC

of 0avoy +ooks as a co(nter1c(lt(ral force, descri+ing David ArittonCs Bacid voiceC and Bconstant indiscretionsC as a necessary reminder of the regional ine/(alities 6hich still e3ist in contemporary Aritain. 4% <n the early part of MooreCs career 6e can clearly see that he (ses s(perheroes as sym+ols of c(lt(ral forces, representing the dominant politics of their time, 6hile lesser kno6n s(perheroic characters convey either resid(al or emergent c(lt(ral formations. <n Swamp Thing KD.* ";4$149L Moore develops the 06amp Thing into a s(perhero character of the margins of h(man e3perienceF he e3ists at the edges of the D. (niverseCs typical advent(res, enco(ntering 0(perman and Aatman
The Mirror of Love has +een rep(+lished +y 8os5 2illarr(+ia KAtlanta, Portland* Top 0helf, !!%L. Moore, B<ntrod(ctionCN(npaginatedO to Aritton, David, 'uc- >ff an! Die ill(s. Gris >(idio KManchester* 0avoy, !!'L.
4% 4$

Mark P. Williams

"'!

"'" +(t rarely +eing ackno6ledged officially. Thro(gh the series he develops in a 6ay 6hich comes to sym+olise something of MooreCs interest in the c(lt(ral formation of the BmarginsC. With maEor s(perhero characters the press(re of a(dience and editorial e3pectation e3erts partic(lar infl(ence, +(t for a marginal character there is a greater degree of freedom to develop idiosyncratically. MooreCs response to this in the ";4!s 6as to deconstr(ct the po6er relations 6hich s(perhero narratives generate and reveal the ideological ass(mptions that s(perheroes might implicitly s(pport +y e3trapolating from historical circ(mstances.

1: (he S&atialisation of the %"agination

As a 6riter 6ho 6orks 6ith ill(strative artists to create 6orks +ased on a (nity of 6ord and image, Moore has said many times in intervie6 that he 6orks primarily thro(gh 6ords to manip(late sense impressions in the mind of othersF altho(gh this is mostly vis(al, as critics s(ch as Annalisa Di ,iddo has o+served, Moore is kno6n in the comics ind(stry for giving far more sensory information to his colla+orating artist that they can impart thro(gh the medi(m, Di ,iddo s(ggests that this e3cess of sense impressions allo6s Moore to develop an B(nderlang(ageC, Bthat is, an alternative idiom to common lang(age, 6hich res(lts from the interaction of t6o codes* the iconic and the ver+alC thro(gh inviting his first reader, the artist, into a shared 6orld to 6hich they then contri+(te their interpretation.
4'

< s(ggest that this is one 6ay

Moore e3presses the idea of the imagination as a landscape shared +y 6riter, artist and reader.
4' Di ,iddo, Annalisa, $lan Moore4 Comics as Performance5 'iction as Scalpel K8ackson* University of Mississippi Press, !!;L, p. $".

Mark P. Williams

"'"

"' 0patialisation is central to the interpretation of MooreCs te3ts. As Mark Aernard and 8ames A(cky .arter o+serve in BAlan Moore and the >raphic Hovel* .onfronting the )o(rth DimensionC, the meeting of time and space in the imagination is one of the keys to MooreCs oe(vre* the meeting of s(+Eective and o+Eective time in the reading space of the comic +ook page. To them, the Bfo(rth dimensionC is constit(ted +y the readerly s(+Eectivity enco(ntering the spatiali=ation of se/(ence and d(ration on the comic +ook* The term to (s refers to a special relationship 6ith space and time 6herein the t6o conflate s(ch that infinite m(ltiple dimensionalities +ecome sim(ltaneo(sly present. When the readerCs interaction, his or her o6n space1time, is acco(nted for, this evocation of space1time +ecomes /(ite literal and e3pands e3ponentially. The fo(rth dimension is +ridged +y h(man e3perience and interaction. The spontaneo(s, real1time interplay of all these forces at once create an ethereal dimension of its o6n, also 6hat 6e refer to as the fo(rth dimension. Therefore the fo(rth dimension is defined as sim(ltaneo(s m(ltit(dino(s dimensionality deeply ent6ined in and part of individ(al e3perience. 47 This attempt to e3plicate the specific relation of se/(ential art to the e3changes of the fictive and the imaginary o6es a great deal to MooreCs disc(ssions of B<dea 0paceC as they appear in vario(s intervie6s and in the comic +ooks s(ch as Supreme4 The 2eturn Ksee +elo6L. MooreCs ideas on this s(+Eect o6e their development to Art 0piegelmanCs +rea-!owns, a meditation on the KpositionalL relationships +et6een BhighC and Blo6C art forms, as 6ell as their relationships 6ith their vie6erDreader, 6hich also inform the analyses of 0cott Mc.lo(d in An!erstan!ing Comics. :ne of 0peigelmanCs key (tterances is that BNiOn comics the page is the +asic (nit of tho(ghtC, from this he relates the practice of comic +ook art, as a (ni/(e com+ination of 6ords and pict(res, directly to the changing of the readerCs sense of time and space, and 2iktor 0hklovskyCs ideas on art and defamiliarisation*
47 Aernard and A(cky .arter BAlan Moore and the >raphic Hovel* .onfronting the )o(rth DimensionC, from <mageTe3T vol. ", <ss(e K !!%L* .

Mark P. Williams

"'

"'$ The p(rpose of Art is to impart the sensation of things as they are perceived and not as they are kno6n. The techni/(e of Art is to make o+Eects BunfamiliarC, to make forms diffic(lt. To increase the diffic(lty and length of perception# Aeca(se the process of perception is an aesthetic end in itself and m(st +e prolonged. Art is a 6ay of e3periencing the $rtfulness of an o+Eect. The o+Eect is not important. 49

Aernard and A(cky .arterCs disc(ssion of Moore +orro6s from the same shared tradition of Modernist art that 0hklovsky is here disc(ssing, they liken the 6ork to Picasso, an e3plicit point of reference for 0piegelman and Moore, in an attempt to generate a terminology ade/(ate to e3pressing one of the f(ndamental aspects of the graphic novel* Bmanip(lation of the space1time contin((m is so m(ch a part and parcel 6ith the very nat(re of se/(ential art that NtheO +ridging of time and spaceC so(ght +y Marcel D(champ in Nu!e Descen!ing a Staircase K";" L or Picasso in #uernica K";$9L, Bis virt(ally seamlessC in the comic +ook mode in a 6ay less common to other vis(al arts or literat(res. 44 Metaphorically spatialising the imagination is an essential f(nction of the s(perhero mode as fantasy for Moore. Moore (ses several terms for this idea* B<dea 0paceC KSupreme4 The 2eturnL, BThe <mmateri(mC KPrometheaL, and BThe Ala=ing WorldC KLeague of E traor!inar" #entlemen4 +lac- Dossier KI8L. These

descriptions dra6 (pon constr(ctions of the imagination from the visionary tradition in terms of a plane of e3istence occ(pied, chiefly, +y visionaries and poets, and in these vario(s series he invokes the names of Margaret .avendish, 8ohn A(nyan, William Alake, Arth(r Machen and David ,indsay as a tradition of visionary
0hklovsky /(oted in 0piegelman, +rea-!owns4 Portrait of the $rtist as a ,oung QR?SD KPeng(inD2iking* ,ondon, !!4 N";9 OL, (npaginated. Aernard and A(cky .arter, BAlan Moore and the >raphic HovelC* "4. League of E traor!inar" #entlemen4 +lac- Dossier K,a 8olla* Wildstorm, !!4L hereafter +lacDossier7
4; 44

49

Mark P. Williams

"'$

"'% individ(al 6riters. ;! The po6er of the imagination as a trans1historical force in a -omantic visionary tradition th(s has a specific significance for Moore* the spec(lative and the fantastical as a form of dissent, of non1conformity. This chapter 6ill analyse ho6 s(ch visionary individ(alist tradition relates to its apparent antinomy in MooreCs 6orking1class orientation and reveal ho6 he might +e (nderstood as defining a strain of modern antinomianism. There is an important s(+te3t to this attempt to (nify the interests of the visionary tradition 6ith those of the contemporary left* the pro+lem of escapism. ,eft radical and conservative traditions +oth conc(r that escapism is tied to a sense of individ(ation in the face of act(ally e3isting political sit(ations, partic(larly in the case of idiosyncratic visionary 6riting. M(ch of Angela .arterCs 6riting operates as a contra1escapist criti/(e of the vario(s s(+genres it engages 6ith. 0imilarly,

Moorcock has 6ritten polemically against escapism in the past d(e, as chapter one has disc(ssed, to the pro3imity of theme and form +et6een himself and 6riters 6hose escapism he opposes. As 6e shall see, MooreCs early 6ork in Watchmen and * for *en!etta in partic(lar clearly follo6s this contra1escapist vein, +(t in his later te3ts, Moore pro+lematises this. Where Moorcock s(ggests that escapism demonstrates a lac- of perspective, MooreCs later 6ork s(ggests instead that it is rather the case that escapism is one te3t(al perspective among others, indicating that he no1longer finds the possi+ility of an escapist reading of his fantasy as +eing antithetical to the sense of material escape from the determining constraints of circ(mstance. To (nderstand 6hy this might +e the case 6e need to look at the c(lt(ral legacy of MooreCs most pop(lar early fictions, t6o graphic novels 6hich changed the ind(stry, Watchmen K";47, ";49L and * for *en!etta K";4 14$, ";44L.
;! 0ee also BPrism and Pentecost* David ,indsay and the Aritish ApocalypseC Kpp. 3iJ33iL introd(ction to $ *o"age to $rcturus K0avoy* Manchester, N"; !O !! L.

Mark P. Williams

"'%

"'' < arg(e that the pop(larity and pop(lar heritage of Watchmen, ca(ses MooreCs 6ork to (ndergo a change of approach and a reconsideration of the nat(re of escape and escapism 6hich (nifies his visionary -omantic aesthetic imp(lses 6ith his radical left sensi+ility. The remainder of this chapter 6ill disc(ss the political and aesthetic foc(s of a sample of MooreCs maEor 6ork, starting 6ith Watchmen and * for *en!etta, moving to6ards his later 6orks Promethea5 Top Ten and the League of E traor!inar" #entlemen +ooks. < vie6 MooreCs series Tom Strong as a thematic

+ridge +et6een the early and late te3ts in terms of its relationship 6ith s(perhero aesthetics and politics. >eoff Glock relates Tom Strong directly to the 6ork of * for *en!etta and Watchmen in a 6ay 6hich seems /(ite at odds 6ith the pattern of the series as it has since emergedF < give a +rief disc(ssion of Tom Strong as a 6ay of invoking the tensions of MooreCs shift in tone.
;"

This chapter concl(des 6ith a

reading of +lac- Dossier 6here Moore states his c(rrent position on the relationships +et6een art and politics thro(gh the fig(re of the s(perhero.

;"

Glock, >eoff, How to 2ea! Superheroes an! Wh" K,ondon* .ontin((m, !! L.

Mark P. Williams

"''

"'7

3: -econstructing Su&erheroes %: Who Watches; Political criti*ue and the &er asi eness of &o$er in Watchmen

<n the ";4!s Moore 6as concerned 6ith (sing the fig(re of the s(perhero s(+versively, deconstr(cting the conventions of the s(perhero narrative to e3plore the political implications of metaphorical s(perpo6ers in the .old War 6orld. This section is concerned 6ith addressing the /(estions of ho6 Moore depicted the ";4!s political landscape (sing Watchmen and * for *en!etta as a critical aesthetic, the 6ays these t6o graphic novels have affected the reading of the s(perhero as a fig(re. Watchmen e3trapolates from post16ar politics to spec(late on ho6 the presence of masked vigilantes and s(perh(mans in America 6o(ld have affected the o(tcomes of the Mc.arthyite B6itch1h(ntsC and the 2ietnam War. * for *en!etta concerns a dystopian f(t(re Aritain 6ith a fascist governmentF Moore (ses these scenarios to e3plore 6hat kind of political and social e3tremes might prod(ce a s(perhero in post1 6ar Aritain. <n +oth te3ts Moore and his colla+orators present s(perheroes as fig(res 6hose po6ers are sed(ctive and li+erating +(t dangero(s, +oth morally and politically. The reasons Moore +ecame dissatisfied 6ith the effect that te3ts s(ch as these had on the development of the s(perhero genre can +e (nderstood +y comparing them 6ith the other defining te3t of the same era, )rank Miller and Gla(s 8ansenCs Dar- Jnight 2eturns K";47L, a BrevisionistC Aatman narrative 6hich, like Watchmen, spec(lates ho6 s(perheroes might operate as political fig(res. A(t 6hat is a s(perhero@ -o= Gaveney descri+es a s(perhero as Ba man or 6oman 6ith po6ers that are either massive e3tensions of h(man strengths and capa+ilities, or f(ndamentally different in kind, 6hich she or he (ses to fight for tr(th,

Mark P. Williams

"'7

"'9 E(stice and the protection of the innocentC.

;

As >reg 0. Mc.(e and .live Aloom

o+serve in Dar- Jnights4 The New Comics in Conte t K";;$L, the idea of the s(perhero is inevita+ly tied to partic(lar c(lt(ral moments of (pheaval or perceived (pheaval. Aeginning 6ith their origins BNcOomic +ooks never sold as 6ell as they did d(ring the 0econd World War and the immediate post16ar years N6henO NsO(perheroes appeared in n(m+ers that 6o(ld darken the skiesC and (shered in 6hat is no6 called the >olden Age of s(perheroic fig(res 6hose po6er and moral force 6ere em+odiments of Bspirits of the ageC, standing for the nation or modernity itself.
;$

B)orces +eyond the control of normal men irrevoca+ly alter the face of the planet and change the meaning of morality N#.O in s(perheroes those forces are not the ar+itrary ones of nat(re +(t have form and conscio(snessCF the forms those forces take in ";4!s comic +ooks s(ch as MooreCs early 6orks are familiar from )rederic 8amesonCs conception of postmodernity as a c(lt(ral form of late capitalism.
;%

<n the case of

Watchmen, Moore (ndertook a deconstr(ctive proEect to /(estion the val(es of s(perheroes themselves. Watchmen, series ";47, collected ";49, 6ith art6ork +y Dave >i++ons, introd(ced a historical materialist criti/(e into the constr(ctions of 6hat s(perhero advent(res can BmeanC, forcing characters 6ith po6ers and cost(mes into the specific political scenarios of the 2ietnam conflict and .old War. <ts imagery 6as e3plicitly styled after detective comics and its colo(r palette (sed shades of yello6, p(rple and green 6hich encode connotations of +r(ising, inE(ry and of decay. <n this te3t s(perpo6ers 6ere not E(st metaphors of political po6er, they e3ercised political po6er in materialist conte3ts of propaganda and ideology, legislat(re Kregistering
Gaveney, -o=, SuperheroesD Capes an! Crusa!ers in Comics an! 'ilms K,ondon and He6 Iork* <.A. Ta(ris, !!4L, p. %. ;$ Mc.(e and Aloom, Dar- Jnights4 The New Comics in Conte t K,ondon and Ao(lder, .olorado* Pl(to Press, ";;$L, p. "9. ;% Mc.(e and Aloom, Dar- Jnights, p. 9$.
;

Mark P. Williams

"'9

"'4 themselvesL and 6arfare Kfacilitating a U.0. victory in 2ietnamL. <ts premise

pres(med that the appearance of s(perheroes in America 6o(ld form part of the ideological conflict of the .old War and spec(lated on 6hat manner of effect the presence of these godlike fig(res might have on American confidence and the glo+al +alance of po6er. 0(perheroes are +oth the (ltimate sym+ol of American po6er in s(pport of the official po6ers of the U0, like the enigmatic and po6erf(l Dr Manhattan, or they are renegade vigilantes like -orschach 6ho operate as o(tla6s 6ith a violent and anarchic individ(alist ethos. This approach to the fig(re of the s(perhero also str(ct(res )rank MillerCs re1imagining of Aatman in Dar- Jnight 2eturns KDJ2L, ill(strated +y Gla(s 8anson and it is 6orth comparing their approaches +riefly. Aoth DJ2 and Watchmen offer +leak visions of 6orlds 6here the optimistic, hyper masc(line, hyper1patriotic, hyper real s(perheroes are living governmental propaganda* they are giants 6alking among (sF ;' they move in the circles of government or else are castigated as dangero(s loose cannons and o(tla6 vigilantes. Watchmen and DJ2 arrived together in ";47D49 and +oth capt(re a nihilism in graphic media 6hich >(y ,a6ley identifies 6ith the B9!s and B4!s p(nk phenomena in his article on BThe <nfl(ence of P(nk on .omicsC. ;7 < arg(e that it is primarily MillerCs 6ork 6hich has defined the movement to6ards predominantly negative political portrayals of s(perheroes 6hich Moore is no6 reEecting. >(y ,a6ley 6rites of DJ2 that BMillerCs anarcho1li+ertarian take on Aatman may have had little direct p(nk inp(t, +(t certainly reflected a post1p(nk moodCF ;9 this BmoodC determines certain aspects of the reading of +oth DJ2 and its
Paraphrase of the 6ords of s(perman in Dar- Jnight 2eturns )rank Miller, ill(s. Gla(s 8ansen KHe6 Iork* D., ";;7 N";47OL, p. "$!. ;7 ,a6ley, >(y, BP< like ?ate and < ?ate everything elseQ* The <nfl(ence of P(nk on .omicsC Kpp. "!! J";L from Pun- 2oc-4 So WhatB ed. 0a+in, -oger K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";;;L. ;9 ,a6ley, B<nfl(ence of P(nk on .omicsC, p. ""$.
;'

Mark P. Williams

"'4

"'; contemporaneo(s te3t, Watchmen. Miller and 8ansonCs >otham .ity faces a 6ide social threat from a yo(th gang called the M(tants, this M(tant gang are (niformly shaven1headed, dressed in clothing 6ith prominent =ips and 6earing stylised s(nglasses over their eyes. They are a mass force of yo(th1c(lt(re gone 6ild, their clothing a (niform dra6n from images 6hich had +ecome ?olly6ood stereotypes of yo(th s(+c(lt(res from skinheads to the +(rgeoning hip1hop +1+oy fashions. When this gro(p are event(ally defeated +y Aatman their follo6ers divide into one small s6astika16earing gro(p, and a larger one 6ho adopt the +at signal and 6ear it on their faces, calling themselves the B0ons of the AatmanCF
;4

s(ggesting that the society of

the time is dra6n to violent s(+c(lt(res and the only response is a corresponding violence, they are Bs(+verted as a force for social change +y a ne6ly politicised caped cr(saderC. ;; Watchmen and DJ2 +oth e3press a sim(ltaneo(s distaste for

(npro+lematic hero16orship and a desire for significant shifts in social attit(des +y sho6ing the s(perhero as a site of desire and rep(lsion, as grotes/(e Bmonstro(sC +odies. <n Watchmen 6e are presented 6ith a range of divergent vie6s and perspectives +et6een characters 6hile in DJ2 the dominant voice is al6ays that of MillerCs Aatman. The same BmoodC comes to dominate +oth te3ts, +(t not the same voice. The hard1+oiled voice is employed +y only one character in MooreCs novel, -orschach, a vigilante 6ith psychopathic tendencies. Watchmen has a comple3

str(ct(re of narrative arcs, thro(gh inter6eaving storylines it presents m(ltiple perspectives, -orschach, Dr Manhattan, Hite :6l, 0ilk 0pectre, +ringing them together into a resol(tion. Alternate chapters provide diverse vie6points +y foc(sing on different characters* -orschachCs Eo(rnal 6hich introd(ces (s to the plot is political
;4 ;;

Miller, DJ2, p. "! . ,a6ley, B<nfl(ence of P(nk on .omicsC, p. ""$.

Mark P. Williams

"';

"7! reactionary, 6hile the character of Daniel Drei+erg, Hite :6l, is more li+eral. The m(rder victimJEd6ard AlakeJis a deeply (nsympathetic character, se3(ally violent, misogynistic and politically cynical, he is also a government1sponsored masked vigilante kno6n as The .omedianF the motives for the m(rder (ncover a series of linkages +et6een all of the characters and the politics of the 6orld they live in. :fficial c(lt(re s(pports the cynical and violent character of The .omedian, 6hile li+erals s(ch as Hite :6lDDrei+erg find themselves marginalised alongside the reactionary -orschach, placing them in morally compromised positions. The novel presents a +leak spectr(m of alternatives 6here s(perheroes are either misg(ided or their responses to society are morally s(spect. Moore is presenting the s(perhero as a fig(re 6hose very strength leads to del(sion* people avoid dealing 6ith political pro+lems, deferring to s(perheroes, and political crises deepenF the novel s(ggests that s(perheroes primarily f(nction as the dark reflections of social violence. )rom -orschachCs Eo(rnal 6e learn his opinions of the city and its inha+itants, and his o6n politics*

The streets are e3tended g(tters and the g(tters are f(ll of +lood and 6hen the drains finally sca+ over all the vermin 6ill dro6n. The acc(m(lated filth of all their se3 and m(rder 6ill foam (p a+o(t their 6aists and all the 6hores and politicians 6ill look (p and sho(t Bsave (sUC# #and <Cll look do6n, and 6hisper BnoC.$!!

-orschach is the s(perhero vigilante presented as a psychotic o+sessive.

?e

complains a+o(t the pernicio(s infl(ence on society of Blechers and comm(nistsC 6ho lead people astray, and +erates Ball those li+erals and intellect(als and smooth talkersC as the so(rce of the crime he fights.$!" As Di ,iddo points o(t, the psychotic

(ndertone is formed (sing +orro6ed phrasing from serial m(rderer 6ritings s(ch as
$!! $!"

Moore, Watchmen KHe6 Iork* D., N";47O ";49L, ch. ", p. ". <+id.

Mark P. Williams

"7!

"7" David Aerko6it=Cs B0on of 0amC letters and .arl Pan=ramCs @ournal of Mur!er,$! implying that any of the vigilante s(perheroes 6ho have a do(+le1life 6o(ld +e considered on a par 6ith the most a+normal pathologies in o(r 6orld. The tone of -orschachCs plot arc s(ggests a demythologising of the s(perhero. <t is fig(red +oth in his self1determined mission, to B(nmaskC The

.omedianCs killer, and in his constant insistence on the essential meaninglessness of the 6orld he inha+its* BNeO3istence is random. ?as no pattern save 6hat 6e imagine after staring at it for too long. Ho meaning save 6hat 6e choose to impose.C $!$ -orschachCs voice speaks of a lack at the heart of the s(perhero narrative, a /(est for a meaning defined +y an empty core. ?is is the voice 6hich introd(ces the 6orld of Watchmen. The other characterCs perspectives offer f(rther deconstr(ctions of the idea of the s(perhero. :=ymandias, Bthe smartest man in the 6orldC, offers another perspective* totalitarian (tilitarianismF for him the s(perhero is one 6ho does that 6hich is BgoodC for the maEority of people irrespective of its material and moral cost. ?e saves the 6orld from n(clear 6ar +y perpet(ating an alien invasion hoa3 6hich kills tho(sands of innocent people in He6 Iork. The .omedian discovers the plot, and so :=ymandias kills him* B< pict(re him s6imming to the island, dagger in teeth, penetrating its installations. What he fo(nd m(st have come as a terri+le +lo6. <magine# the perfect fighting man discovering a plot to p(t an end to 6arC.$!% :=ymandias reveals that The .omedian 6as the only person 6ho B(nderstood N#.O ?e kne6 my plan 6o(ld s(cceed, tho(gh its scale terrified himCF $!' the violent cynicism of The .omedian, the covertly1sanctioned s(perhero, and the (topian

$!

Di ,iddo, $lan Moore, p. '7. Moore, Watchmen, ch. 7, p. 7. $!% Moore, Watchmen, ch. "", p. %. $!' Moore, Watchmen, ch. "", p. '.
$!$

Mark P. Williams

"7"

"7 a+sol(tism of :=ymandias, reflect one another in their vie6 of mankind. This is the +leak nat(re of WatchmenCs deconstr(ction of the s(perhero* the strongest s(perhero characters in the novel are predominantly +r(tal, psychotic or else possess a totalitarian (topian vision 6hich they implement at the cost of as many lives as it takes. The li+eral characters, Daniel Drei+(rg KHite :6lL and ,a(rie 8(spc=yk nGe 8(piter K0ilk 0pectreL, 6ho concern themselves 6ith fighting crime less +r(tally and resc(ing people from +(rning +(ildings are relatively ineffective. The others arg(e that they are either fighting Bonly the symptoms, leaving the disease itself (ncheckedC K:=ymandias$!7L or, more starkly, BNiOt donCt matter s/(at +eca(se inside thirty years the n(kes are gonna +e flying like may+(gsC KThe .omedian $!9L. Their efforts are d6arfed +y the overarching political sit(ation of the .old War 6hich renders the crime1fighting and resc(ing activities of a s(perhero effectively meaninglessF it is a relentless criti/(e of the idea of s(perheroes as a form of escapism that fails to engage 6ith the totality of the material political sit(ation, of 6hich their advent(res form only one part. Dr Manhattan, mean6hile, is the only s(perheroic character 6hose perspective might +e considered as significantly Ba+oveC these pro+lems. ?e finds himself distanced from events personally, 6hile +eing co1opted sym+olically +y the politics of the timeF he is, like Watchmen as a te3t, ca(ght in an agonistic relationship 6ith the categorisation of the Bs(perheroC itself. The same militaristic forces 6ho employ The .omedian select Dr ManhattanCs name for him, it is Bchosen for the omino(s associations it 6ill raise in AmericaCs enemiesC. $!4 ?is s(perheroic identity

$!7 $!9

<+id. , ch. "", p. ";. <+id., ch. , p. "". $!4 Moore, Watchmen, ch. %, p. " .

Mark P. Williams

"7

"7$ is Bsomething ga(dy and lethalC,$!; +eyond his control, fashioned to define a militaristic .old War identity politics* BThe s(perman e ists, and heCs $mericanC Nemphasis MooreCsO. $"! Aeca(se Dr Manhattan perceives space and time as a (nity, his character is (ni/(ely placed to reflect on all the events of the novelF his perspective is presented as that 6hich is analogically closest to that of a demi(rge 6ithin the fiction. ?e e3periences the differences +et6een moments in time as a spatially divided sim(ltaneity, vie6ing past, present and f(t(re as co1e3istent* 6hen characters o+Eect to his lack of engagement 6ith the 6orld he responds B< canCt prevent the f(t(re. To me itCs already happening.C$"" ?is vie6s of the other characters are distant and analytical* on meeting the .omedian he o+serves* BAlake is interesting. < have never met anyone so deli+erately amoralC, his position is like a disinterested reader.$" Dr ManhattanCs po6ers are e/(ated 6ith the po6er of the imagination +y Adrian 2eidt, :=ymandias* o+serving that the sciences of e(genics, /(ant(m physics and transportation have taken giant leaps for6ard, he says B6e o6e it all to yo( NDr ManhattanO. With yo(r help o(r scientists are limited only +y their

imaginationsCF Dr Manhattan responds, BAnd +y their consciences s(rely@C $"$ ?is 6ords and 2eidtCs s(ggest something of the political divide 6hich the te3t is dra6ing +et6een the imagination and the enacting of the imagination, and +et6een the politically committed and aesthetically distanced perspectives. Dr Manhattan is

presented as (ncommitted to anything h(man, possessed of a perspective on the lives of all of the characters 6hich is omnipresentF he is (n6illing to actively affect the pattern of those lives Kas he sees itL.
$!; $"!

<+id. <+id., ch. %, p. "$. $"" <+id., ch. %, p. "7. $" <+id., ch. %, p. ";. $"$ <+id., ch. %, p. ".

Mark P. Williams

"7$

"7% Watchmen s(ggests that perspectives 6hich are not politically committed risk +eing co1optedF the s(perhero fig(re is inherently fla6ed in this te3t, s(perheroes are a political 6arning against the dangers of po6er and ideology. )rom +eginning to end, the fig(re of the s(perhero is placed in an (ncomforta+le position +et6een +eing read as a li+erationary fig(re or an em+odiment of ideals and +eing read as sym+ol for the corr(pting infl(ence of po6er. The Bsol(tionC for the

characters is death or retirement to concentrate on their non1s(perheroic lives, or, in the case of Dr Manhattan, for him to leave the (niverse of h(manity altogetherF in Watchmen the only sol(tion is to e3ile the s(perhero and remem+er them as ideals or as history.

%%: 8eing .Co""itted): / as "odern antino"ian

* for *en!etta is a highly charged political response to Thatcherism. <t eval(ates the relative possi+ilities of BescapeC and BescapismC of comic +ook c(lt(re thro(gh a strident satire of ";4!s Aritain. statement from Moore* <tCs ";44 no6. Margaret Thatcher is entering her third term of office and talking confidently of an (n+roken .onservative leadership 6ell into the ne3t cent(ry. My yo(ngest da(ghter is seven and the ta+loid press are circ(lating the idea of concentration camps for persons 6ith A<D0. The ne6 riot police 6ear +lack visors, as do their horses, and their vans have rotating video cameras mo(nted on top. The government has e3pressed a desire to eradicate homose3(ality, even as an a+stract concept, and one can only spec(late as to 6hich minority 6ill +e ne3t legislated against. <Cm thinking of taking my family and getting o(t of this co(ntry soon, sometime over the ne3t co(ple of years. <tCs cold and mean1spirited and < donCt like it here anymore. >oodnight England. >oodnight ?ome 0ervice and 2 for 2ictory. ?ello the 2oice of )ate and 2 ):- 2EHDETTA.$"%
$"%

The collected edition opens 6ith the follo6ing

Moore, Alan, Nmarch ";44O introd(ction to * for *en!etta, ill(s. David ,loyd KHe6 Iork* D. .omics, N";44O ";4;L, p. 7.

Mark P. Williams

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"7'

?is statement is (ncompromising* * for *en!etta e3trapolates from his personal o+servations to an e3plicitly fascist f(t(re England 6here minorities +oth se3(al and ethnic have +een legislated against +y official government policy. The s(perhero fig(re that 6ill emerge in response to this e3treme sit(ation is an antinomian one. <f the li+eral s(perheroes 6ere ineffective in Watchmen it 6as +eca(se their opponents had o(t1manoe(vred them, making them o(tla6s or assets of po6erF 2 6ill +e different. * for *en!etta presents the fig(re of the s(perhero as the e/(al and opposite mirror of the political forces of po6erF 2 is implicitly opposed to la6 and order +eca(se they are tied to a politics he is resisting. This is accomplished

aesthetically in a n(m+er of different 6ays 6hich signify a +reak 6ith some commonplaces of the s(perhero genre* the primary e3ample is the 6ay ,loyd and Moore completely esche6 the traditional Bf3C of s(perhero comic +ooks, right do6n to the ethereal s(+titles of tho(ght +(++les. When 6e are presented 6ith an internal monolog(e it appears in captions aro(nd the image 6itho(t a tho(ght +alloonF the firing of a g(n is a flash at the end of a g(n +arrelF ripping fa+rics or +reaking materials are simply sho6n, the vis(al cl(es to 6hat is happening m(st +e follo6ed caref(lly +y the reader. The pages of * for *en!etta perform a pec(liarly spartan form of vis(al -ealism 6here violence remains (nderstated, s(dden and (npleasant rather than e3tended and over+lo6nF 6hen 6e see, at the destr(ction of the ,arkhill .oncentration camp, fig(res falling, half in shado6, cl(tching their faces, the caption e3plains* Bthe ammonia, the grease solvent and all the other st(ff. ?eCd +een making things 6ith them. M(stard gas#and HapalmC.$"' This s(ggests its serio(sness to the reader, deli+erately stripping a6ay certain conventions to force a kind of engagement
$"'

Moore, * for *en!etta, p. 4$.

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"77 6hich re/(ires more attention to gest(re and 6ord 6itho(t signposts. As a

s(perheroic fantasy narrative its inherent anti1realism is +eing sim(ltaneo(sly reversed and e3ploited. As a s(perhero, 2 is the same odd mi3 of e3tremism and illogical idiosyncrasy as Aatman, +(t placed in a -ealist setting the incongr(ity of the masked vigilante stands o(t starkly for +eing too m(ch, too e3treme, for reality to +ear* it is the same techni/(e that )rank MillerCs DJ2 employs, E(3taposing the ordinary 6ith the e3traordinary. 2Cs actions +ecome pro+lematicF he is m(rdering people in grisly and ironic 6ays and his motives for doing so come increasingly to seem irrational, making him a fig(re of insanity as m(ch as a sym+ol of resistance. David ,loydCs grinning >(y )a6kes mask, a synthesis of 8oker and Aatman, creates an impenetra+le and am+ig(o(s persona 6hich, seeming initially to +e co(ntered +y his actions against the corr(pt and e3tremist forces of the fascistic state, change from +eing the actions of a -o+in ?ood1fig(re o(tla6 to something far more pro+lematic. Alternative

motivations +egin to emerge d(ring the co(rse of the narrativeF 6hat seems to +e the theatricality of an eccentric in one scene seems in another to +e the a+sol(te idiosyncrasy of a psychotic o+sessive, allo6ing for no alternatives or pl(rality +(t simply inverting the val(es of the prevailing a(thoritarianism. 2 is a more of a call to imaginary arms, than a character. 2 (ses demotic registers from pop(lar fiction, theatre and song, appropriating c(lt(ral BinsidersC K0hakespeare, Marlo6e, etc.L for the p(rposes of his o6n Bo(tsiderC perspective. ?is Bshado6 galleryC is filled 6ith art6orks, m(sic and literat(re, and decorated 6ith play+ills for theatre and cinemaF everything from Morecam+e and Wise to White Heat and Mac&eth cover the visi+le s(rfaces of 2Cs secret hideo(t. ?is first 6ords, resc(ing Evey from some secret policemen Kagents of The )ingerL 6ho

Mark P. Williams

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"79 are a+o(t to gang rape her, are a /(otation from Mac+eth, and 6hen first introd(cing himself to Evey, 2 descri+es himself in theatrical and fantastical terms as Bthe king of the t6entieth cent(ry N#O the +ogeyman N,O the villain#the +lack sheep of the familyC.$"7 The fascistic government has o(tla6ed most of the te3ts 6hich 2 /(otes fromF his (se of them is a rec(peration of the history of art and literat(re for an (nofficial c(lt(ral position. The 6hole of +ook three K6ritten laterL is related to a reference to Enid AlytonCs Magic 'arawa" Tree K";%$L 6hich appears in +ook t6o* 2 speaks the lines of AlytonCs Moonface, 6elcoming the children to Bthe ,and of Do1As1Io(1PleaseC, $"9 6hich then forms the s(+title of +ook three and refers +oth to 2Cs interest in promoting anarchy and the freedom of the imagination* B6ith anarchy comes an age of or!nung, of true or!er, 6hich is to say, vol(ntary orderC.$"4 Political li+eration is th(s linked 6ith spatiali=ation and 6ith fantasy in literat(re and art. 2Cs (se of the am+ig(o(s spaces of literat(re and art to sym+olise the Btr(e orderC of anarchism in this 6ay opens (p the am+ig(ities of his o6n character* the politically committed a(thoritarian government represses art &ecause of its am+ig(o(s potential. 2 is only resistant to a(thority +eca(se of his o6n polysemy* (nderneath his mask he co(ld +elong to any proscri+ed minority, and his actions may have more than one meaning. The a(thoritiesC commentary on 2 ill(strates the po6er of (ncertainty in 2Cs character* NDetective <nspector )inch to head of state, Adam 0(san*O The first motive is revenge. ?e escapes from ,arkhill and vo6s to get even 6ith his tormentors. The Parliament +om+ing and the other st(ff is E(st a smokescreen. The 6hole e3ercise 6as an ela+orate, chilling vendetta.
$"7 $"9

Moore, * for *en!etta, p. "$. <+id, p. 74, p. ;; and p. ";'. $"4 <+id., p. ";'.

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"79

"74 ThatCs the e3planation that < find most reass(ring, f(nnily eno(gh. Aeca(se that means heCs finished no6. That means itCs over. The second motive is more sinister. ,ike < said, everyone 6ho co(ld have identified him is no6 dead. What if heCs E(st +een clearing the gro(nd@ What if heCs planning something else@ $"; <t is this BotherC thing, this (nkno6a+le pro+lem 6hich cannot +e g(essed at +y the police or state +eca(se they do not share the mindset of 2F as a marginal person acting as a fig(re of resistance he is a cipher, an (tterly e31centric persona to them, 6hose identity is neither fi3ed nor, (ltimately apprehensi+le. ?e provides them 6ith some idea of 6hat identity might +e concealed +y the mask +(t erases any definitive trace, inviting spec(lation and proEectionF 2 is an Everyman fig(re. 2Cs masked persona is anarchic in the possi+ilities it conceals +y (n1fi3ing the codes of identity +y 6hich the a(thorities might classify him in favo(r of a s(ccession of theatrical masks. When tormenting the man 6ho represents the political leadershipCs propaganda 6ing, ,o(is Prothero, The 2oice of )ate, he dresses as Mr P(nch, confronting the voice of a(thority 6ith the voice of carnival. ?is 6ords to Evey as he dresses (p for the enco(nter +lend 0hakespearean all(sions and the m(sic hall, E(st like the posters on the 6alls of the shado6 gallery* <Cm going to remind them a+o(t melodrama. A+o(t the T(ppenny r(sh and the Penny Dreadf(l. Io( see Evey, all the 6orldCs a stage, and everything else# <s 2a(deville.$ !

<n +rightly striped s(it and stra6 +oater he takes Prothero thro(gh a mock1(p of the ,arkhill camp 6here Prothero 6as 6arden and 2 interred. ?is violence is +loody and +r(tal and altho(gh the destr(ction he effects carries h(mo(r it is Ba sort of +lack
$"; $ !

Moore, * for *en!etta, p. 4'. <+id., p. $".

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"74

"7; poetry N#O a sort of gallo6s h(mo(rC.$ " 2 plays the intelligencer and creator of intrig(es, like 8aco+ean and Eli=a+ethan tragic characters s(ch as Aara+as, Marlo6eCs @ew of Malta, or 0hakespeareCs Aaron the Moor of Titus $n!ronicus or <ago, 2Cs motives are am+ig(o(s and vary +et6een sympathetic and eccentrically irrational. ,ike these characters, 2 is also KperhapsL a minority fig(re Bcast vicario(sly as +oth victim and villainC.$ The diary of Dr Delia 0(rridge 6hich might reveal details a+o(t 2 has pages torn from it, prompting important /(estions* BWhat 6as on the missing pages, eh@ ?is name@ ?is age@ Whether he 6as 8e6ish, or homose3(al, or +lack or 6hite@C$ $ All these characteristics are held +ack from the officials of the state 6ho 6o(ld 6ish to characterise him accordingly. ?is identity, seeming so fi3ed 6ith its rict(s grin like Mr 0ardonic(s, is anything +(tF any+ody co(ld +e (nderneath that >(y )a6kes mask. This is a distinctly different form(lation of the s(perhero from those presented in Watchmen* 2 is the s(perhero as the fig(re of the mo+, an antinomian anarchist s(perhero. <t persists +eyond the death of B2C as an individ(al* as he is dying he gives Evey instr(ctions in the form of a p(==le for her to solve* BNyOo( m(st discover 6hose face lies +ehind this mask, +(t yo( m(st never kno6 my faceC.$ % )rom this riddle, Evey dra6s a n(m+er of possi+le concl(sions, E(st like the a(thoritiesC spec(lations on 2Cs Btr(eC identity a+ove, +efore finally imagining her o6n, yo(nger face (nderneath the mask and donning it herself. As one of the policemen h(nting for 2 o+serves of the cro6ds 6ho gather 6aiting to see 2 at the concl(sion of the novel* BtheyCre not the terroristCs followers or anything N#.O A(t heCs +ecome some sort of
$ " $

Moore, * for *en!etta,p. 4%. Wascho6ski +rothers, * for *en!etta NfilmO dir. 8ames McTeig(e KD.D2ertigo, !!'L. $ $ Moore, * for *en!etta,p. 4%. $ % <+id. , p. %'.

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"9! all1p(rpose s"m&ol to themC.$ ' Ay the concl(sion of the story Evey has +ecome 2 and instigated a riot that may lead to revol(tion and chosen a ne6 sidekick and heir of her o6n. As a s(perhero, 2Cs po6er is that he is like the literary so(rces he /(otes from and the mo+ he incites, irred(ci+le to sing(lar definitionsF he represents the negation of a(thority and of official narratives 6hich seek to fi3 identity in the irred(ci+ility of art and h(man s(+Eectivity. The realism of the te3tCs themes of political oppression and the moral conse/(ences of +ehaving like a masked vigilante are th(s contrasted 6ith a strong thread of performativity, theatricality and entertainment, and the po6er of art and the imagination. 2Cs home is, he e3plains to Evey, str(ct(red concept(ally to represent the fac(lties of the mind* NEveyO PThose three rooms (pstairs are Eoined 6ith the piano room +elo6.Q N2O P<ndeed. <magine 6eCre inside yo(r min!, each area 6ith its skills and f(nctions* kno6ledge, pleas(re, creativity# All that remains is to make the proper ne(ral connections.Q$ 7

2 sees his hideo(t as the mind and the imagination as the gro(nd he is fighting against the a(thorities for control over. ?is o6n role as someone 6ho moves +et6een the fac(lties of the mind is a sym+ol of art as the e3pression of the imagination. When Evey complains that all of his responses to her /(estions are Blike Alice in WonderlandC,$ 9 she is stating something a+o(t the nat(re of his persona and the 6ay he appears to all of the characters in this realist te3t* as something s(per1real, s(r1real, a defamiliarisation of the 6orld they kno6. 2Cs +attle is for the imagination of people (nder a(thoritarian governance, a +attle that cannot +e 6on +y a real person, as he
$ ' $ 7

Moore, * for *en!etta, p. ' . <+id., p. ";. $ 9 <+id. , p. "4.

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"9" says to the policeman )inch 6ho shoots him* BthereCs no flesh or +lood (nder this cloak N#.O ThereCs only an idea. And ideas are +(llet1proofC. $ 4 The theme of this concl(ding part of the te3t is that of the imagination as an (nreacha+le concept. The te3t 6aivers (ncertainly +et6een +eing attached to the idea of s(perheroes as a li+erating concept and (rging ca(tion a+o(t the am+ig(o(s motivations of anyone 6ho 6o(ld 6illingly attempt to make themselves into a role model, or even attempt to create a character as a role model. The s(perhero is s(spect +(t perhaps necessary.

%%%: Tom Strong: Continuity and Counter+Reading <n his recent comic +ook 6ork, Moore has altered his (se of am+ig(ity. As part of his 6ork on the s(perhero narrative, >eoff Glock gives a reading of MooreCs character Tom 0trong 6hich stands o(t significantly from the s(+se/(ent development of the character. <t forms a kind of co(nter1reading 6hich sees Tom Strong K";;;1 !!'L primarily as a satire of >olden Age comic +ook s(perheroes s(ch as Doc 0avage, Man of Aron=e, or 0(permanCs earliest incarnations, something closely akin to Watchmen and * for *en!etta. <n How to 2ea! Superhero Comics an! Wh" K !! L Glock s(mmarises it as follo6s* BTom Strong +rings +ack the days 6hen s(perheroes 6ere simpler, and 6hen no one noticed the /(estiona+le politics to 6hich they (n6ittingly assentedC.$ ; ?e then goes on to develop an arg(ment that Tom 0trong f(nctions to satirise the readerly acceptance of s(perheroes +y presenting an essentially a(thoritarian persona & s(per1strong, paternalistic, s(per1intellect & as a +enign force, 6hile (ncovering the similarly a(thoritarian ideologies of openly fascistic Bscience1villainsC*
$ 4 $ ;

Moore, * for *en!etta, p. $7. Glock, How to 2ea! Superhero Comics an! Wh", p. "!$.

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"9 <n Tom Strong, Alan Moore plays 6ith the traditional identification of the reader 6ith the hero, e3posing the degree to 6hich s(perhero narratives +oil do6n to a choice among vario(s modes of fascism 6hose +iggest differences are the respective logo designs of their dictators.$$!

Glock +ases this reading on the affinities +et6een Tom 0trongCs +ackgro(nd as an e3periment in e(genics and artificial gravity magnification +y his 2ictorian scientist father, and those of his totalitarian and Ha=i1themed opponents. ?e concl(des that altho(gh BTom 0trong has +een praised for reviving dark and depressing comic +ooksC, 6hich follo6 the model foregro(nded +y MillerCs DJ2 and MooreCs Watchmen and * for *en!etta, the Breal trickC is that BMoore has ret(rned (s to the early days of the s(perhero narrative +y reminding even the most sceptical and intelligent reader ho6 primed she is for fascist propagandaC in the form of sympathy for a(thoritarianism.$$" <n GlockCs vie6, MooreCs s(perhero fictions are primarily a s(+versive misprision of Bthe s(perheroC concerned 6ith revealing s(+merged ideological ass(mptions to his reader. ?o6ever, Glock is 6riting as if MooreCs vie6 of s(perheroes 6ere (nchanged, this reading is +ased on the first fe6 episodes of Tom Strong. After this the characterCs 6orld is f(rther complicated +y e3panding the narratives of the other characters, s(ch as TomCs 6ife Dhal(a, and their da(ghter Tesla, and alternate Tom 0trongs s(ch as Tom 0trange. < s(ggest that it is only the individ(al early episodes 6hich Glock refers to, s(ch as BTom 0trong vers(s the 06astika >irlsC, $$ 6hich operate in the 6ay he s(ggests. ?is reading is effectively a Bmisreading or

misprisionC of Tom Strong 6hich e3trapolates its points from the political stance to6ard s(perheroes fo(nd in * for *en!etta and Watchmen. <t overlooks the fact that
$$! $$" $$

Glock, How to 2ea! Superhero Comics an! Wh", p. "!9. <+id. <+id. , p. "!'.

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"9$ Tom 0trong is more consistent in making friends 6ith his opponents than having them as the rec(rring Barch1villainsC 6hich the early episodes initially cast them as, and that Tom is presented to (s as a gen(inely sympathetic, fla6ed +(t thoro(ghly moral, character and not as a veiled fascist. GlockCs +ook dra6s heavily on ?arold AloomCs ideas of infl(ence in The $n iet" of Influence K";9$L, $ Map of Misrea!ing K";9'L and $gon K";94L, to e3plain the relationship +et6een s(perhero contin(ity and the creative (rge of the individ(al a(thorsDartists. The most important phrase of AloomCs, for Glock, is

BmisprisionC 6hich he (ses to descri+e the 6ay comic +ook 6riters react to each otherCs 6ork and to the medi(m as a 6hole* <nfl(ence, as < conceive it, means that there are no te3ts, +(t only relationships &etween te3ts. These relationships depend on a critical act, a misreading or misprision, that one poet performs (pon another, and that does not differ in kind from the necessary critical acts performed +y every strong reader (pon every te3t he enco(nters.$$$

Glock dra6s on this concept of BmisprisionC and the interte3t(ality of te3ts in his critical reading of MooreCs Tom Strong, +(t in finding a contin(ity +et6een it and Watchmen he fails to ackno6ledge the maEor discontin(ity 6ith MooreCs early vie6 of s(perheroesF GlockCs o6n reading is a form of misprision 6hich foregro(nds the nat(re of the de+ate that Moore is engaging 6ith thro(gh the character of Tom 0trong. This character and the str(ct(res of his advent(res, read after they have +een developed f(rther, clearly indicate an attempt to present an alternative to the morally /(estiona+le s(perheroes of Watchmen in a 6ay 6hich is a political +reak 6ith that te3t. The defining characteristic of the Tom Strong +ooks is optimismF they present a vie6 of the 6orld 6here s(perheroes can +e strong moral e3amples, espo(sing a left
$$$

Aloom, ?arold, $ Map of Misrea!ing K:3ford* :3ford University Press, ";9'L, pp. $J%.

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"9% li+eral ethos 6here Tom even concl(des episodes +y apologising to his da(ghter and her ne6 +oyfriend B2al, Tesla, < 6ant to thank yo( again for everything yo( did, and to apologise for ho6 < 6as earlier. What can < say@ <Cm a 2ictorian parentC. $$% Tom represents a ret(rn for Moore to the comple3 origins of the s(perhero genre to e3plore its points of political tension +(t also to reconstr(ct it, asking* 6hat c(lt(ral developments does the s(perhero e3press and 6hat val(es might a s(perhero e3press other than political pessimism@ Moreover, Tom Strong is only part of MooreCs 6ider proEect to ans6er this political /(estionF this proEect spans several series of AmericaCs Aest .omics KAA.L 6hich incl(de MooreCs most e3plicit statements on the social and political val(e of s(perheroes.

5: %"aginary s&aces and the isionary tradition: reconstructing su&erheroes and %dea S&ace

Moore (ses space as his central metaphor for his fictionsF the imagination is the (ltimate common gro(nd, it is 6here all of the political contraries represented +y s(perheroes can +e resolved. 0pace is an important metaphor for comic +ooks in general, as Art 0piegelman and 0cott Mc.lo(d have indicated, +(t for Moore it has a partic(lar resonance* ?aving had these e3periences 6ith magicJor things that < &elieve to have +een e3periencesJthe +est model that < can come (p 6ith for conscio(sness is conscio(sness as a form of space. There 6as a /(ote from the Aritish 8o(rnal of .onscio(sness 0t(dies, 6hich seemed to +e taking (p a similar idea* they 6ere talking a+o(t something called 6ualla space, +(t it seemed that they 6ere talking a+o(t something +roadly. They 6ere saying that this /(alla space 6as a space in 6hich mental events co(ld +e said to happenJ6hich is pretty m(ch 6hat < mean +y Bidea space.C$$'
$$% $$'

Moore et al, Tom Strong5 &oo- < K,a 8olla* Wildstorm, !! L, ch. %, p. N %O. Moore, in intervie6 6ith 8ay Aa+cock BMagic is AfootC K !!$L, originally p(+lished in $rthur;= Kpp. ""9J$9L from ,uggoth Cultures an! >ther #rowths K-anto(l, <llinois* Avatar Press, !!9L, p.

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"9'

The term Bidea spaceC +ridges MooreCs 6ork, it appears in his 6ork on Supreme4 The 2eturn. The character of 0(preme is +ased on 0(perman, +(t rather than +eing a reporter his alter1ego is a comic +ook 6riter, there+y thematising the process of imaginative creation and re1creation integral to 6riting and reading s(perhero comicsF the Bo6ningC of the s(perhero +y ne6 6riters and artists and +y fans is literali=ed (sing alternate 0(premes. <n one of his advent(res 0(preme enco(nters a +eing 6ho is the B)o(ntainhead of all e3istenceC $$7 in the form of a giant disem+odied head of a >olden Age comic +ook 6riter called BGingC, +ased on 8ack Gir+y, 6ho tries to e3plain his e3istence in terms of living ideas* NThe BGingCO <t ainCt the ph"sical st(ff thatCs important. <t donCt last, yo( kno6 6hat <Cm sayinC@ WhatCs important is the i!ea of a thing. 0ee, all 6e are is i!eas. N0(premeO Io(Cre saying people are ideas@ NThe BGingCO 0(re. The ideas 6e have, the ideas other people have a&out (s, the ideas 6e have a+o(t ourselves#6hat else is a personality@ And the thing a+o(t i!eas over &o!ies is, ideas donCt die, and all 6e are is i!eas.$$9

This conception of BideasC interacting through h(man s(+Eectivity and as h(man s(+Eectivity is a radical one +eca(se it proposes that identity and political reality can +e challenged +y the s(+Eect. <t +ears similarity to certain BpostmodernistC conceptions, +(t it is governed +y MooreCs interests in visionary and antinomian literat(re* Moore proposes that the prod(ction of meaning thro(gh the imagination is life. MooreCs ideas here are e3pressed in terms very similar to AlakeCs description of the +ody as +(t one part of the so(l in The Marriage of Heaven ? Hell. Moore also,
"$7. $$7 Moore et al, Supreme4 The 2eturn K.enterville, :hio* .hecker+ook P(+lishing >ro(p, !!$ N";;9OL, BHe6 8ack .ityC, p. N"9O. $$9 Moore, Supreme4 The 2eturn BHe6 8ack .ityC, p. N !O

Mark P. Williams

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"97 compares this conception 6ith the 6ork of Margaret .avendish, and her Bspec(lative philosophyC te3t The +la1ing Worl! K"777L and 8ohn A(nyanCs The Pilgrim0s Progress. The +la1ing Worl! addresses its characters and readers interchangea+ly* the spirits in the narrative o+serve that Bevery h(man creat(re can create an immaterial 6orld f(lly inha+ited +y immaterial creat(res, and pop(lo(s of immaterial s(+Eects, s(ch as 6e Nthe spirits of the Ala=ing WorldO are, and all this 6ithin the compass of a head or sc(llC. $$4 .avendish also adds that it is possi+le for one person to visit the Bimmaterial 6orldC of another, as her readers do visit hers +y readingF this is 6here MooreCs fictions +orro6 their spatiali=ation of the imaginary from* A(nyanCs and Margaret .avendishCs narratives emphasise +oth their o6n fictive nat(re and their o6n potential importance +eca(se of that fictional nat(re as shared spaces or common gro(nd. <f MooreCs earlier agenda in Watchmen and * for *en!etta 6as a deconstr(ctive attempt to +ring o(t the real political pro+lems 6hich (nderpin s(perheroic fig(res, to deconstr(ct their mythologies, his later 6ork in Promethea, Top Ten5 and its spin1offs Sma and The 'ort")Niners, and the ongoing League of E traor!inar" #entlemen, represents an attempt at reconstr(ction of the s(perhero and the creation of a positive mythology of the imagination linked to this antinomian visionary tradition. Altho(gh they are far from a1political and (ncritical of MooreCs s(perheroes are collectively and individ(ally, a cele+ration of the po6er of the imagination and of the s(perhero as a metaphor for h(man agency.

$$4

.avendish, Margaret, D(chess of He6castle, The Description of a New Worl! Calle! the +la1ing Worl! ed. Gate ,illey K,ondon and He6 Iork* Peng(in, ";; N"777OL, p. "4'.

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"99 %: (he landsca&es of To Ten and !eague of E"traor#inar$ %entlemen

Top Ten concerns the relationship +et6een American ind(strial modernity and the >reco1-oman heritage of s(perheroes as a genre, read as the e3pression of a glo+alised American identity. <ts corollary is The League of E traor!inar"

#entlemen, an e3ploration of post1<mperial Aritish identity politics from a post16ar c(lt(ral perspective. Aet6een them Aritishness and American1ness, and their relative discontents, are e3plored thro(gh the manifestation of ideology in the interplay of real and imaginary architect(re and technology, history and fiction. The architect(re of Top Ten for e3ample is )(t(rist and of :lympian scale, as if it 6as +(ilt +y B-ay Arad+(ry, )rit= ,ang and Te(sC,
$$;

+aro/(e in its

e3(+erance, e3pressing the American city as a kind of dreamscape of modernity itselfF it is nationalistic +eca(se it implies that the city is the nation, and, going f(rther, that the city is the 6orld. This has its corollaries in histories of comic +ooks as a genre. M. Thomas <nge 6rites in Comics $s Culture* .oming into e3istence as it did in ";$$, at the end of the era of ind(strialisation in America, the comic +ook 6as an original and po6erf(lly attractive c(lmination of several mainstreams of national c(lt(re and technology.$%! The chapter this is taken from is headed BAmerican <nd(strial .(lt(re and the .omic AookC and <nge goes on to list the defining factors in their development as* Bthe invention of the colo(r press and its application to the comic strips in ne6spapersCF Bthe intense interest of Americans in folk tales and mythology of the heroic varietyCF
$$;

Moore, Alan, BPo6ers of Arrest* Precinct Ten and 0ocial 0(per12isionC the introd(ction to Top Ten4 collecte! e!ition &oo- 9 ill(s. +y >ene ?a and Tander .annon K,a 8olla, .A* AmericaCs Aest .omics, !!!L, p. N"O. $%! <nge, M. Thomas, Comics $s Culture K8ackson and ,ondon* University Press of Mississippi, ";;!L, p. "$".

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"94 and Bthe rapidly e3panding infl(ence of motion pict(resC 6hich promoted a more general c(lt(re of vis(al storytelling.$%" All of 6hich certainly define the development of the contemporary comic +ook from its origins, and are (ndo(+tedly economically and c(lt(rally determinant factors +(t are not all necessarily (ni/(ely American, even in com+ination, +(t the s(perhero is. The s(perhero capt(res essences 6hich +rings the genre closer to the ideas vis(ally associated 6ith America* si=e and scale, am+ition and potential. The s(perhero can BleapCJor overreachJtall +(ildings, and no6here at that time had tall +(ildings in s(ch a+(ndance as does America. A s(perheroCs physical andDor mental pro6ess is e/(ivalent to or greater than that of many ordinary people, and, as if to demonstrate this, 6e see them mingle 6ith the largest cro6ds in the most densely pop(lated of American cities K6hilst maintaining a distant connection 6ith the mythology of 0mall To6n America, as a repository of 2al(es in the case of 0(permanL. The s(perhero has th(s long +een seen as an e3pression of the positive po6ers of the imaginationF it is only in his recent 6ork that Moore has rediscovered or ret(rned to, e3plorations of this same position. Moore ret(rns to the s(perhero in the conte3t of s(perhero teams as a social metaphor. The development of the s(perhero team has long +een defined +y an (neasy +alance +et6een dominant or maEority c(lt(ral interests and minority c(lt(ral interests +eca(se it presents s(perheroes as a social microcosm. 0(perhero teams also demonstrate the oscillations +et6een the economic determinants of com+ining different, distinct heroes 6ith separate narratives and motivations Kand a(dience sharesL 6ith the a+ility to prod(ce engaging stories 6hich can make good (se of each characterCs personality and contin(ity as characters. <n all s(ch com+inations the specific po6ers of the individ(als reflect (pon or are reflected +y their personalities* a
$%"

<nge, Comics $s Culture, p. "$".

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"94

"9; clash of po6ers is al6ays a clash of ego, and a conflict of opinion, if not al6ays ideology. <n creating the specific team1narratives of League of E traor!inar"

#entlemen and Top Ten Moore is clearly dra6ing inspiration from The Avengers KMarvelL and 8(stice ,eag(e America KD.L in developing contin(ities 6hich are self1 contained yet open to 6ider e3pansionF his narratives are discrete from these precedents +(t are also a+le to reflect on the (nderlying str(ct(re of character e3change and political difference 6hich s(ch narratives develop. As Aritish

advent(re fiction can form an imaginary s(pport to Aritish imperialist e3pansion, +(t one also capa+le of criti/(ing of that relationship, so American s(perhero comics implicitly s(pport mythologies of American c(lt(ral dominance +(t are E(st as capa+le of criti/(e. <n these t6o series, Moore is playing on the similarities +et6een the relative genres as 6ell as their differencesF their am+ig(ities are made into caref(l interrogations of nationalKistL mythologies. Moore (ses the literary history of the s(perhero mode to comment on contemporary c(lt(re +y historicising 6hat is meant +y BheroC at specific moments in c(lt(ral history, and spec(lates 6hat the fig(re of the s(perheroes might mean to (s in the f(t(re. The League and Top Ten series can +e read as archaeologies of c(lt(ral histories of the s(perhero genre, e3ploring the relation of the s(perhero gro(p to political po6er in a 6ay 6hich is as critically inflected as Watchmen and * for *en!etta +(t 6hich is no longer concerned 6ith s(+verting the mode. Moore no6 (ses s(perhero gro(ps and individ(als to e3plore corresponding responses to politics 6itho(t the dystopian overtones of his earlier novels. League and Top Ten +oth deal 6ith economic and politically e3pansionist ideologiesJthe relationship of BheroesC to post1<mperial Aritain and post1.old War AmericaJ+(t their (se of the s(perhero is more am+ivalent.

Mark P. Williams

"9;

"4! Alongside the satirical elements there is a note of cele+ration and of nostalgia to the te3t(al environments of MooreCs AA. 6ork* his characters sym+olise and represent positions +(t are also intended to +e read as peopleF the landscapes of these +ooks are th(s +oth a shared sym+olic landscape and a shared physical one. League of E traor!inar" #entlemen is an e3aggerated te3t(al vision of the 2ictorian era as a kind of hyper12ictoriana, 6hile, comparatively, Top TenCs Heopolis is a city of the modern American Kpop1c(lt(ralL mind dra6n from the visions of the f(t(re associated 6ith ?(go >erns+ack, 6hich informs the +ackgro(nds of >olden Age comic +ooks. Heopolis e3ists in a retro1f(t(rist 6orld, a place 6here technology advanced faster and f(rther than reality +(t, +eing styled after >olden Age s(perhero (niverses, maintain a certain nostalgia in the shapes and forms it gave to +(ildings, something +oth )(t(rist and classical. The League0s ,ondon is a city of the 2ictorian Aritish mindF this is the Bidea spaceC 6hich Moore sets (p, 6here the description and depiction of neigh+o(rhoods and districts do not have ideological content +(t are ideological content. These series link political and nationalist fantasies 6ith literary fantasies as e3tensions of one another rather than as conte3ts or corollariesF their sym+olic content is dra6n from the ideologies 6hich dominate their respective eras. Moore signals his interest in the antinomian potential of the s(perhero as a fig(re of resistance to a(thority +y e3ploring the division +et6een official history and (nofficial history. <n League, Moore posits a literary contin(ity, or

BmeganarrativeC +ased on the co1e3istence of all fictional creations and characters in literary historyF it is loosely modelled on Philip 8os5 )armerCs BWold He6ton )amilyC, 6hich (nified all of the early nineteenth1cent(ry s(per1h(man characters B(nder the premise that a meteorite 6hich landed near Wold He6ton in "4 th1cent(ry Iorkshire irradiated a n(m+er of pregnant 6omen and th(s gave rise to a family of

Mark P. Williams

"4!

"4" m(tant s(permenC linking Tar=an 6ith Doc 0avage, Phileas )ogg and others. $% MooreCs later collection +lac- Dossier e3tends the scope of his o6n s(perheroes m(ch f(rther +ack into literary history, (sing techni/(es +orro6ed from historiographic metafiction to detail the histories of earlier ,eag(es 6ithin an overarching spy narrative. Aeca(se the e3isting contin(ities, the canons, of the fictional characters 6ill prod(ce contradictory acco(nts and overlapping events, placing them into a single BhistoryC 6here they can share spatio1temporal gro(nd together re6uires that their stories +e tested against one another as dissenting versions, or differing histories, in tension 6ith one another. K?ence the )rench gro(p kno6n as ,es ?ommes

Mysterie(3Jfeat(ring )antomas and Monsie(r Tenith the Al+inoJclashes 6ith the Aritish ,eag(e of E3traordinary >entlemen.L <n the process, 6hat develops is a series of parallel narratives of official and (nofficial histories of literary characters. The <nvisi+le Man, 8ekyll M ?yde and Allan Z(artermain are recr(ited as secret state assetsF their literary lives and deaths remain their official histories, operating as a vast contin(ity of cover stories for hidden conflicts. The stories of the League are th(s 6hat Matt ?ills identifies as Bco(nter1fictionsC* ?ills derives the term from the historiographic (se of the term Bco(nter1fact(alC to define spec(lative or Balternative 6orldC 6riting, adding that many Bliterary1critical appropriations of possi+le 6orlds theory N#O have failed to take serio(sly the interte3t(ality of fictional 6orlds as 6ell as their divergence from Pfact(alQ or PhistoricalQ interpretive givens.C$%$ B.o(nter1 fictionalityC often 6orks against metafictionality insofar as it enco(rages a6areness of the fictionality of the narrative 6hile sim(ltaneo(sly avoiding the distance from the characters and plot that a metafictional +reak might create.
$%

.l(te and Hicholls, The Enc"clope!ia of Science 'iction, p. %"4. ?ills, Matt, B.o(nter fictions in the Work of Gim He6man* -e6riting >othic 0) as PAlternate1 0tory 0toriesQC, Science 'iction Stu!ies5 vol7 <: K !!$L, p. %$;.
$%$

Mark P. Williams

"4"

"4 <n League the recr(itment of the characters foregro(nds this conflict of p(+lic and private stories. The official reasons Kevent(allyL given for the ,eag(eCs first mission is to steal the miracle s(+stance .avorite Ka creation of ?.>. WellsL from a sinister .hinese crime lord in ,imeho(se Ko+vio(sly Dr )( Manch(, +(t never named e3cept as The DoctorL 6ho intends to (se it to +(ild flying machines to threaten ,ondon. The unofficial history of this is that the ,eag(e are act(ally

6orking for crime lord Professor 8ames Moriarty 6ho is officiall" acting for Aritish Military <ntelligence as BMC, +(t in fact is (nofficially (sing his position Kand the ,eag(eL to 6ipe o(t his nearest rival. The first +ook is th(s heavily invested in /(estioning the nat(re of separations +et6een official and (nofficial government policies, and concerns the indistinct lines 6hich delineate pop(lar notions of BheroesC and BmonstersC in fiction and politics. K,es ?ommes Mysterie(3, for e3ample, are in their +rief comparative description, no more or less BmonstersC or BheroesC than the ,eag(e, the distinction depends on 6hether they are allies or enemies.L <n the

process, the lines +et6een 6hat is sanctioned and (nsanctioned sociall" are pro+lematised +y the role of Moriarty, 6ho cheerf(lly +l(rs all distinctions +et6een crime and the policing of crime, and +et6een enemies and allies, operating as a central cipher for the moral and ethical compromises of the ,eag(e and its activities. <n em+odying a vision of progressJm(ltic(lt(ral ideals of progress, some compati+le and others antagonisticJthese te3ts necessarily form +oth a criti/(e of contemporary modernity, and also a cele+ration of the heterotopian space of the imagination as a shared arena of m(ltic(lt(ral contacts. The positive and negative aspects of m(ltic(lt(ralism have concrete e3pression in the city of Heopolis, for e3ample in the forms of B(n(s(al vehiclesC, homes and cost(mes, and all co1e3ist in (neasy interactionsJMonster Atoll for the >iant .reat(res, 0o(th >reen for )erro1

Mark P. Williams

"4

"4$ American and other Artificial <ntelligencesJoffering a vision of shared points of reference 6hich transcend this m(ltiplicity of differences. <n this environment,

BheroesC are people 6ho interact +y not deli+erately harming others and try to +enefit others, 6hile one 6ho acts selfishly might +e a BvillainC. Aehavio(r and ideology are permanently telegraphed, signposted, proclaimed and performed, signalled +y cost(me, transformed here into s(+c(lt(res of fashion. :n the other hand, Top Ten approaches the s(perheroic team1(p andDor crossover from a different social angle, concerning the police1as1s(perhero1team. The title is the slang name for the police department* Precinct "!, on parallel Earth n(m+er "! in the contemporary city of Heopolis, 6here everyone has some sort of s(perpo6er or secret identity Kand hence the concept of the Bs(per heroC is rendered meaninglessL. The plot and character arcs +lend together tropes from television

programmes s(ch as N,PD +lue and Hill Street +lues, 6hile the +ackgro(nds of the panels are filled 6ith interte3t(al and artistic references to the history of comic +ooks from TiE(ana Ai+les and the p(lp maga=ines to Matt >roeningCs 'uturama and MooreCs o6n early 6ork in a density matching real16orld advertising and la+ellingCs dominance in the (r+an environment. Despite a stated intention to ret(rn to a more innocent form of comic +ook s(perhero than the dark, corr(pt vigilantes of Watchmen, Top Ten has many dark (ndertones in its s(perficially light1hearted (niverseF Moore is still 6riting BgrittyC stories concerning spo(sal a+(se, m(rder, racial preE(dice, corr(ption, child a+(se rings, +(t mi3ing them 6ith far more fantastical and positive moments 6hich are typical sym+olic s(+te3ts of s(perhero comics* he Eoy of flight, social acceptance, falling in love, even getting a ne6 Eo+ 6ith ne6 responsi+ilities. The art6ork of the series, from Tander .anon and >ene ?a, has the a+ility to oscillate in a fe6 panels

Mark P. Williams

"4$

"4% from one tone to the other forming a vis(al corollary to the demands of character and storyF arg(a+ly this is more BrealisticC to a story a+o(t the police since it is, like medicine and other emergency services, s(ch a Eo+ of e3tremes. Moore is creating comple3 characters and comple3 interpretive frame6orks for them 6ithin the s(perhero mode as an attempt to (se it to represent the comple3ities of act(al modern life in +oth its p(rely physical and sym+olic dimensions +eca(se 6himsy and the fantastic are parts of the -eal. )or Moore, real life is also sym+olic life +eca(se it encompasses the life of the imagination and m(st therefore +e comple3 and contradictory in its e3pression. Ay depicting the contradictory elements of the

imaginative lifeJthe co1e3istence of the monstro(s and the s(perheroic, the official and (nofficialJMooreCs fictions reveal their political criti/(e. Top TenCs cast encompasses different attit(des and frictions +et6een characters, each of 6hich has an ideological +asis, and these +ecome defining points of the stories, leading to satirical vignettes on racism, se3ism and homopho+ia. The shifts in tone come 6ith changes in sit(ation from character to character, moving from one plot1thread to another. )or e3ample, important contrasts e3ist +et6een the

apparently easy acceptance of 8ack Phantom as a les+ian 6ithin the police department as opposed to .aptain B8etladC TraynorCs closeted homose3(alityF this, despite the fact that Traynor is sho6n +eing in a loving relationship of t6enty1five years 6ith his partner, remains a secret from his colleag(es thro(gho(t the series. <t is a s(+tle intimation of the pres(mption of gender roles centred on male1dominated professions s(ch as the police, that a gay man co(ld feel himself less accepta+le in the Eo+ than a les+ian, sho6ing the friction +et6een TraynorCs 6ork and home life. .omedic elements, s(ch as the infestation of Ultramice Kmo(se1si=ed parodies of kno6n s(per heroes, replete 6ith cost(mesL are (nderpinned +y some

Mark P. Williams

"4%

"4' revealingly racist character responses to )erro1American B0crap M(sicC +eing played very lo(dly in the same apartment +(ilding* B?ell, D(aneU ?atinC clickers is E(st natural#they take folksC Eo&s, stink o0oil all the timeC.$%% Even 6hile creating a

more optimistic vision of s(perheroes, and a more 6himsical, fantasy 6orld, Moore contin(es to foc(s (pon the interrelationship of gender, class and se3(ality in their marginal and c(lt(rally central manifestations. This is important for the series as a 6hole* the story arcs are determined +y a dialectical relationship +et6een central po6er and marginal life. Top TenCs (niverse is centralised aro(nd a(thoritarian po6er. The earth 6here 6e find Heopolis is a marginal parallel dimension among a myriad of others relative to the core (niverse of >rand .entral. 0ociety on >rand .entral is organised along classical mythological lines, as 8ohn BGing PeacockC .octea( learns 6hen visiting as part of a m(rder investigation. When asking the .(stoms 0atyr 6hether >rand .entral is a 6orld 6here the -oman Empire never fell, he is aggressively told* BHo. Io(r M_`a1hole NsicO 6orld is some frea- parallel 6here it !i! N#O < see they even let H(+ies in their Praetorian >(ard Nemphasis in originalO.C $%' .lassical c(lt(re is the core of all the m(ltiple c(lt(res for 6hich Ten is merely a +ack6ater. Gey to >rand .entralCs society is organised violence in the form of the arena Kgladiatorial com+atL and an a+sol(te delineation of a(thority and po6er to the elite* N,egionnaire Ariaeri(s*O The .ommissioner ?erself passed do6n the information. We 6ere s(rprised, yo( +eing a Nu&ian# <Cm sorry# Io( donCt o+Eect to that term do yo(@
$%%

Moore, Top Ten &oo- K K,a 8olla, .alifornia* Wildstorm, !!!, !!"L, ch. *BWhen in -ome#C, p. N"O. $%' Moore, Top Ten &oo- K, p. N9O.

Mark P. Williams

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"47 NGing Peacock*O Ho. Ho, < donCt s(ppose so. N,egionnaire ?erc(la*O H(+ians here are slaves, mostly.$%7 As a representative of a li+eral c(lt(re, Ging PeacockCs entire frame of reference is here incompati+le 6ith that of >rand .entralCs a(thority fig(res. <n this (niverse there are B?eroes and .himerae and >odlingsC,$%9 +(t tellingly no notion of heroism +eing derived from opposition to villainyF heroes do great deeds, .himerae and >odlings simply e3ist, all reg(lated +y their place in a social order maintained or g(aranteed +y divinity. .himerae pres(ma+ly live and die monstro(sly, >odlings as sacrifice or s(rrogate, and heroes tragicallyF all of 6hich is pres(ma+ly determined according to the imp(lses of h(+ris and the dictates of nemesis. This classical core defines the corr(ption plot of Top Ten +ooks one and t6o as 6ell as +eing the sym+olic centre of its m(ltiverse* >rand .entral is 6here Ging Peacock follo6s the trail of a killer, the m(rder case 6hich opened on o(r first introd(ction into the city of Heopolis. As 6ith MooreCs (se of 8ack the -ipper in 'rom Hell, it is a case 6hich Eoins the lo6est social orders of Heopolis Kin the form of a pair of yo(ng dr(g dealersL all the 6ay o(t in Parallel Ten to the (pper echelons of po6er in the h(+ of >rand .entral* .ommissioner Ultima. The very forces of la6 and order and a(thority are called into /(estion in the co(rse of the investigation 6hich is investigation actively hampered +y .ommissioner Ultima herself and +y the a(thoritarian -oman c(lt(re 6hich she represents. >rand .entral is effectively the mythic core of E(rocentrism* classical c(lt(re and myth as an ideal and idealised representation of BgreatC E(ropean c(lt(re 6hose terms define o(r BgreatC c(lt(ral artefacts.

$%7 $%9

Moore, Top Ten &oo- K, p. N4O. <+id.

Mark P. Williams

"47

"49 The (nderlying mythic str(ct(re of central a(thority is desta+ilised +y the plots of Top Ten as the relationships +et6een characters desta+ilise the relationship of the s(perhero to the s(perhero mode* +y e3posing, thro(gh the lives of the characters, the contradictions. .ontradiction +ecomes a necessary part of

(nderstanding ho6 these series relate to fantasy* the li+eral democracy of Top Ten is resting (ncomforta+ly on a classical c(lt(re 6hose inherent violence is something it claims to +e f(ndamentally opposed to. The stories of Top Ten present the dichotomy of a modern ideology 6hich places egalitarianism at its heart coming to terms 6ith its ties to the anti1egalitarian philosophies 6hich have +ro(ght it to its dominant stat(s. The stories in Top Ten and League provide an archaeology of contemporary glo+alised political forces* li+eral doctrines and imperialist doctrines each str(ggling to act as the defining po6er. Top Ten cannot on its o6n offer a f(ll resol(tion of this, +(t taken 6ith the rest of the AmericaCs Aest .omics line, 6e can (nderstand it as part of o(r o6n agonistic relationship 6ith c(lt(ral history. Ay h(manising his s(perheroes 6hile retaining their sym+olic val(e Moore enco(rages the reader to relate to them as characters 6hile sim(ltaneo(sly (nderstanding ho6 their sym+olic po6er affects o(r vie6 of them. Top Ten and League (se s(perheroic fantasy to demonstrate ho6 ideology places sym+olic val(e on o(r everyday activities 6ithin o(r c(lt(re 6hich 6e do not controlF they s(ggest that s(perheroes can help (s to (nderstand this and to +egin to change it.

%%: (he Su&erhero and the isionary i"agination: %dea S&ace, (he %""ateriu" and the 8la9ing World as the resolution of all contraries

Mark P. Williams

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"44

The -omantic elevation of the s(perhero to a representative of the pop(lar imagination is hardly ne6 or original +(t MooreCs specific conception of it is highly distinctive. <t has +ecome a commonplace for many commentators to compare the s(perhero genre 6ith the Epic, sometimes reaching for >ilgamesh and Aeo6(lf +(t most often citing the Ilia! and >!"sse".$%4 As -o= Gaveney notes in SuperheroesD Capes an! Crusa!ers in Comics an! 'ilms K !!4L, s(perhero comic +ooks of the Marvel and D. (niverse, 6ith their interlacing plotlines and diverse (se of the same characters and frame of reference, constit(te the largest narrative constr(cts in h(man history, e3ceeding +oth classical mythology and epic poetry, 6hich they incorporate in limited 6ays.
$%;

Moore takes the logical step of 6riting all of the fictional

prec(rsors of those s(perhero (niverses into a single frame of reference, placing them spatially in respect to one another from the peoples of -o+ert E. ?o6ardCs ?yper+orea, ,ovecraftCs ,eng and MoorcockCs Melni+on5 to the Ara+ian Hights and :dyssey. This assem+ly takes different forms in League of E traor!inar"

#entlemen4 +lac- Dossier and Promethea, indicating different n(ances of approach. As 6e shall see, Moore considers contrary perspectives on the imaginary essential to capt(ring a sense of the social val(e of fantasy. )or Moore, it is the a+ility of fantasy to accommodate contrary readings and ideological positions 6ithin the same imaginary space 6hich gives it its (se for political criti/(e* it can +e +oth an ideological +attlegro(nd and a place 6here all s(ch +attles can +e resolved. The fantastic landscapes of the <mmateri(m K PrometheaL

$%4

0ee, for e3ample, .oogan, Peter, Superhero4 The Secret >rigin of a #enre KA(stin, Te3as* MonkeyArain Aooks, !!7L and Gno6les, .hristopher, >ur #o!s Wear Span!e 4 The Secret Histor" of Comic +oo- Heroes K0an )rancisco, .alifornia* Weiser Aooks, !!9L. $%; Gaveney, -o=, SuperheroesD Capes an! Crusa!ers in Comics an! 'ilms K,ondon and He6 Iork* <.A. Ta(ris, !!4L, p. '.

Mark P. Williams

"44

"4; and the Ala=ing World K+lac- DossierL represent the (nification of the sym+olic and the material to prod(ce an immaterialist political criti/(e.

iN Promethea Promethea is sim(ltaneo(sly a s(perheroine comic +ook 6orking thro(gh a long history of comic +ook conventions 6ith regard to the e3pression of female s(+Eectivity and se3(ality, mostly marred +y stereotype, and also an e3tended philosophical essay, in the form of 0ocratic dialog(e, on the po6er of the imagination. <ntrod(cing the series, Moore +egins 6ith an engagement 6ith the p(lp history of comics thro(gh the apocryphal BhistoryC of Promethea. This introd(ction is an

e3ercise in laying o(t the parameters of the ne6 s(perheroineCs 6orldKsL thro(gh pse(do1scholarship 6hich sets (p eno(gh mystery s(rro(nding her Bsecret originsC to drive a s(perheroic plot thro(gh the first fe6 vol(mes. )rom an incarnation in the poetry of .harlton 0ennet to a s(pporting role in Little Margie in Mist" Magic Lan! , and an advent(re series from the p(lp era entitled $ Warrior 3ueen of H" +rasil. Moore gives his reader tantalisingly pla(si+le glimpses of a potential contin(ity sketched in the form of an academic narrative, one +ased on the histories of p(lp heroes Tar=an, The 0hado6, Aatman and Wonder6oman. <n the idea space of the <mmateri(m, the character Promethea is s(+Eect to a process of deconstr(ction and reconstr(ction. ?er BoriginalC a(thor is revealed, the p(lp a(thor Marto Hept(ra, as a /(asi1demi(rgical character* BMarto Hept(raC 6as as none3istent as Promethea herself, +eing merely an invented ho(se1pse(donym (nder 6hich a great n(m+er of nameless hack 6riters ch(rned o(t 6hat 6ere (s(ally Kit m(st +e saidL +oth

Mark P. Williams

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";! (ninspired and (ninspiring pot1+oiler narratives of the B0picy )antasyC school.$'! The (nveiling of these nameless hacks +ecomes an important part of one of the early Promethea advent(res 6here she deconstr(cts the massive fig(re of Marto Hept(ra Ks6ollen to the proportions of an 0M0 sorcererL +y differentiating +et6een the different styles of the 6riters 6ho make (p the ho(se for 6hich Hept(ra is the collective pse(donym. This is an important first step since it introd(ces the

Promethea readership to one of the central aspects of the advent(res* their metaphoric nat(re is as important to the reading of them as the more literalised s(perheroic readings, the Badvent(resC 6e are +eing presented 6ith are to +e read in m(ltiple 6ays. Aeca(se PrometheaCs advent(res take place 6ithin the realm of the <mmateri(m, this ena+les Moore to (se the advent(res to disc(ss the nat(re and social val(e of fantasy e3plicitly as 6ell as metaphorically 6ithin the series. ?e

accomplishes this thro(gh a series of picares/(e Eo(rneys, 0ocratic dialog(es and sym+olic conflicts. PrometheaCs revelation of her o6n po6ers then leads to an

apocalyptic revelation 6hich ena+les Moore to concl(de a n(m+er of the other lines from his AmericaCs Aest .omics imprint at the same time in an apocalyptic moment. <t is a gest(re 6hich directly recalls the visionary tradition that MooreCs 6ork dra6s (pon. <n his introd(ction to ,indsayCs $ *o"age to $rcturus K0avoy editionL, Moore traces a lineage of visionaries o+sessed 6ith portraying varying forms of apocalypse leading from the D(chess of He6castleCs New +la1ing Worl! do6n to ,indsay in a form of psychic1psychological mapping 6hich his o6n 6ork constantly strives to6ard*
$'!

Moore, Promethea5 &oo- 9 , p. N"O.

Mark P. Williams

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";" ,acking a genre, 6anting for a WaterstoneCs ta3onomy, the D(chess floats her astral travelog(e, her p(+lication, as an e3ercise in 6hat she terms Be3perimental philosophyC. 0(+tle 6hiff of s5ance parlo(r in the 6ording. .hannelled information, 6hether +y the pen or the planchette. The pearl1str(ng islands, +eading on a thread of ink, of medi(mistic spittle, mantic slo++er. Ho6 land1masses are implied +y tangled clots of a(tomatic scra6l* logogeographies.$'" Promethea is clearly also a 6ork of e3perimental philosophy, one 6ith 6hich Moore is attempting to reach a 6ide pop(lar a(dience. ?is terms a+ove may yet +e provided a 6ider (sage than Moore gives it here* BlogogeographiesC signifies K6ith an a6areness of its tong(e1in1cheek coinageL something of the visionary antinomian proEect 6hich (nderpins his 6ork* a shared space of lang(age 6hich political contraries can co1e3ist 6ithin. <n the a+ove passage he conflates the occ(lt

interpretation of BinspirationC Kthe taking in of the spiritsL 6ith the idea of fictions coming to life thro(gh the investment of the reader as Bchannelled information, 6hether +y the pen or planchetteC. The imagination, for Moore is +oth m(ndane and e3traordinary, and is concerned 6ith apocalypse in the sense of revelation* The constant sense that one good >host dance 6o(ld roll +ack the Earth, roll +ack the grimy politically ravaged cities and reveal the shiny co(ntryside +eneath. The sense that one good Alakean diatri+e, one nicely1droned Enochian call, one glossolalic rant co(ld p(sh (s past the rim of lang(age, past the edges of the 6orld lang(age defines, constr(cts for (s, and into the divine, the happy h(nting gro(nds, the mapless lands of the (nspeaka+le.$' The apocalyptic aspect of visionary 6riting holds a fascination for Moore +eca(se of the formal and theoretical aspects of portraying the (nportraya+le, 6hat -osemary 8ackson associates 6ith the fantasticF it is the moment of revol(tion as m(ch as the end of a system. <t also re/(ires the conception of the possi+ilities of a 6orld +eyond
$'"

Moore, from BPrism and Pentecost* David ,indsay and the Aritish ApocalypseC the introd(ction to David ,indsayCs $ *o"age to $rcturus, BAfter6ordC +y .olin Wilson KManchester* 0avoy, !! L, p. 3i. $' Moore, BPrism and Pentecost* David ,indsay and the Aritish ApocalypseC, ,indsay $ *o"age to $rcturus, p. 33.

Mark P. Williams

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"; that revol(tion, the post1revol(tionary moment, Age of the 0pirit, a ret(rn at a higher level, -agnarok, apocalypseJall imply a sense of re+irth as 6ell as of ending. Moore th(s (ses BapocalypseC in terms +oth modern and medieval interchangea+ly Km(ltiple ends of histories imply m(ltiple +eginnings of ne6 historiesL, from 6hat )rank Germode identifies as the millennial Bvag(e connotations of doomC $'$ K6hich o6e as m(ch to the .old War as the history of +i+lical imageryL to antinomians of the English revol(tion and interregn(m, and the English visionary tradition. MooreCs most important te3ts all contain some moment of (nfolding 6hich comes as a revelation to one or more of the maEor characters* :=ymandias e3plaining his plan in Watchmen, the ,0D trip of the Police Detective )inch at the site of the ,arkhill concentration camp in * for *en!etta, thro(gh to the ones 6hich mark o(t more intimate forms of h(man destr(ction in 'rom Hell and $ Small Jilling. These moments are not merely clima3es +(t intellect(al and emotional steps (p and o(t for the characters and the reader. This is made more e3plicit in Promethea (sing e3periments in image and te3t styles, +reaking 6ith panel layo(t conventions and reconfig(ring images. At the end of Promethea5 &oo- C every+ody in the 6orld is (nified as the <mmateri(m +ecomes part of the material 6orld. As the U0 President a(thori=es (ltimate military forceJa n(clear strike against PrometheaCs He6 Iork to save the 6orld Kechoing WatchmenLJthe >enerals ref(se to la(nch missiles +eca(se, thanks to the incl(sive po6er of the imagination, they are no longer s(re that they are not in the city +eing targetedF one moment they -now they are in Washington, the ne3t they feel they are in He6 Iork. The collage images of this section of Promethea, sho6ing a crisis of contrary revelation and a +lending of mental Kif not also physicalL geography, create the
$'$

Germode, )rank, BApocalypse and the ModernC, p. 4%.

Mark P. Williams

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";$ impression of a Bglo+al villageC of metropolises and to6ns. 0mall details of +ig cities are thro6n together 6ith similar details from cities and to6ns and even villages, so that, at least for the d(ration of the effect, the 6hole 6orld is imagined as living ne3t door to each other. This moment of radical conf(sion is sho6n impacting every character 6ithin the story. All cities and to6ns are one in the final stages of this BrevelationC +eca(se the space of the imagination can connect any6here to any6here else, and any one person to another. Promethea has +ecome the heroine of the collective imagination, foregro(nding the (nderlying message of the te3ts* that fantasy is an important means of comm(nicating ideas. The concl(sion of Promethea e3emplifies revelation thro(gh a metafictional +reak. This gest(re of self1refle3ivity, incl(ding in its apocalyptic

moment, a direct address to 6riter and artist, and reader as 6ell as to the character* Promethea e3plains her meaning as a stor" and as a shared fantasy to every+ody in the 6orld of Promethea and to the reader of Promethea. As the revelation occ(rs for each person in the (niverse of Promethea in t(rn as an intimate fireside story, so it is also revealed to avatars of Moore and 8.?. Williams and of the reader thro(gh a rec(rsive frame sho6ing the page the reader is presented 6ith 6ithin itself. This is the logical e3tension of 6hat the fiction has +een saying thro(gho(t PrometheaCs advent(res. Moore gently reminds the reader that they too m(st participate, not to e3press 6hat 6e already kno6 Kthat 6e are reading the conventions of a comic +ookL +(t to (se those conventions to make the intimacy +et6een the speaker KPrometheaL and her listeners a conversation a+o(t the a+ility of fantasy to relate to the material 6orld.

Mark P. Williams

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";% iiN+lac- Dossier <n League of E traor!inar" #entlemen4 +lac- Dossier 6e are presented 6ith a f(rther political defence of MooreCs antinomian stance in respect to literary history. ?is 6riting in +lac- Dossier K !!4L m(st +e seen in the conte3t of his concl(ding passages from Promethea, as a restatement of the po6er of the imagination. Where Promethea (ses the form of a BmainstreamC s(perhero comic to convey its thesis on the political importance of fantasy, +lac- Dossier is far more B(ndergro(ndC in sensi+ility. The Alack Dossier in /(estion is a historical acco(nt of the formations of the different ,eag(es from different BperiodsC of literary history, each narrated in a different style from 0hakespeare and 8ohn .leland to William A(rro(ghs and 8ack Gero(ac, 6ith ill(strations in styles varying +et6een ";%!s propaganda and ";'!s comics to >ilray satires. The te3t is a compendi(m of narratives and ill(strative forms +o(nd together intrate3t(ally +y a ";'!s spy narrative 6here the Alack Dossier of the former ,eag(es is stolen from the Ministry of ,ove follo6ing the fall of the Aig Arother regime. The narrative contin(es MooreCs interest in the c(lt(ral margins and (nofficial history. All former ,eag(es have +een designated as B(npersonsC +y the Aig Arother regime and therefore their advent(res have +een s(ppressed (nder the governmental prerogatives of the post16ar England +riefly kno6n as Airstrip :ne. The advent(res of +ooks one and t6o are 6holly s(ppressed and the heroes are o(tla6s. The overarching target of this comple3 metafiction is contemporary

repression of representation and the s(ppression of dissent the 6orld over. Moore thematises the misappropriations of national identity +y repressive regimes and state secrecy. Those in po6er are satirised vicio(sly in the process as either incompetent dinosa(rs or cynical mercenaries. Among them are the aggressively nationalistic

Mark P. Williams

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";' right16ing A(lldog Dr(mmond, and a cynical yo(ng man named 8immy Aond. Dr(mmondCs character in this is that of a politically reactionary idealistic man, 6ho is o(t of step 6ith his time, and effectively a fossil to modernity, a (sef(l +(t e3penda+le asset. <n this +ook <mperialist e3pansion has taken the form of Military1 <nd(strialist .apitalist e3pansion and the old Empire has +een effectively sold off to American allies, revealing the val(es of nationalistic <mperialism as val(es of political convenience only ever serving those in po6er. Mina and Allan are not politically convenient and so have +een la+elled as traitorsF Dr(mmond is too loyal to the past and so, +eing potentially inconvenient, is sent after them to die BheroicallyC for his co(ntry Kor rather for the economic interests of some po6erf(l people in that co(ntryL. Moore s(ggests that denying the e3istence of a pro+lematic character s(ch as Dr(mmond 6ithin the fantasy of national identity is as damaging as conscio(sly perpet(ating Dr(mmondCs politics. +lac- Dossier is la(nching an attack on the notions of political representation thro(gh the misappropriation of previo(s generations of heroes and villains, placing them into comple3 relationships 6here the social norms they seek to defend or oppose are /(estioned in relation to their possi+le role in form(lating political norms. A key moment at the end of the narrative comes 6hen Mina and Allan Z(artermain are resc(ed from their p(rs(ers, 8immy Aond, ?(go BA(lldogC Dr(mmond and Miss Hight, +y the fig(re of B>olli6ogC Kthe term never appears in the te3tJhe prono(nces it B>alley1WagCL, recently ret(rned from Toyland. The vis(al s(rprise of this appearance, and his mighty vocal po6ers, 6hich force the p(rs(ers to take cover momentarily, demonstrates MooreCs connection 6ith (ndergro(nd comi3 as a realm of s(+version and c(lt(ral interrogation. They are saved from +eing shot +y 8immy Aond +y someone 6ho appears Kto the normative, official eyes of this

Mark P. Williams

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";7 6orldL to +e nothing +(t a caricat(re. The descriptions of this fig(re in the official narrative of the stolen dossier reveal ho6 Moore is (sing him. <n an earlier part of the dossier the >alley16ag is descri+ed as Bpossi+ly s(ffering from +irth deformitiesC and altho(gh B+eing little more than five feet tallC possessed of Benormo(s +(lk and 6eightC.$'% ?e is effectively a s(per heavy character made from Bdark matterC* one official state commentator o+serves that Bhis skin colo(ring NisO recorded as Bmatt +lackC since it apparently 6as te3t(red in a manner that did not permit even e3pected normal highlightsC.$'' <n other 6ords, he is act(ally an alien 6ho is misinterpreted or mis1perceived, chiefly +y the fig(res of a(thoritarianism and state controlF the >alley1Wag is misinterpreted as B>olli6ogC, a racist stereotype, to the post1imperialist eyes of agents Hight, Aond and Dr(mmond. This can only +e challenged +y e3panding the vie6erCs perspective to vie6 all of history Kaccepta+le and other6ise, official and (nofficialL sim(ltaneo(sly. This is one reason 6hy it is partic(larly s(ggestive that it sho(ld +e the >alley1Wag 6ho flies Mina and Allan to the Ala=ing World* it is only from this (nifying imaginary realm that they can gain a perspective on all of history and their o6n places 6ithin it. 2is(ally Gevin :CHeilCs ill(stration for Moore is stepping into the territories of comi3 p(+lication 6hich have +een staked o(t +y (ndergro(nd artists for years, not least among them -. .r(m+ and his controversial character Angelfood Mc0pade* taking on the caricat(re and grotes/(e depiction of previo(s generations and re16riting it 6ithin a conte3t 6here its (ncomforta+le history Kof 6hite discriminationL is foregro(nded. This fig(reCs presence raises the de+ate 6hich

Comics @ournal commentator -. )iore addresses in his article BThe Misapprehension of the .oon <mageC 6here he arg(es against the deli+erate omission or editing o(t of
$'% $''

Moore, PDirectorCs s(mmary (pdated 9.;.C'7Q, +lac- Dossier N(npaginated sectionO, p. N O7 <+id.

Mark P. Williams

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";9 historical doc(ments of racist caricat(res as a dangero(s act of historical denial akin to historical revisionism* a damaging act of repression. $'7 The >alley1Wag is, like Allan and Mina, an advent(rer 6ho s(ffers misrepresentation +y official narratives and takes (p a contrary positionF sym+olically he em+odies the political criti/(e of post1";7!s (ndergro(nd fictions. MooreCs antinomian imp(lse is (nified 6ith his political stance in +lac- Dossier. The antinomian post1";7!s tho(ght 6hich defines MooreCs e3ercises in interte3t(al e3ploration of the League of E traor!inar" #entlemen +ooks is (nified 6ith earlier definitions of the poetic character 6hich find it to +e the essence of resistance to a(thority and confinement, from William AlakeCs insistence on the Btr(e poetC +eing Bof the devilCs partyC in The Marriage of Heaven ? Hell to the Bchameleon poetC descri+ed +y Geats 6here he 6rites that The poetical character is everything and nothing N#O it enEoys light and shade & it lives in g(sto Nin the sense defined +y William ?a=litt $'9O, +e it fo(l or fair, high or lo6, rich or poor, mean or elevated. <t has as m(ch delight in conceiving an <ago as an <mogen. What shocks the virt(o(s philosopher delights the chameleon poet. <t does no harm for it to relish of the dark side of things, any more than from its taste for the +right one & +eca(se they +oth end in spec(lation.$'4 The s(perhero is MooreCs s(rrogate for the Bchameleon poetC. The League +ooks and Promethea th(s sho6 MooreCs historiographic fictions to +e one 6ay of descri+ing a
$'7

)iore 6rites BNTOhe contemporary ?olly6ood version N#O pretends that Americans 6ere al6ays over6helmingly egalitarian and tolerant, and all the tro(+le 6as ca(sed +y a fe6 +ad apples 6ho spoiled it for everyone. < came to the concl(sion that good America and +ad America 6ere to intert6ined that yo( co(ld not in good conscience separate them, that in order to em+race America the +lack legacy had to +e accepted. N#.O The past canCt +e erased, it canCt +e p(nished and it canCt +e forgiven. Io( can only live it do6n.CJ)iore, -., )(nny+ook -o(lette* BThe Misapprehension of the .oon <mageC, Kpp. ;;J"!$L from The Comics @ournal, R '!, )e+ !!$ K0eattle* )antagraphics +ooksL, p. "!$. $'9 ?a=litt descri+es >(sto as follo6s* B>(sto in art is po6er or passion defining any o+Eect N#.O 6hether in the highest or the lo6est degree K+(t al6ays in the highest degree of 6hich the s(+Eect is capa+leLC, B:n >(stoC from The 2oun! Ta&le /(oted in 2omanticism ed. D(ncan W( K:3ford* Alack6ell, N";;%O ";;4L, pp. ';9J;. $'4 Geats, 8ohn, B,etter to -ichard Woodho(se, 9th :cto+er, "4"4C from 2omanticism ed. D(ncan W(, p. "!% .

Mark P. Williams

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";4 larger arg(ment a+o(t the social val(e of fantasy fiction as an e3pression of the li+erating po6er of the imagination. KMooreCs interest in -omantic poets is also in evidence from his novel *oice of the 'ire 6hich feat(res a chapter in the voice of 8ohn .lare, $'; and in the sections of <ain 0inclairCs E!ge of the >rison 6here he and 0inclair disc(ss poetry.$7!L Moore (ses the contraries of political BcommitmentC, in the form of e3plicit de+ates a+o(t social E(stice and an antinomian /(estioning of a(thorities, as the first gest(re in a dialectic of imaginative deconstr(ction and reconstr(ction. The s(perhero as Moore no6 (ses it is the sym+ol of the relation +et6een material life of the everyday and the immaterial life of ideology, identity and imagination. )antasy is the space in 6hich this can +e demonstrated.

Conclusions: %""aterialist criti*ue, (he Co""on Ground )or Moore fantasy is central to h(man s(+EectivityF like the Ala=ing World, it alters to reflect changes in the individ(al and society 6hile retaining something essential. E/(ally it can +e shared +y any n(m+er of readers +(t retain (ni/(eness. This is e3pressed in an epilog(e to +lac- Dossier, 6here he descri+es the nat(re of the Ala=ing World as the realm of the fictive, 6hose inha+itants are +oth Bthe tales that soothed yo(r infant +ro6C and the consolation and escape from Bgrey responsi+ilityC.$7" These 6ords are spoken +y 0hakespeareCs Prospero, 6ho 6as the secret originator of the first ,eag(e at the +ehest of )aery Z(een, >lorianna, a ,eag(e 6hich incl(ded 8ohn A(nyanCs Pilgrim, making these characters into s(perheroes

$'; $7!

Moore, *oice of the 'ire KAtlantaDPortland* Top 0helf, !!$L 0inclair, <ain, E!ge of the >rison4 In the Traces of @ohn Clare0s P@ourne" out of Esse 0 K,ondon* Peng(inD?amish ?amilton, !!'L. $7" Moore, +lac- Dossier, epilog(eN(npaginatedO.

Mark P. Williams

";4

";; Keven giving Prospero a code1name* Bt6o P:Qs and a seven is yo(r signC $7 L. Prospero concl(des the te3t metafictionally 6ith a statement on the importance of fantasy*

The very personality that scrys this epilog(e 6as once (nformed, assem+led hastily from +orro6ed scraps, from traits admired in others, from ideals. Did fictional e3amples not prevail@ ?olmesC intellect@ The might of ?erc(les@ :(r virt(es, o(r into3icating vice* 6hile fashioning thyself 6ere these not clay@ <f 6e mere ins(+stantial fancies +e, ho6 more so thee, 6ho from (s s(+stance stole@ N#.O :n dreamCs fo(ndation matterCs m(dyards rest. T6o sketching hands, each one the other dra6s* the fantasies tho(Cve fashioned fashion thee.$7$

Writing that Bon dreamCs fo(ndation matterCs m(dyards restC privileges the material content of the imaginary life in the relationship +et6een fantasy and realityF it is not idealist, as it seems, +(t proposes a comple3 relationship +et6een the material and the physical favo(ring (topian political proEects. The implied dialectical relationship +et6een the physical and imaginary proceeds from the Escher analogy 6here+y it is f(nctionally impossi+le to descri+e 6hich happens first, change in the material reality or in the imagination, +eca(se the t6o are constantly creating Kdra6ing or 6ritingL one another. The all(sion to vis(al play 6ith perspective and the ill(sion of depth also reflects on the form of the art 6ork in this part of the +ook* The Ala=ing World B+la=esC +eca(se it is presented in -edD>reen $D. These $D sections of +lac- Dossier demonstrate MooreCs philosophy of imagination pictorially* t6o (ni/(e perspectives on the KAla=ingL 6orld 6hich appear contrary on one level can f(nction together to generate a third perspective of depth or solidity. The Ala=ing World in +lac- Dossier is dra6n in -edD>reen $D and its inha+itants are descri+ed as e3pressions of one type
$7 $7$

Moore, +lac- Dossier, B)aerieCs )ort(nes )o(ndedC, (npaginated. Moore, +lac- Dossier, epilog(e N(npaginatedO.

Mark P. Williams

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!! of imp(lse or -adiance, Bred like MarsC or B2en(s greenC. $7% This o+vio(sly connects them 6ith the +inaries of masc(line and feminine sym+olism, s(ggesting that it is only thro(gh com+ining contrary perspectives that 6e can see a 6hole Ki.e. $DL 6orld either fantasy or real. <ll(sions of perception are MooreCs 6ay of e3plaining his philosophy of the imagination. <t is an assertion of the perpet(al innocence of the imagination, even in the face of grim political pro+lems, and a re1val(ation of escapism. Prospero concl(des the te3t 6ith the 6ords* ?ere is o(r narrative made paradise, +rief tales made glorio(s contin(ity. ?ere champions and lovers are made safe from +o6dleri=erCs /(ill, or fad, or fact. ?ere are +rave +anners of 2omance (nf(rled# #To +la=e forever in a +la1ing Worl!.$7'

This concl(sion to +lac- Dossier is an assertion of the po6er of fantasy to provide BescapeC, not as the comfort food of BescapismC +(t as the most essential act of +eing* the e3ercise of the imagination to call (p imaginary champions and lovers, to +e (sed +y everyone to make their lives their o6n. :r, as Prospero p(ts it, Bnot tho( alone, +(t all h(manity doth in its progress fa+le em(late N#O 6e apparitions g(ided mankindCs tread, o(r planet, (nseen co(nterpart to thine, as permanent, as venera+le, as tr(eC.$77 To Moore, the difference +et6een political perspectives is a /(estion of perspective and colo(r, the imagination re/(ired for the prom(lgation of either approach, and the attempt to comm(nicate (nderstanding thro(gh artistic e3pression, is the real p(rpose. The shared material of the imagination is infinitely fle3i+le in its application +eca(se it is never entirely the same +(t al6ays changes according to o(r demands of itF imagination is politically committed 6hen 6e need it to +e, and
$7% $7'

Moore, +lac- Dossier, annotated map of the Ala=ing World, N(npaginatedO. Moore, +lac- Dossier, epilog(eN(npaginatedO. $77 Moore, +lac- Dossier, epilog(e, N(npaginatedO.

Mark P. Williams

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!" aesthetic 6hen 6e need it to +e and MooreCs s(perheroes are literal heroes of the imagination* they represent o(r o6n relationship 6ith o(r immaterial life as s(+Eects 6ith imaginary lives. ?is visionary antinomianism is maintained +y the constant reinscription of the material relationships +et6een contraries of perception, positive and negative, and +y the constant process of dissol(tion and coag(lation of those oppositional imp(lses. ?is (nderlying thesis as it is no6 artic(lated is that the immaterial realms of the imagination are as important to (s as o(r material lives and 6e e3ist in a constant e3change +et6een the immaterial and material, 6hether 6e are attempting to change the 6orld for the +etter or E(st a small detail of daily life. 0(perheroes are E(st one important 6ay that 6e e3plain to o(rselves 6hat 6e are in o(r partic(lar political and material circ(mstance thro(gh fantasy. Cha&ter Four: Grant Morrison)s Su&erheroic A ant+Garde: Post"odernis", Surrealis" and Situationis"! Morrison)s A ant+Gardis": <n his fantasy 6riting >rant Morrison (ses s(perheroes for c(lt(ral criti/(e. ?e does this (sing a com+ination of 0(rrealist and avant1garde techni/(es to link the fantastic 6orlds of s(perheroes 6ith the lived e3perience of contemporary modernity as a 6orld defined +y m(ltinational cons(merism. This manifests in his marginal 6ork and creator1o6ned graphic novels as an overtly anarchist aesthetic, and in his mainstream comic +ook series as conflicts +et6een s(perheroes and s(pervillains 6hich mimic the lang(age of corporate c(lt(re and place those conflicts into a trans1 national conte3t of capital e3change.

Mark P. Williams

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! There are t6o key pro+lems 6hich his s(perhero proEects 6ork thro(gh* 6hether they sho(ld strive to6ards BrealisticC engagement 6ith real16orld politics or an allegorical version of s(chF and the /(estion of 6hether s(perheroes are inherently apolitically BescapistC or can provide political engagement as a material BescapeC from dominating ideology. <n responding to these pro+lems, Morrison

e3plicitly thematises them 6ithin his 6ork in terms of an ongoing de+ate +et6een Bserio(snessC and Ba+s(rdityC as effective and desira+le 6ays of descri+ing the 6orld thro(gh fantasy. ?is 6ork sho6s clear affinities 6ith 0(rrealism and < 6ill arg(e that his (se of even mainstream s(perheroes s(ch as Aatman and the ]1Men is inflected +y 0(rrealist and 0it(ationist political and c(lt(ral criti/(e. <n these mainstream titles MorrisonCs politics manifest as criti/(es of corporate c(lt(re, m(ltinational capital and government secrecy. The a+s(rd,

0(rrealist dimension of this 6ork appears in the form of refle3ivity and play 6ith the comic +ook medi(m and the s(perhero form. Morrison typically does this +y

introd(cing a(thorial or artistic characters 6ith demi(rgic f(nctions, and famo(sly, in the case of $nimal Man, thro(gh a climactic se/(ence of s(ccessively more e3treme metafictional +reaks leading to the s(perhero meeting his 6riter, B>rant MorrisonCF for these reasons, his 6ork is typically categorised as postmodernist. ?o6ever, in recent intervie6s Morrison descri+ed his o6n intentions to6ards his 6riting in terms 6hich resist readings of his 6ork as postmodernist, saying BNsOecretly, <Cve al6ays felt < had more in common 6ith the modernist approach than 6ith postmodernism, +(t < can see 6here the connection might ariseC, $79 and , B< think post1modernism is a misnomer any6ayJpost1modernism is act(ally the decadent, recom+inant phase of c(lt(re 6hich appears prior to modernism in a given
$79

Morrison, in intervie6 Vhttp*DD666.avcl(+.comDarticlesDgrant1morrison,$!794DW, "9D""D!;.

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!$ cycleCKechoing )rederic 8amesonCs s(mmary of The Postmo!ern Con!itionL 6hich he says, in his opinion, Bsho(ld properly +e called pre1modernismC. $74 MorrisonCs 6ords clearly echo contemporary avant1gardist 0te6art ?omeCs introd(ction to MorrisonCs prose collection, Lovel" +iscuits K";;4L. <n his introd(ction, ?ome 6rites that Bfrom certain t6isted angles, MorrisonCs o(tp(t e3hi+its a closer affinity to paradigmatic e3amples of modernismC than to his BPpo1moQ contemporariesC.$7; ?omeCs literary and artistic o(tp(t interrogates the (se of postmodernism in pop(lar and literary c(lt(re from a left radical positionF$9! it is likely, given MorrisonCs personal ac/(aintance 6ith 0te6art ?ome, that his distinctions +et6een modernism and postmodernism co(ld have +een form(lated in conversation 6ith ?ome and his avant1garde circles. As a distinction of phases of the avant1garde, MorrisonCs description of postmodernism as a Bdecadent, recom+inant phaseC resonates 6ith the distinctions Donald G(spit makes in his +ook The Cult of the $vant)#ar!e $rtist K";;$L. G(spit descri+es the sense of decadence felt +y the modernist as follo6s* To +e modern means to +e split +et6een a deep fear of decadence and an e/(ally deep 6ish for reE(venation. N#.O Modernity can +e defined as the desperate search for means of reE(venationJsym+olised +y the val(e placed on ne6nessJto co(nteract decadenceN.O$9"

)or G(spit the BNaOrchaeological, mannerist archnessC of self1refle3ive art f(nctions Bas +oth defence against decadence and as a ne6 kind of decadence* that is the postmodernist methodC.$9 Aeneath the comple3ity of G(spitCs arg(ment, 6orking

thro(gh distinctions +et6een Bavant1gardeC KmodernistL and Bneo1avant1gardeC

$74 $7;

Morrison, intervie6 Vhttp*DD666.se/(entialtart.comDarchiveDa(g! Dgmorrison .shtmlW, "9D""D!;. ?ome, 0te6art, <ntrod(ction to Lovel" +iscuits K06ansea* :neiros, ";;4L, p. iv. $9! 0ee, for e3ample, ?omeCs satirical Banti1introd(ctionC, BProletarian Postmodernism or )rom the -omantic 0(+lime to the .omic Pict(res/(eC Kpp. '$J7!L from Suspect Device4 $ 2ea!er in Har!) E!ge! 'iction ed. 0te6art ?ome K,ondon* 0erpentCs Tail, ";;4L. $9" G(spit, Donald, The Cult of the $vant)#ar!e $rtist K.am+ridge* .am+ridge University Press, ";;$L p. $. $9 <+id. , p. "9.

Mark P. Williams

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!% KpostmodernistL artJ6hile negotiating the pro+lem of Bpse(do1avant1garde artCJis the assertion that there are essentially t6o kinds of art* one 6hich is geared to6ards some kind of therape(tic f(nction, helping the individ(al cope 6ith and e3press something f(ndamental a+o(t the KmodernL 6orld, and that 6hich is divorced from reference to individ(al life K+y cynicism or c(lt(ral press(reL and that is th(s non1 therape(tic. )or G(spit, tr(e avant1garde art is that 6hich strives for a therape(tic effectF for left radical avant1gardists dra6ing on the traditions of 0(rrealism, as espo(sed +y 0te6art ?ome, it m(st also +e tied to a political statement in order to avoid +eing ideological. Altho(gh MorrisonCs statements on postmodernism may +e as m(ch a resistance to c(lt(ral definition as an attempt to grapple 6ith the (nderlying c(lt(ral /(estions, this too is a techni/(e of avant1garde rhetoricF G(spit o+serves that artists s(ch as D(champ and Picasso contradict themselves Bto remain (ncategori=a+le and Pinfamo(sQC, 6here BN(Oltimate avant1garde fame comes from +eing categori=ed as (ncategori=a+le, that is, as (tterly individ(alC, a state 6here their art can Bremain freshly provocative and enigmatic, even to gro6 in enigmatic po6er and mysteryC, to capt(re the imagination.$9$ 0te6art ?ome also (ses self1contradiction in his 6ork +oth to resist narrative clos(re in his novels and to resist c(lt(ral definition of his 6ork, something MorrisonCs te3ts clearly strive to6ards. $9% G(spit finds s(ch

imp(lses to +e f(ndamentally am+ig(o(s, +(t capa+le of f(lfilling a therape(tic intent in terms of +oth the individ(al and their relationship 6ith societyF 6hile ?ome emphasises the necessity of the avant1garde to +e politically resistant as 6ell as
$9$ $9%

G(spit, The Cult of the $vant)gar!e $rtist, pp. $71$9. 0te6art ?omeCs novels s(ch as Come +efore Christ an! Mur!er Love K";;9L and Memphis An!ergroun! K !!9L resist clos(re +y (sing cyclical or repetitive narration and +y conflating fiction and non1fiction, 6hile ?omeCs avant1garde provocations in The Neoist Manifestos K";4%D', ";4;L and Neoism5 Plagiarism ? Pra is K";;'L for6ard aggressive criti/(es of art. MorrisonCs The Invisi&les K";;%J !!!L and Jill ,our +o"frien! K";;4L also employs contradiction in this 6ay and makes some similar (se of art1theory rhetoric.

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!' therape(tic, and < arg(e that MorrisonCs 6ork operates similarly to (nite the personal and political. <n many of his +ooks Morrison emphasises the therape(tic val(e of Ks(perheroic fantasyL art* .ra=y 8ane in Doom Patrol (ses m(ltiple personalities 6ith m(ltiple s(perpo6ers to process childhood and life tra(ma 6hile other mem+ers of Doom Patrol -e+is Ka hermaphrodite and threefold +eingL and .liff 0teele K-o+otmanL attempt to (se their o6n po6ers to help each other at vario(s points in the seriesF MorrisonCs 8oker and Aatman each employ their pec(liar Bpo6ersC to deal 6ith every tra(ma of modernity, and +oth reach a dreamlike accommodation 6ith their opposites in $r-ham $s"lum4 $ Serious House on Serious Earth , 6here Aatman concl(des Bsometimes itCs only madness that makes (s 6hat 6e areC $9' and s(ggests that therapy is the healthy e3pression of that in opposition to repression. The

therape(tic and political eval(ations of art, and of s(perheroes in partic(lar, are split +et6een MorrisonCs early 6orks s(ch as $nimal Man and Dare, 6hich spec(late on 6hether the idea of s(perheroes enco(rages passivity, and the later 6orks, 6hich champion s(perheroic fantasy as an e3plicit resistance to apathy, indolence and decadence, thro(gh the invocation of 6onderF this is something he emphasises partic(larly strongly in later 6orks s(ch as The 'ilth, New ()Men and Seven Sol!iers of *ictor". Morrison indicates that the central /(estions of his 6ork remain ones concerned 6ith the tensions +et6een escapism and realism. ?is 6ork oscillates +et6een taking an aesthetic, distanced vie6 and a politically committed one on contemporary events* saying in intervie6, BNtOhe ne6 is al6ays shocking +(t <Cd rather +e shocked than mollycoddled and lied toC.$97 Morrison makes a case for politically BcommittedC anti1escapist conceptions of fantasy, +(t is concerned in the process that
$9' $97

Morrison, $r-ham $s"lum4 $ Serious House on Serious Earth KD.* ne6 Iork, ";4; N !!%OL, p. 7 . Morrison, in intervie6 Vhttp*DD666.se/(entialtart.comDarchiveDa(g! Dgmorrison .shtmlW, "9D""D!;.

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!7 his fictions sho(ld Btake (p arms on the side of the dreamers and the o(tcasts and the o(tsidersC thro(gh imagination +eca(se Bthe 6orld of imagination sometimes gets short shriftC.$99 <n this split the differentiation depends (pon 6hether s(perheroic fantasy is to +e considered positively or negatively for its escapism, its anti1realist /(alities and its frivolity as an art form. Therape(tic (ses of fantasy appear in The Invisi&les, +atman an! Son, +atman4 The +lac- #love and +atman 27I7P in 6ays 6hich link healing 6ith political action. <n these +ooks Morrison s(ggests that the violent, hard1+oiled style adopted +y many D. and Marvel s(perheroes after Dar- Jnight 2eturns K";47L and Watchmen K";47D49L is act(ally itself a form of escapism 6hich red(ces h(man s(+Eectivity to violence and conflictF the fantastic is, for Morrison, a 6ay of relieving this tendency +y cele+rating a+s(rdity and imagination as a f(ller e3pression of h(man s(+Eectivity in &oth personal and political terms sim(ltaneo(sly. Art in Morrison is constantly all(ded to as an e3pression of h(man s(+Eectivity, and, as 6ell as informing his imagery, also forms an important metaphor for the s(perhero. ?e interprets art in +road termsF in addition to comic +ooks, he 6orks on BfringeC or small1press fictions, film scripts, m(sic, stage plays and a >lasgo6 ne6spaper col(mn. E3amples of his 6ork in other media incl(de* his forthcoming film from Dream6orks entitled Sleepless JnightsF interactive media 6ork s(ch as the comp(ter game adaptation of the ne6 version of +attlestar #alacticaF$94 and contri+(tions to artist1led proEects s(ch as the $n"wa" ro(nd1ro+in anthology of graphic narratives organised, edited and p(+lished +y Tom Morton and

$99

Morrison, in intervie6 6ith Timothy .allahan, #rant Morrison4 The Earl" ,ears KEd6ardsville, <llinois* 0e/(art -esearch M ,iteracy :rganisation, !!9L, p. 7!. $94 0ee V*http*DD(k.gamespot.comDps DsimD+attlestargalacticaDprevie6X7!9$; .htmlW, 'D! D !!4.

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!9 .atherine Patha.$9; Morrison (ses references to art Ks(ch as 0(rrealismL, avant1garde theory Ks(ch as 0it(ationismL, and literat(re and m(sic, as 6ays of evoking the val(e of s(+Eective e3perience thro(gh cele+rating the a+s(rd and fantastic content of reality. 0(rrealism and avant1garde art appear as a so(rce of r(pt(re, from the openly s(rreal advent(res of the Doom Patrol, to the fight at an art opening in +atman an! Son 6here Ar(ce Wayne, looking at ,ichtensteinian canvases and a ?irst1parody Bmonster in formaldehydeC, tells (s that he finds BNaOll this comic +ook st(ff 6ay too high+ro6 for me N,O < collect tri+al art, schi=ophrenic painters, Po(tsiderQ 6ork < +elieve they call itC K+efore fighting off BHinEa Man1AatsC (sing the e3hi+itsL.$4! While, in the post1apocalyptic Seven Sol!iers of *ictor" the Bn(mino(s r(insC of Mars are descri+ed in their accompanying captions as sho6ing BNaO dereliction 6hose melancholy traces reveal themselves in the parched and 6o(nded canal +eds N,O <n sing(lar, (ncanny forms N,O ,ike the tro(+ling, oneiric flotsam that ha(nts the canvasses of Ives Tang(yC. $4" Else6here, in the final se/(ences of New ()Men4 Here Comes Tomorrow, .assandra Hova ]avier, comments that Ma3 Ernst B6as NherO favo(rite artistC, BPE(rope After the -ainQ, < still love that one Nit isO NlOike some sad memory of a f(t(re that never happenedC. $4 This is e3actly ho6 some of the stories Morrison offers the reader 6ill appear after they have +een reintegrated into their respective s(perhero narrative contin(ities* as disE(nctive fantasies that perhaps are easier to read as if they Bnever happenedC, i.e., as B Imaginar" TalesC, +(t

$9;

$n"wa" KTomD.at P(+licationsL to(red as part of an e3hi+ition of self1p(+lished artist1+ased 6orks entitled BP(+lish and Ae DamnedC 6hich came to the :(tpost >allery, Hor6ich K"stJ "st May, !!'L. 0ee http*DD666.nor6icho(tpost.orgDartistXpagesD!'Xpn+dDpn+d.html. $4! Morrison, +atman an! Son, KHe6 Iork* D., !!7, !!9L pp. $'J' . $4" Morrison, Seven Sol!iers of *ictor"5 vol7 =, KHe6 Iork* Marvel, !!7, !!9L p. "%. $4 Morrison, New ()Men4 Here Comes Tomorrow KHe6 Iork* Marvel, !!%L, ]1Men R"'$, p. N" O

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!4 6hich retain the capacity to ha(nt that s(perheroic narrative and to convey a message +y their resistant content. The avant1garde all(sions in his 6riting are similar to that of contemporaries s(ch as Bavant1p(lpC 0) a(thor 8eff Hoon, 6ith 6hom Morrison colla+orated on an a+orted television script for .hannel % in ";;',$4$ and 0teve Aeard, an associate of 0te6art ?ome 6ho has colla+orated 6ith 8eff Hoon on hyperte3t fiction mappaluEo7com. Aeard is a style Eo(rnalist, c(lt(ral critic and 0) a(thor 6hose 6riting demonstrates interests in common 6ith Morrison.$4% Aoth 0teve Aeard and 8eff Hoon are kno6n for coining neologisms 6hich f(se avant1garde references and science fiction tropes in 6ays 6hich are compara+le 6ith MorrisonCs. AeardCs

Bam+ient hyperfictionC in Digital Leatherette M";;;N5 Perfume! Hea! K";;4L and Meat Puppet Ca&aret K !!7L, +lends references to 2oodoo BloasC and shamanism 6ith ,ovecraftian and cy+erp(nk parodies and are set in f(t(ristic or imaginary Englands s(ch as Bthe Ukanian .om+ineC 6here cy+ernetic or divine entities fight over access to the h(man conscio(sness thro(gh corporate logos and advertising. $4' While 8eff HoonCs BmetamorphictionC as it appears in his e3perimental poetry in Co&ralingus K !!"L and Bavant1p(lpC fictions s(ch as *urt K";;$L and Pi el @uice K";;4L, present m(ltiple alternate and f(t(re Aritains of Bthe >olden Age of AppearancesbC 6here people no longer have names, Brather 6e have logos or corporate identities or else +rands and trademarksC.$47 These 6ritings take elements of avant1garde c(lt(ral

criti/(e, s(ch as the 0it(ationist Bsociety of the spectacleC, and form(late narrative conflicts +ased on those elements 6here f(t(ristic or fantastical +eings can +e
$4$ $4%

0ee the inde3 of MorrisonCs 6ork Vhttp* 666.grantmorrison.comDinde3W. Aeard is, as their m(t(al friend 0te6art ?ome 6rites, Bhip to dance c(lt(re and the graphic stories of Alan Moore and >rant MorrisonC. 0ee ?ome, 0te6art, -evie6 of Meat Puppet Ca&aret from* Vhttp*DD666.ste6arthomesociety.orgDse3D+eard.htmW. $4' Aeard, 0teve, Digital Leatherette K?ove* .ode], ";;;L, p. ;. $47 Hoon, 8eff, Pi el @uice4 Stories from the $vant)Pulp K,ondon* Alack 06an, ";;4L, p. "'4.

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!; sim(ltaneo(sly aliens, ancient gods, artificial intelligences and a metaphor for aspects of the h(man conscio(s e3perience, res(lting in dense, intricate and fragmentary styli=ed 6riting very similar to MorrisonCs 6ork. MorrisonCs tendency to6ards styli=ation and fragmentation is (sed to parody the s(perhero mode from 6ithin. ?e imports criti/(e inspired +y the

0it(ationist <nternational into the medi(m of the s(perhero comic +ook, (sing s(perheroes to demonstrate key aspects of De+ordCs theses in The Societ" of the Spectacle K";79L.
$49

De+ord 6rites that BNtOhe spectacleC is Ba social relationship

+et6een people that is mediated +y imagesC$44 s(ch as +rands and logos 6hich permeate commodity c(lt(reF spectac(lar society Bcorresponds to the historical moment at 6hich the commodity completes its coloni=ation of social lifeC and Bthe 6orld 6e see is no6 the 6orld of the commodityC. $4; The 6orld of commodity and image is the fantastic landscape that MorrisonCs s(pervillains occ(py and develop for their o6n ends, and that his s(perheroes contest to protect others.

0: (he Su&erheroic+Critical Method )or Morrison the content of the message is as important as the modernity of the medi(mF his (se of the s(perhero form resists definitions of postmodernism 6hile ackno6ledging that the s(perhero comic is perhaps the most paradigmatically BpostmodernistC of c(lt(ral forms. Morrison ties s(perheroes to materialist criti/(e of social relationsF his mainstream s(perheroes and villains have a direct and e3plicit relationship 6ith the linkages of glo+al capital. Morrison is 6orking 6ith a

contemporary form(lation of ho6 s(perheroes f(nction collectively that he and other

$49

De+ord, >(y, The Societ" of the Spectacle Trans. Donald Hicholson10mith KHe6 Iork* Tone Aooks, ";;' N";79OL. $44 De+ord, Societ" of the Spectacle, p. " . $4; <+id. , p. ;.

Mark P. Williams

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"! 6riters Kchiefly >eoff 8ohns, >reg -(cka, Mark Waid and Geith >iffenL have helped shape in, among other series, CK and 'inal Crisis, +(t 6hich is partic(larly strong in MorrisonCs 6ork* s(perheroes and s(pervillains are individ(als 6ho can directly affect socio1political change on a glo+al scale. 0(perpo6ers constit(te the a+ility to manip(late the overdetermined assem+lages that affect regional, national and glo+al c(lt(re* s(pervillains dominate the 6orld, s(perheroes save the 6orld. <n his recent Aatman fictions, Morrison reminds (s that ,e3 ,(thorCs ,e3corp and ,e3mart, and Ar(ce WayneCs Waynetech, represent the moral codes of their o6ners. <n +atman an! Son, 6e see a large splash1image 6ith a tr(ck prominently +earing the s(pervillaino(s slogan B,e3mart* Dominating the retail ind(stry 6orld6ideC, creating a parallel +et6een capitalCs dominance thro(gh glo+al marketing and the s(pervillaino(s /(est for 6orld1domination. Else6here Aatman hands o(t Waynetech +(siness cards to yo(ng prostit(tes to get them off the streets, saying B< hear these people are hiring reception girlsC (sing the +illionaire stat(s of Ar(ce Wayne to give lasting economic s(pport to his attempts as Aatman to affect the region of >otham. $;! <n +atman 27I7P75 the s(pervillain Dr 0imon ?(rt and the criminal organisation The Alack >love s(persede the s(pervillaino(s /(alities of previo(s Aatman opponents and also Ar(ce WayneCs economic po6er* The Alack >love Bare operators at the highest levelC,$;" 6ho +oast that there is Bno court on the planet 6e canCt +(y, no E(dge or E(ry +eyond threatening or &ri&ingC concretely linking s(pervillainy 6ith e3ploitation.$; While in New ()Men, Morrison dra6s correspondences +et6een Dr

.harles ]avierCs moral a(thority and telepathic po6ers and his economic reso(rces* Professor ]avier has Ba personal fort(ne val(ed at three point five +illion dollarsC,

$;! $;" $;

Morrison, +atman ? Son, p. "4' and p. "%7. Morrison, +atman 27I7P75 KHe6 Iork* D., !!4, !!;L BMidnight in the ?o(se of ?(rtC, p. N O. Morrison, +atman 27I7P75 B?earts in DarknessC, p. N";O.

Mark P. Williams

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"" 6hile the ]avier instit(te Bteaching staff incl(des at least three millionairesC, all committed to a doctrine of e/(ality and tolerance.$;$ <n Marvel +o", the enemies that the alien s(perhero Hoh12arr has to face incl(de creat(res from the Bconcept d(ngeonsC, Bdangero(s ideasC s(ch as B<deal(s, The )ictional ManC and B?e3(s, The ,iving .orporationC. ?e3(s B grows +y hiring ne6 employees and devo(ring its rivalsC. <t Bimitates 6hat people want0 +efore sending Blogo spores o(t to ne6 6orlds and ne6 victimsC 6hile Bon the original host 6orld, ?e3(s contin(es to replicate endlessly, cons(ming ever"thing even itself.C$;% <n the more recent +atman 2e&orn4 +atman an! 2o&in episodes the disgr(ntled former1-o+in 8ason Todd sets himself (p as -ed ?ood, a vigilante to rival to Aatman. ?is conception of ho6 to accomplish this is +ased on a marketing +ook B>etting the Aest :(t of Io(r ArandCF he declares BNtOhatCs all Aatman is no6Ja +rand, a logo, an idea gone past its sell1+y1dateC, adding B6eCre making him o+soleteC.$;' What 8ason Todd ignores here, revealing his perspective to +e fla6ed, is 6hat Hoh12arr (ltimately (ses to overcome ?e3(s* the material conse/(ences of the content conveyed for the lived e3perience of people. Hoh12arr (ncovers ?e3(sC internal secrets Ki.e., +oth its Bsecret soda recipesC and its tr(e nat(re as a hostile life formL to its rivals and to the 6orld. ?e3(s is destroyed +y people reclaiming their social

agency from it en masse, saying Bit controlled o(r minds N#O 6e 6ere o(r Eo+sC. $;7 0imilarly, the image of Aatman is defined +y his attit(de to6ards the 6orld +ased on specific principles 6hich val(e peopleF 8ason ToddCs -ed ?ood does not have these val(es, only slogans. .hief among these principles is that Aatman !oes not -illF$;9
$;$ $;%

Morrison, New ()Men4 New Worl!s, B)antome3C, p. N"'O. Morrison et al, Marvel +o", KMarvel* He6 Iork, !!!1 !!"L, ch. BDigital Goncentration Gamp :neC, pp. N%17O $;' Morrison, +atman an! 2o&in KHe6 Iork* D., !"!L R', p. N"%O. $;7 Morrison, Marvel +o", BDigital Goncentration Gamp :neC, p. N"9O and p. N";O. $;9 As Will Arooker e3plains in +atman Anmas-e! K !!'L, AatmanCs ethical insistence on not killing 6as introd(ced in ";%! as an editorial policy stim(lated +y a(dience response to the moral am+ig(ity

Mark P. Williams

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" 8ason ToddCs -ed ?ood !oes kill criminals and conse/(ently sparks a violent escalation 6ith the BAlpha Enforcer for the Penitente .artelC coming to >otham. $;4 Morrison indicates that he considers the content conveyed +y the medi(m is more important for lived e3perience than the pervasiveness of the medi(m itself. ?e demonstrates this in Doom Patrol, 6here one of the key villains of Doom Patrol, the identity1less Mr Ho+ody, leader of the Arotherhood of Dada, f(nctions as a sort of mo+ilised +lank space aro(nd 6hich many meanings can or+it 6itho(t BpenetratingC to the BrealC core or centre of his BcharacterC. Mr Ho+ody is descri+ed as BThe 0pirit of the t6enty1first cent(ry, the a+stract man. The 2irt(al Man. The Hotional man N#O ?err Hiemand# PMr Ho+odyQC. $;; ?e renames the Arotherhood of Evil Kfrom the original comic +ook seriesL as the Arotherhood of Dada and in the process raises inn(mera+le /(estions of identity and art 6hose comedic and slapstick resol(tions then provide the impet(s for the plots of the series. A(t the same ideas (nderpin MorrisonCs 6ork on the relationship +et6een Aatman and his villains in +atman an! Son5 +atman4 The +lac- #love and +atman4 27I7P7 Art appears as a concept applied to crime from the other side* the mem+ers of s(pervillain society The Alack >love act(ally say that their scheme for +reaking the Aatman B6ill +e a 6ork of artC. %!! While The Alack >loveCs recent recr(it, ,e Aoss(, addresses the 8oker as a master artist, saying* There are so many of (s here 6ho 6ere inspired +y yo(r relentless invention. Io(r Glan, maitre. N#.O 0corpiana, El 0om+rero, Pierrot ,(naire# $ll of (s, 6e revere yo(r flam&o"ance, yo(r dedication to yo(r art.%!"

The 8okerCs art is that of m(rder and chaos, +(t as AatmanCs opposite he is also AatmanCs colla+oratorF all of the 8okerCs attempts to kill the Aatman simply res(lt in the creation of more ela+orations of their relationship. The 8oker descri+es himself as

of AatmanCs vigilante stat(s. Arooker sees it as a res(lt of Bs(rro(nding Eo(rnalistic disco(rse of moral concernC K7$L 6hich lead to D. esta+lishing an internal comics code. Arooker, Will, +atman Anmas-e!4 $nal"1ing $ Cultural Icon K,ondon* .onti((m, !!'L, pp. '$J79. $;4 Morrison, +atman an! 2o&in R', p. N"9O. $;; Morrison, Doom Patrol4 The Painting that $te Paris, p. ' %!! Morrison, +atman4 27I7P75 BAatman in the Under6orldC, p. N7O. %!" Morrison, +atman4 27I7P75 BThin White D(ke of DeathC, p. N'O.

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"

"$ having +een Bdriven literally in. sane.NsicO trying to get NAatmanO to loosen (pC, B ever" single time < try to think outsi!e his to"&o he +(ilds a ne6 +o3 aro(nd meC. %! The advent(res of the Aatman are determined +y Aatman +eca(se he Bthinks of everythingC.%!$ <n MorrisonCs conception of it, AatmanCs s(perpo6er is a demi(rgic

one 6hich comes close to metafictionF Aatman imagines and prepares for every possi+le scenario and villain &efore they e3ist* Every day < r(n thro(gh a thousan! different scenarios. < 6ork o(t 6ays to defeat villains 6ith M>s and pathologies that havenCt +een thought of yet. < imagine a tho(sand potential death traps and plot my escapes.%!%

Aatman scripts his o6n actions and then, like a colla+orating artist, the hypothetical villain appears to complete the scenarioF Aatman even records his advent(res kno6ingly for his implied a(dience* B< practice that self1conscio(s hard1 +oiled style $lfre! loves to readC.%!' Morrison presents m(ltiple versions of Aatman* Ar(ce Wayne, his son Damian Wayne in the near f(t(re, and Dick >rayson in the immediate f(t(re, +(t in each instance the persistence of Aatman is, for Morrison, a mannerist performance, a fantasy of 6hat it 6o(ld +e like to +e Aatman 6hich has positive, therape(tic effects for each character 6ho takes on the mantle. <n the same 6ay, Morrison s(ggests, s(perhero narratives can have some positive therape(tic effects for readers* they demonstrate the positive val(e of the imagination and raise a6areness a+o(t real16orld pro+lems in a pop(lar medi(m 6hile providing levity and escape.

%!

Morrison, +atman4 27I7P4 BThe .oncl(sion* ?earts in DarknessC, p. N"4O. <+id., p. N O. %!% Morrison, +atman4 The +lac- #love KHe6 Iork* D., !!9, !!4L, BAatman Dies At Da6nC, p. N"'O %!' Morrison, +atman4 The +lac- #love, B8oe .hill in ?ellC, p. N7O.
%!$

Mark P. Williams

"$

"% Underlying MorrisonCs 6ork is a strong sense of the importance of material str(ggle as it affects people. Altho(gh, as -o= Gaveney o+serves, BN6Ohat he finds scariest, and makes most scary, are nightmares so ineffa+le as to +e vag(e 6hen yo( try and think a+o(t themC,%!7 his horrors are al6ays linked to some materially tangi+le negative aspect as 6ell, typically violence and e3ploitation. Where

MorrisonCs te3ts descri+e positive fantastical things or +ecome 6himsically fantastical it is as part of a sense of BmaterialC incl(ding also the s(+Eective e3perience s(ch as psychedelic e3perience, literat(re, art and m(sic. What Morrison typically means +y art in this conte3t is that 6hich disr(pts the norm, shocks the sensi+ility o(t of apathy or (nleashes a (topian desire for thinking a+o(t the 6orld in a different 6ay. As he says in intervie6* BNmOy idealism a+o(t the f(t(re isnCt g(ardedF <Cm an o(t1and1o(t (topianC.%!9 MorrisonCs descriptions of his life and family +ackgro(nd give some indication of ho6 he vie6s this imp(lse to6ards (topianism in art* My dad 6as a trade (nion activist and 6as Eailed as a .ommittee of "!! Bspy for peaceC in the B7!s, so < gre6 (p in an atmosphere of ed(cated 6orking1class dissent, protest and teenage p(nk rock re+ellion.%!4

This strongly politicised childhood is visi+le in his early 6ork, s(ch as Dare, a historically revisionist version of Dan Dare that dra6s links +et6een post16ar Aritish identity and fantasies of colonising the stars in a conte3t of ";4!s Aritish politics. <n MorrisonCs version, Dan Dare is +ro(ght o(t of retirement to act as a propaganda tool for the re1election campaign of Prime Minister >loria Monday. Monday is head of
%!7

Gaveney, -o=, SuperheroesD4 Capes an! Crusa!ers in Comics an! 'ilms K,ondon and He6 Iork, !!4L, p. "9 . %!9 Morrison, in intervie6, Vhttp*DD666.se/(entialtart.comDarchiveDa(g! Dgmorrison .shtmlW, "9D""D!;. %!4 Morrison, in intervie6 6ith +ig Issue Scotlan! K" D! D !!;L, from Vhttp*DD666.+igiss(escotland.comDfeat(resDvie6D"7W, "9D""D!;

Mark P. Williams

"%

"' the Unity Party, 6hich has B+een in po6er for ten years no6C and is seeking Bfive more years to +ring NherO policies to fr(itionC.%!; <ts criti/(e of Thatcherite Aritain is accent(ated +y the role she asks Dan Dare to play* a sym+olic poster model 6ho harks +ack to the 6ar against the Mekon and the Treens. The (topian rhetoric of the Unity Party posters KBDare to ,ook to the )(t(reCL contrasts 6ith the insistence on the recent history 6hich DareCs old sidekick, Dig+y, insists (pon* BIo( killed children. .hildren.C N#.O < hear yo(Cre 6orking for the #overnment no6. ?alf the folk in this co(ntry are starving and homeless thanks to >loria Monday and yo(Cre helping her to get +ack in.%"!

Dig+y gives a short revision of the history of Dan DareCs BheroicC advent(res +ased on the economic e3ploitation of the Treens* BTreens 6ork for ne3t to nothing, so 6e call them P>o+linsQ and employ them in their h(ndredsC, follo6ing the development of organised social resistance 6here Ba protest against atrocio(s 6orking conditions +ecomes a f(ll1scale (prisingC, the government calls in the army, c(lminating in the intervention of the heroic .olonel Dan Dare B-ight +efore the electionC. %"" Pop(list Aritish ne6spaper rhetoric is lampooned for (npro+lematically s(pporting government po6er thro(gh a parody of the famo(s B>otchaC headline 6hich greeted the sinking of the +elgrano, in the form of a headline 6hich reads* B>o++le This* :(r ,ads Ho++le Treen WarshipC.%"

%!;

Morrison, Dare Noriginally seriali=ed in 2evolver ;9)L K8(ly ";;! & 8an(ary ";;"L and Crisis ;CC) CH K)e+r(ary ";;" & March ";;"LOfrom ,ester!a"0s Tomorrows K,ondon* Gnocka+o(t >osh, !!9L, p. 79. %"! Morrison, Dare, pp. 4%J'. %"" <+id. , p. 49. %" <+id. , p. "" .

Mark P. Williams

"'

"7 When >loria Monday is proven to +e in leag(e 6ith Dan DareCs old enemy, the 2en(sian dictator, The Mekon, her reasoning (ses the terms of politics and representation 6hich Morrison later artic(lates in terms of the spectac(lar society* We did it for po6er. Politics is a+o(t po6er and the more po6erf(l one +ecomes, the more oneCs aesthetic of po6er +ecomes# refine!, shall 6e say@ The more its p(rs(it +ecomes an end in itself.%"$

Politics and aesthetics are (nited here thro(gh the Baesthetics of po6erC 6hich defines his s(pervillains as implicitly fascistic and totalitarianF he later transforms this into an aesthetic of control over image in the spectac(lar society. The BDare to ,ook to the )(t(reC rhetoric also recalls the lines of <talian of )(t(rism 6hich moved to6ards fascism. MorrisonCs early narratives s(ch as this sho6 the material +asis of his critical vision as a criti/(e of a(thoritarian po6er. <t is a criti/(e 6hich rec(rs in his 6ork thro(gh tropes of class conflict 6here his te3ts engage in a conscio(s process of thematising 6onder 6hile also 6orking thro(gh political /(estions regarding gro(p identity, gender, se3(ality, race and classF it is an anarchist1inflected criti/(e. .lass conflict appears as a constant theme in MorrisonCs fictions, as in The Invisi&les4 Sa" ,ou Want a 2evolution5 6here, in a strongly satirical scene, homeless people are p(rs(ed thro(gh the streets of ,ondon +y aristocrats in fo3h(nting regalia sho(ting Bc(t off the +reasts to +lood the childrenC, %"% and more recently in an am+ig(o(s scene from +atman4 The +lac- #love, 6here 8oe .hill, the m(rderer of Ar(ce WayneCs parents, rationalises his life +y saying BNiOf it ainCt the rich pre"ing on the poor like vampires, yo( tell me 6hat else it is@ N#.O anything < ever did < can E(stify as class
%"$ %"%

<+id. , p. ""9. Morrison, The Invisi&les4 Sa" ,ou Want a 2evolution, p. 7$.

Mark P. Williams

"7

"9 6arfareN,O class warfareC%"' echoing +oth Mar3Cs vampire capital and ";4!s anarcho1 leftism. Morrison is saying that in vie6ing life in this 6ay, 8oe .hill has incidentally create! the Aatman, his E(stification for his actions E(stifies the reciprocal Kand greaterL force that Aatman +rings to +ear on crime in general, +(t +oth positions are left hanging in an space, a vicio(s circle of ca(ses and effects* B< made yo(@ < made Aatman N,O TheyCll all kill me if they find o(t.C%"7 MorrisonCs fictions present s(perheroes as f(ndamentally divided sym+olic entities* they sym+olise po6er at the service of the disenfranchised, +(t they remain sym+ols of a dominant po6er despite the side they choose +eca(se the s(perhero form is dominated +y partic(lar ideas of society and identity. MorrisonCs 6riting (ndergoes a shift from /(estioning 6hether s(perheroes are really a s(ita+le mode for dealing 6ith real 6orld pro+lems, to6ards asserting the val(e of s(perheroic fantasy as a s(+Eective artistic e3perience 6hich can mediate the real 6orld in a therape(tic 6ay. These t6o /(estions interact* MorrisonCs fiction constantly asks 6hat the val(e of individ(al s(+Eective therape(tic e3pression is in respect to political sol(tions to real16orld pro+lems. ?is fantasies f(nction as attempts to imagine

different 6ays of conceiving and resolving the dichotomy of gro(p needs and individ(al needs as an ethic of representation. This manifests in the conflict +et6een the BcommittedC drive to6ards direct political allegory and satire, (sing Dare to comment on Thatcherite Aritain, sits +eside MorrisonCs insistence on an a+s(rdist BaestheticC approach to the 6orld in general, 6here the li+eration of the imagination thro(gh s(rrealism and h(mo(r proceeds in art as the corollary of activism in the real 6orld. <n the follo6ing section of this chapter < analyse ho6 these press(res 6ork together in his +reakthro(gh te3ts for D. comics $nimal Man and Doom Patrol.
%"' %"7

Morrison, +atman4 The +lac- #love, B8oe .hill in ?ellC, p. N4O. <+id, p. N"4O.

Mark P. Williams

"9

"4

1: Surrealis", 8et$een .realis") and .$onder): (he Functions of Metafiction and Magic Realis" in &nimal Man and Doom Patrol <n an online disc(ssion in !!7 Morrison descri+es his avant1gardist desire to s(+vert or change BmainstreamC s(perhero comics in terms of BmagicalC tho(ght e3periments 6ithin pop(list media. ?is (se of the term BmagicC here m(st +e (nderstood, on the one hand, similarly to Alan Moore, as referring in part to the connectivity of the fac(lty of the imagination 6ith the senses, and on the other, as +eing similar to 0te6art ?ome and 0teve AeardCs (se of it as a concept(al lang(age 6hich deli+erately +l(rs the distinctions +et6een s(+Eective and o+Eective e3periences to emphasise the materiality of the s(+Eective* Aeyond Marvel and D. as corporate entities lie the Marvel and D. (niverses and < have a great scientific interest in these little living paper 6orlds 6ith their o6n internal cosmological str(ct(res and la6s. These miniat(re (niverses even contin(e <HDEPEHDEHT,I of their creators. We can enter them and destroy characters, maim 6orlds, r(n (topian ideals to their destr(ctive concl(sions, re1r(n, delete, annihilate...and p(t it all +ack the 6ay it 6as if 6e choose. They can even o(tlive (s as 8ack Gir+y, 8oe 0imon and many others 6o(ld s(rely remind (s if only they co(ld interact 6ith the material plane like they (sed to. As a magician (sing comics as a medi(m for the p(rposes of effecting [magic[ K[magic[ like [comics[ is another one of those terms 6hich really o+sc(res its s(+EectL, < enEoy getting my hands on corporate icons recognised the 6orld over and charging them 6ith ne6 intent. %"9 )or a comic +ook 6riter s(ch as Morrison, dealing 6ith and re6riting the Blittle living paper 6orldsC of Marvel and D. there are many contrary demands to negotiate 6ith* editorial e3pectation, readerly e3pectation and the history of the characters as they have +een 6ritten +y generations of other a(thors. The conE(nction of these demands is referred to as comic +ook continuit".

%"9

http*DD666.comic+ookreso(rces.comDcol(mnsDinde3.cgi@article\%; , 4D!;D !!7.

Mark P. Williams

"4

"; iN Continuit" an! Surrealism

.ontin(ity affects ho6 characters are (nderstood +y 6riters and artists, and +y their a(diencesF it constit(tes their meaning. <n the D. and Marvel (niverses the pre1 e3isting and long1esta+lished histories and traditions of the characters +oth a reso(rce for innovation and a resistance to it Kho6 m(ch can they +e changed@ ho6 BoriginalC can they +e@ ho6 m(ch e3periment and spec(lation 6ill the a(dience accept@L. .ontin(ity applies primarily to the most famo(s characters and teams of mainstream s(perhero comics, s(ch as Aatman, 0(perman, Wonder Woman, ]1Men, The Avengers, 0piderman and the like +eca(se they are most economically important. <t can also +e (sed to make minor characters more Bmeaningf(lC, +eca(se it consists of all the s(perhero stories set in the given (niverse of either Marvel or D.. -o= Gaveney 6rites that contin(ity is a historically (ni/(e phenomenon* a Bcas(al remark +y Hick ,o6e in the co(rse of a train Eo(rney Nreminded GaveneyO that, +y no6, these t6o contin(ities 6ere the largest narrative constr(ctions in h(man c(lt(re Ke3ceeding, for e3ample, the vast +ody of myth, legend and stories that (nderlies ,atin and >reek literat(reL, and that learning to navigate them 6as a skill1set all of its o6nC. %"4 <n The Power of Comics4 Histor"5 'orm an! Culture5 -andy D(ncan and Matthe6 8. 0mith descri+e Bcontin(ityC as follo6s* Continuit" is the relatedness among characters and events said to inha+it the same fictional (niverse, and it can pose a pro+lem for creators trying to deal 6ith decades of +ackstory. Marc 0inger +elieves it is not a story 6hich persists in the minds of comic +ook readers, +(t rather a state of +eing. E3panding on a term +orro6ed from Heil >aiman, 0inger refers to the all(ring aspect of (nchanging s(perheroes as a Bstate of graceC that consists of the heroCs po6er, appearance and +ehavio(r.%";

%"4 %";

Gaveney, -o=, SuperheroD4 Capes an! Crusa!ers in Comics an! 'ilm, p. '. D(ncan, -andy, and 0mith, Matthe6 8., The Power of Comics4 Histor"5 'orm an! Culture K,ondon* .ontin((m, !!;L, pp. $$1$%.

Mark P. Williams

";

! .ontin(ity treats characters not as f(nctions tied to a narrative p(rpose, +(t attit(des 6hich may or may not point to6ards to any ends. This then raises the /(estion of ho6 characters can +e adapted to import Bne6 intentC if their content is so overdetermined +y generations of collective 6ork given that the companies 6hich o6n the characters, and take the a(thor f(nction, can only ever allo6 them to +e BchargedC 6ith eno(gh Bne6 intentC as to +e s(fficiently different to interest a ne6 a(dience +(t similar eno(gh to the esta+lished versions to maintain as m(ch interest from the old a(dience as possi+le. These are pro+lems of form 6hich Morrison responds to (sing avant1garde techni/(es. <n The 2ole of the 2ea!er, Um+erto Eco links the meganarratives of D. and Marvel contin(ity directly 6ith 0(rrealism. ?e o+serves that the events 6hich occ(r in the s(perhero narratives of the D. and Marvel contin(ities e3ist in a fl(id relationship 6ith the material history of their original 6riting and p(+lication. Altho(gh time passes the characters al6ays remain ro(ghly the same ageF the past of characters s(ch as 0(perman and Aatman is al6ays the recent past, even 6hen the events 6hich make (p that past may have +een 6ritten over several decades. The BpresentC of contin(ity is al6ays the shifting moment of nowF s(perheroes in contin(ity e3ist in a dream1like relationship 6ith modernity, an Boneiric climateC, B6here 6hat has happened +efore and 6hat has happened after appear e3tremely ha=yC and in each narrative BNtOhe narrator picks (p the strand of the event again and again, as if he had forgotten to say somethingC.% ! To Eco, this is ca(sed +y the s(perhero narrativeCs str(ggle to +alance the imp(lses of the mythic KtimelessL narrative, and the novelistic narrative K6hich is BparticularC and BhistoricCL. ?e finds it comes to the fore in Imaginar" Tales and Antol! Tales 6hich re1tell Bevents already
% !

Eco, Um+erto, The 2ole of the 2ea!er4 E plorations in the Semiotics of Te ts KAloomington* <ndiana University Press, N";9;O ";4%L, p. ""%.

Mark P. Williams

" told +(t in 6hich Psomething 6as left o(tQC, % " 6here there is a strange an3iety a+o(t ho6 to place the things 6hich occ(r. Hot only does the narrative +ecome more or less ela+orate according to the needs of the individ(al story 6riter +(t the relation of the character to the 6orld +ecomes more or less dream1like. This dream1like /(ality, the Boneiric climateC, prod(ces an effect 6hich is already tacitly s(rreal in its logic* history, despite seventy years of 6riting, only ever refers to recent history Kappro3imately the preceding decadeL and all early advent(res and origin stories occ(r 6ithin that recent history. >rant MorrisonCs mainstream s(perhero narrative +egin +y (ncovering this tacit s(rrealism present in contin(ity and then (sing it refle3ively as a 6ay of incorporating criti/(e into the mode (sing metaphors 6hich contrast dream1logic 6ith strict history, and cyclical or static activities 6ith act(al historical progression as a political gest(re. < 6ill no6 sho6 ho6 Morrison (ses metafictional techni/(es to accomplish this in $nimal Man.

iiN Metafiction in $nimal Man $nimal Man is a +reakthro(gh te3t for MorrisonF altho(gh it 6as originally secondary to his pitch for $r-ham $s"lum,
=KK

Timothy .allahan characterises it as the te3t

6here Morrison +egins to move a6ay from the shado6 cast +y Alan Moore 6ith Swamp Thing to +ecome a distinctive voice in ";4!s comics. :+serving that

MorrisonCs opening fo(r episodes are 6ritten in imitation Kor pasticheL of Moore, he analyses the 6ays that the remainder of the series moves a6ay from this and to6ards more mannerist 6ork. Thro(gh self1conscio(s and refle3ive scenarios, Morrison interrogates the val(e of comic +ook s(perheroes in generalF he +egins 6ith a metafictional episode called BThe .oyote >ospelC.
% " %

Eco, The 2ole of the 2ea!er, p. ""'. Morrison in .allahan, #rant Morrison, p. 7$.

Mark P. Williams

"

BThe .oyote >ospelC tells the story of .rafty .oyote, the first +eing in his 6orld to /(estion 6hy the animals K+ased on ,oony ToonsL fight constantlyF .rafty approaches his creator and asks for peace. This section +egins MorrisonCs de+ate 6ith the violence of the BrealisticC, that is hard1+oiled, trend 6ithin s(perhero comics, generally identified 6ith MillerCs Dar- Jnight 2eturns K";47L and MooreCs Watchmen K";47D9L* .rafty, as a savio(r1fig(re, sym+olises MorrisonCs concern 6ith promoting the frivolo(s po6er of s(perhero narrative. )or going against the nat(ral order the BcreatorC sends him to Bthe dark hell of the secon! realit"C, adding BP6hile yo( live and +ear the suffering of the 6orld, < 6ill make peace among the +eastsQC. % $ .rafty is killed and res(rrected repeatedly, in 6ays imitating Wyle E. .oyote, (ntil he is shot +y a silver +(llet fired +y someone convinced he is 0atanF Animal Man 6itnesses him die, falling cr(ciform at a crossroads, and the reader sees the BcreatorC add the final paint dash of +lood to his +ody. This scene points to6ards the (ltimate metafictional revelation that Animal Man m(st (ndergo* .raftyCs story of cartoon animals fighting in an Bendless ro(nd of violence and cruelt"C violence for entertainment reflects Animal ManCs serialised conflict 6ith animal1themed s(pervillains, 6hile .raftyCs confrontation 6ith his creator foreshado6s Animal Man meeting his 6riter. % % The final episode of $nimal Man c(lminates in a scene 6hich is clearly informed +y the metafictional +reaks of Bmagic realistC te3ts 6here Animal Man meets B>rant MorrisonCF Morrison confirms this in intervie6 6ith Timothy .allahan, saying Bin the B4!s, < 6as reading a lot of magic realist 6riters, like < 6as really into Aorges and <talo .alvino and Thomasso ,andolffiC. % ' Despite reference to these 6riters in respect to this story, the partic(lar details of the episode reflect far more
% $ % %

Morrison, $nimal Man4 >rigin of the Species KHe6 Iork* D., N";4;O !!$L, R', p. !. Morrison, $nimal Man R', p. "4. % ' Morrison in .allahan, #rant Morrison, p. ' .

Mark P. Williams

$ closely those of the famo(s BEpilog(eC from Alasdair >rayCs Lanar-4 $ Life in 'our +oo-s K";4 L 6here ,anark meets his o6n a(thor KMorrison sometimes all(des to reading >ray in intervie6sL* BB< 6ill start,C said the conE(ror, B+y e3plaining the physics of the 6orld yo( live in. Everything yo( have e3perienced and are e3periencing, from yo(r first glimpse of the Elite caf5 to the metal of that spoon in yo(r fingers, the taste of the so(p in yo(r mo(th, is made of one thing. N#.O Print.% 7

When >rayCs Ba(thorC then e3plains to ,anark that he is a character constrained +y a fictional 6orld designed to +e misera+le for the sake of narrative tension, he responds as follo6s* ,anark gaped do6n at the foolishly nodding face and s(ddenly felt it +elonged to a horri+le ventrilo/(istCs doll. ?e raised a clenched fist +(t co(ld not +ring himself to strike. ?e s6(ng aro(nd and p(nched a painting on an easel and +oth clattered to the floor N#.O 6ent to a tall +ookcase in a corner and heaved it over. N#.O The a(thor sat there looking distressed, +(t the paintings and easels 6ere +ack in their old places, and glaring aro(nd ,anark sa6 that the +ookcase has ret(rned /(ietly to the corner and +ooks, folders, +ottles and paint 6ere on the shelves again.% 9

Alasdair >rayCs characters Tha6 and ,anark 6ho +ecome one another, and the cities of >lasgo6 and Unthank that they inha+it, are o+vio(sly closer to home for the >las6egian Morrison, and the meeting of Animal Man and his 6riter B>rant MorrisonC is str(ct(red in /(ite a similar 6ay, mi3ing dialog(e 6ith a+s(rd actions that have no permanent effect. B>rant MorrisonC says to Animal Man* B<Cm more of a demi(rgic po6er. 0omeone else creates yo( to +e perfect and innocent and then I step in and spoil everything. <tCs a little +it satanic < s(ppose.C% 4 Animal Man loses his temper 6hen B>rant MorrisonC says B< can make yo( say and do anything N#.O <tCs all
% 7

>ray, Alasdair, Lanar-4 $ Life in 'our +oo-s K,ondon* Panther, ";4 L, p. %4%. >ray, Lanar-, p. %4%. Morrison, $nimal Man R 7, p. $.

% 9 % 4

Mark P. Williams

% here, this is 6here < 6rite the 6rongs of the 6orldC, 6here(pon Animal Man kills Morrison. ?e picks Morrison (p and, smashing him thro(gh the 6indo6, impales him on the frame and +roken glass, 6hich, like ,anark smashing his a(thorCs +ookshelves, proves not to have BreallyC happened in the ne3t frame. BMorrisonC then tells his character that his f(nction is to raise the political /(estions that he 6ants to raise thro(gh a pop(list medi(m* Io( care a+o(t animals +eca(se < 6anted yo( to dra6 peopleCs attention to 6hatCs happening in the 6orld. <n my 6orld, in the real 6orld, < canCt do an"thing a+o(t the things that (pset me. All < can do is Eoin protest gro(ps and 6rite this comic.% ;

B>rant MorrisonC then goes on to speak directly to the reader, recommending that readers concerned a+o(t animal a+(se sho(ld BEoin PETA 6ho are involved in active, non1violent campaigns on +ehalf of animalsN,O ThatCs People for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsC.%$! MorrisonCs metafictional flo(rishes are p(t directly at the service of his political interests. Animal Man asks 6hy, 6ith his demi(rgic po6ers, BMorrisonC cannot +ring his family +ack to life. BMorrisonC responds +y raising the pro+lem the real Morrison contin(es to 6ork thro(gh in his s(+se/(ent 6ritings* he says that it 6o(ld +e considered unrealistic* Pointless violence and death is BrealisticC. .omic +ooks are BrealisticC no6, 6e tho(ght that +y making yo(r 6orld more violent, 6e 6o(ld make it more BrealisticC, more Bad(ltC. >od help (s if thatCs 6hat it means.%$"

% ; %$!

Morrison, $nimal Man R 7, p. "4. <+id. , p. . %$" <+id. , pp. "4J %.

Mark P. Williams

' ?aving said this, BMorrisonC then ret(rns his family to life and gives A(ddy Aaker a happy ending. The despair BMorrisonC e3presses at the idea that e3treme violence and death sho(ld +e the determinants of realism seems to +e o(t of character 6ith MorrisonCs a(thorial interests in shock and the avant1garde, +(t these aspects of MorrisonCs 6ork are al6ays connected at some level 6ith a+s(rdism. ?is 6ork (ses 0(rrealism to emphasise B6onderC as a co(nter+alance to his (se of violenceF as he emphasises in the /(otation at the +eginning of this section* s(perhero comic +ooks can Br(n (topian ideals to their destr(ctive concl(sionsC +(t they can, cr(cially, +e p(t B+ack the 6ay it 6asC. %$ 0(perhero narratives provide space for 0(rrealism +eca(se contin(ity is cyclical and is contin(ally re6rittenF it has the potential to act as a testing gro(nd for spreading (topian ideas and for /(estioning the inevita+ility of BprogressC +y comparing its o6n cyclic nat(re 6ith that of the commodity e3changes 6hich direct Bcontin(ityC. B.ontin(ityC is a microcosm of contemporary capitalism* it is composed of iterations of the same thing, homologo(s 6ith the commodity form. $nimal Man concl(des 6ith a monolog(e on B6onderC as a so(rce of (topian tho(ght. BMorrisonC tells (s a+o(t an imaginary friend he had 6hen he 6as yo(ng, )o3y, 6ho lived in Ba (topia r(led over +y peacef(l, intelligent fo3esC, %$$ to 6hom he (sed to signal from Ang(s :val. BMorrisonC repeats the actions of his

yo(ng self, signalling 6ith a torch to his imaginary friend, in an appeal to a sense of 6onder against a red(ctive sense of realism in 6hat seems at this stage to +e a strongly postmodernist position Ka light signals +ack 6hen BMorrisonC has 6alked a6ayL very m(ch in favo(r of the arg(ments s(pporting magic realism +y Anne ?egerfeldt, that it is defined +y Bits inversion of the Western categories of PrealQ and

%$ %$$

http*DD666.comic+ookreso(rces.comDcol(mnsDinde3.cgi@article\%; , 4D!;D !!7. Morrison, $nimal Man4 Deus E Machina, p. 4.

Mark P. Williams

'

7 PfantasticQC.%$% $nimal Man colo(rs the a(dience e3pectations of MorrisonCs 6ork as BpostmodernistC +eca(se of its metafictionality, +(t this is only part of 6hat Morrison is engaged 6ith in the series. <n $nimal Man episodes vary +et6een realist moments s(ch as having Animal Man taking time a6ay from 8(stice ,eag(e E(rope to visit England +eca(se he Bpromised to help o(t some fo3h(nt sa+ote(rsC,
%$'

and others thematising the

r(pt(re of avant1garde artistic creation in the form of an alien doomsday +om+. The doomsday 6eapon is (sed +y a partic(lar caste of the Thanag(rians, ?a6kmanCs people, the BArt MartyrsC.%$7 An art martyr called -okara 0oh has +een chosen to deliver a BperformanceC that 6ill disr(pt the tectonic plates of the earth (sing a Blife+om+C that 6ill replay the life e3periences of the artist, detonating at a moment of s(preme emotional clima3, Ba sim(ltaneo(s telepathic transmission 6ill +om+ard spectators 6ith everything < have ever said or done or 6itnessed N,O my life 6ill flash +efore yo(r eyesC 6hile the earth is devastated +y a Bseismic poemC.%$9 The story is 6ritten as part of a D. contin(ity storyline for the Invasion miniseries crossing several s(perheroesC narratives* different alien races Eoin forces against Earth, ref(ses most of the conventions of s(ch invasion narratives +y centring on an artist fig(re, and concerning itself 6ith the idea of artistic creation and destr(ction as a form of therapy. -ohara 0ohCs Blife+om+C is a 6ork to6ards the invasion effort designed to reconcile his fatherCs B(tter contemptC for his choice of career KBhe 6anted a 6arrior son and <, an artist, had h(miliated himC %$4L, +y appearing as a 6ork of art that 6ill literally immortalise the artist in the minds of the
%$%

?egerfeldt, Anne .., Lies That Tell the Truth4 Magical 2ealism Seen through Contemporar" 'iction from +ritain KHe6 Iork and Amsterdam* -odopi, !!'L, p. 7. %$' Morrison, >rigin of the Species, p. "'. %$7 Morrison, >rigin of the Species, p. . %$9 <+id. , p. "4. %$4 <+id. , p. ".

Mark P. Williams

9 Thanagarians 6hile also aiding the invasion plans. The detonating se/(ence

concl(des 6ith a memory of prod(cing a fractal art6ork 6hich e3presses his life* Bit is my father. <t is me. <t is the finest, most po6erf(l 6ork < 6ill every prod(ce N#.O < stare at it for a 6hole day, 6eeping sometimes. Then < destroy it. And < am set free.C%$; Aathetically, the device is s6itched off +y ?a6kman at the last moment. The avant1garde disr(ption of the Blife+om+C that 6o(ld help destroy the KD. UniverseL 6orld as 6e kno6 it is (ndermined +y the s(perheroic action of pressing the off1s6itch. This same str(ct(re is played o(t again in a later, more metafictional, $nimal Man episode 6here an alternative (niverse 0(perman +rings a doomsday +om+ thro(gh from a lost version of the D. Universe KD.UL, via the imagination of the Psycho Pirate. T6o, different aliens stand +y 6atching the co(nter on the +om+, spec(lating that either BThe +om+Cs contin(ed e3istenceC after the alternate s(perman has +een sent +ack to the imaginary realm he is from Bseems to s(ggest that the 6orld is to s(ffer destr(ction after allC, Bor it simply serves some dramatic f(nctionC, Bor e3ists to make a philosophical pointC, are interr(pted +y Animal Man s6itching it off* irony tr(mps drama. %%! This is the dominant tone of MorrisonCs other maEor 6ork at this time, Doom Patrol.

iiiN The avant)gar!e in Doom Patrol Morrison (ses 0(rrealism +oth str(ct(rally and thematically in Doom Patrol. The Doom Patrol are empo6ered +y virt(e of +eing as strange or estranged Kfrom normalityL as their opponents* their po6ers are estrangements of form and their narratives respond to the alienation of modernity. Morrison gives them methods of

%$; %%!

<+id. , p. $. Morrison, $nimal Man 4 Deus E Machina, p. "9$.

Mark P. Williams

4 defeating their opponents 6hich incl(de a(tomatic 6riting, William A(rro(ghsC c(t1 (p techni/(es and transportation into the (nconscio(s. %%" Their advent(res follo6 (p the 0(rrealist criti/(e of everyday life as an alienated e3perience (nder capitalist modernity* The 0(rrealists have responded to the partitioning of lived e3perience 6ith a do(+le strategy* the first stage (nmasked the depth of alienation inherent in modern society, and the second move reintegrated splintered life +y a f(sion of the conscio(s and (nconscio(s mind. .onse/(ently, the individ(al 6ere given the same val(e as the collective forms of the social. :ne co(ld dispel alienation +y restlessly e3posing, disassem+ling, and re+(ilding morality, kno6ledge, aspiration and desireN.O%%

The mem+ers of the Doom Patrol represent those 6ho have +een most alienated +y modernity* .ra=y 8ane has m(ltiple personality disorder, a paradigm of fragmented s(+EectivityF .liff 0teele has an (nfeeling ro+otic +ody, representing the mechanisation of h(man lifeF 6hile other mem+ers s(ch as Dorothy are physically held prisoner +y their o6n childhood tra(mas in the form of psychically1created imaginary friends. Their advent(res not only help them to heal, they also imply that the contin(al process of fragmentation and healing performs a social and political f(nction. <n Doom Patrol4 The Painting that $te Paris, Morrison creates a direct reference to the disr(ptive po6er of avant1garde irony +y e3plicitly referencing Dadaism, thro(gh a confrontation +et6een the Doom Patrol and the Arotherhood of Dada. The Arotherhood of Dada is a ne6 version of the Arotherhood of Evil 6hich proclaims* BP>oodQU PEvilQU :(tmoded concepts for an anti/(e age N#.O )rom this
%%"

.ra=y 8ane (ses c(t1(p techni/(es to conE(re a door in BThe A(tterfly .ollectorC KCrawling 'rom the Wrec-age, He6 Iork* D., ";4;, ";; L and .liff 0teele is proEected into 8aneCs (nconscio(s in B>oing Undergro(ndCKThe Painting That $te Paris, He6 Iork* D., ";4;, ";;!, !!%L. %% 0piteri and ,a .ross, from their introd(ction to Surrealism5 Politics an! Culture ed. -aymond 0piteri and Donald ,a .ross KAldershot* Ashgate P(+lishing .ompany, !!$L, pp. '17.

Mark P. Williams

; day on 6e 6ill cele+rate the total a+s(rdity of life, the gigantic hoc(s poc(s of e3istence.C%%$ This series e3plicitly thematises the conflict +et6een the realist

approach and the more fantastical, 6onder1orientated approaches to the s(perhero mode. Morrison confirms in intervie6 6ith Timothy .allahan that his first tho(ghts 6hen offered Doom Patrol 6ere ho6 he co(ld Btie it into all the st(ff < 6as getting into at the time, like 0it(ationism, and a lot of art history st(ff, and s(rrealismC. %%% ?is sol(tion 6as to reconte3t(alise avant1garde concepts dra6n from art history 6ithin the e3changes +et6een s(perheroes and s(pervillains* a transformation +y !Gtournement. MorrisonCs s(perheroes fight to maintain their identities against s(pervillains 6ho seek to overthro6 reason. The dialectic of s(perheroes and

s(pervillains at the centre of Doom Patrol is a +attle +et6een a+s(rdism Kin favo(r of 6onderL and realism Kattempting to remove 6onder and the fantasticL. <ndivid(al characters, from .liff 0teele and -e+is in Doom Patrol, to Mr Ho+ody of the Arotherhood of Dada represent a dialectic of rationalDanti1rationalF in Doom Patrol4 Magic +us, the +rief story of U0 government assassin 8ohn BIankee DoodleC Dandy, sent to kill Mr Ho+ody, stands synecdochally for all the characters. Altho(gh 8ohn Dandy ostensi+ly takes the side of order and rationality, of government, he too has Bgone /(ite =any and scratchy since his soEo(rn in the lost city +elo6 the PentagonC. %%' ?e is fighting against 6onder and anti1rational forces +(t those same forces are the so(rce of his po6ers. ,ike the Doom Patrol he demonstrates the inherent a+s(rdity of attempting to (se fantastic, e3cessive fig(res to s(pport a red(ction to BrealisticC forms s(ch as the BgrittyC s(perhero.

%%$ %%%

Morrison, Doom Patrol4 The Painting that $te Paris, R 7, p. 9. Morrison in intervie6 6ith .allahan, #rant Morrison4 The Earl" ,ears, p. ''. %%' Morrison, Magic +us, p. $'

Mark P. Williams

$! The plotline of The Painting That $te Paris is a +lend of avant1garde ideas the Arotherhood of Dada steal a Bh(ngry paintingC, e3istence of 6hich is co(ched in comple3 art1history* .oleridge descri+es to Thomas de Z(incy Ba painting 6hich, it is said, possesses the po6er to physically devo(r those 6ho +ehold itC 6hich Bas .oleridge descri+ed it, is the 6ork of Piranesi, that same artist 6hose delirio(s visions of vast engines, splendid stairs, a+yssal chasms, Mc. Mc. have so ha(nted my o6n dreamsC, +(t this one is destroyed and a Bmany years later, a d(plicate 6as createdC +y Bthe +rilliant, (nsta+le Ma3 AordenghastC and is mentioned +y Bthe English occ(ltist A(sten :sman 0pareC. %%7 This is the painting that BeatsC ParisF it f(nctions as a Bdesire machineC, (nleashing the energies of concepts in physical form. ,ike the chapters of Angela .arterCs The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman K";9 L, the layers of the painting operate according to their o6n la6s, determined +y artistic convention rather than rational logic. The Doom Patrol +ecome separated and face the mem+ers of Arotherhood of Dada alone in the different BlevelsC of the painting. Each level

conveys a different atmosphere* from Blight falling like sno6, like cham+er m(sic N,O light as sno6C to represent the Bimpressionist departmentC, to Bsi==le and shock of molec(lar motionC indicating a Blevel is +ased on the principles of 'uturist art and architect(reC.%%9 The secret of the painting is that it contains the B)ifth ?orsemanC of the apocalypse, 6hich is hiding in the B0(rrealist levelC.%%4 The )ifth ?orseman is called BPE3tinction N#.O ?e +ringeth the end of all time, all space, all lifeU The end of all godsUQC.%%; The ?orseman Btakes ideas and converts them into energy N,O s(rrealism, sym+olism, c(+ism, f(t(rismJthey all
%%7 %%9

Morrison, The Painting That $te Paris, pp. $ 1$'. <+id. , pp. 7'J79. %%4 <+id. , p. 4%. %%; <+id. , p. 49.

Mark P. Williams

$!

$" provide strength for the riderC,%'! it gathers po6er from the layers of meaning contained in each of the artistically themed layers of the painting. The Doom Patrol can only save the 6orld 6ith the help of the The Arotherhood of Dada, 6ho steer the ?orseman into Bthe Dada 6orldC 6here it +ecomes the literal translation of BDadaC, %'" appearing o(tside the painting ne3t to 0(perman and a n(m+er of other mem+ers of the 8(stice ,eag(e as a ho++yhorse, Bstripped of meaning, red(ced to a+s(rdityC. %' The threats to the (niverse that the Doom Patrol fight against thematise the a+s(rdity of the idea of the Bthreat to the (niverseC as a motif for the inherent 0(rrealism of s(perheroes motif* all s(perheroic advent(res have to threaten to destroy or disr(pt the (niverse of the fiction, the force of contin(ity Ka(dience e3pectation and editorial g(idanceL directs this disr(ption into a cyclical pattern of threat and resol(tion. MorrisonCs s(perheroes confront the cyclical forces of contin(ity as a sym+ol of modernity itself* capitalist modernity demands eternal rene6als, BprogressC, 6hich does not disr(pt e3pectation. This is the nat(re of the left radical criti/(e of c(lt(re that the 0it(ationist <nternational take from 0(rrealism* that c(lt(re does not change, it merely e3changes images K6hose val(es are imaginaryL, 6itho(t transforming them. Morrison (ses the s(perheroes to represent the transformation of imagesF his s(perheroes are images 6hich he charges 6ith alternate c(lt(ral content to transform the meaning that they have in the sym+olic e3changes of modernity. <n Doom Patrol he does this +y copying 0(rrealist techni/(es to devise s(perheroes 6hich deli+erately resist the sym+olic logic 6hich s(perheroes necessarily partake in Ks(ch as national identity, as disc(ssed in chapter threeL. MorrisonCs idiosyncratic

%'! %'" %'

<+id. , p. ;7. <+id. <+id. , p. "! .

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$"

$ characters for this series, partic(larly Danny the 0treet Ka sentient, travelling road6ayL and )le3 Mentallo, Man of M(scle Mystery, 6ere devised in 6ays similar to those (sed +y Dada and 0(rrealism* BNtOhey 6ere Pfo(nd o+EectsQJmost of the characters in Doom Patrol are derived from dream diaries, conversations 6ith friends N#O or fragments of songs < 6as listening to or movies < 6as 6atching at the timeC. %'$ Doom Patrol th(s represents an attempt to employ avant1garde methods as 6ell as themes from avant1garde art, to +ring the resonances of 0it(ationism, 0(rrealism and Dada to +ear on the D. (niverse. E3panding on his (se of 0(rrealism in Doom Patrol, Morrison e3plains that Bthe characters Damn All and Darling .ome ?ome Nsinister imaginary friendsO from iss(e R ' 6ere the act(al imaginary friends of a friendC 6hile the villain -ed 8ack B6as inspired +y re1reading NPeter Aarnes dramaO The 2uling ClassC, adding Bthe character even /(otes from the playC.%'% The 2uling Class K";7;L is a+o(t the family >(erneyCs attempts to prevent the "%th Earl, 8ack K6ho ref(ses to ackno6ledge this nameL, from inheriting the family seat +eca(se he +elieves himself to +e >od, something he has in common 6ith MorrisonCs s(per1character -ed 8ack. Morrison terms The 2uling Class a Bprimal infl(enceC on him for its +lend of social satire and a+s(rdism* one scene feat(res the interr(ption of a Bmonstro(s eight1feet +east N#.O dressed incongr(o(sly in high 2ictorian fashionC 6hen the family confront the "%th Earl 6ith his real name, 8ack.%'' This play is one

of several s(ch infl(ences, also incl(ding David 0her6in and ,indsay AndersonCs similarly 0(rrealist take on English class str(ct(re IfF7K";74L, 6hich is mentioned in

%'$ %'%

Morrison in .allahan, The Earl" ,ears, p. '9. <+id. %'' Aarnes, Peter, The 2uling Class K";74, pp. "J" "L, Peter +arnes4 Collecte! Pla"s K,ondon* ?einemann, ";4"L, p. 9$.

Mark P. Williams

$$ The Invisi&les. MorrisonCs (se of 0(rrealism is +ased on +lending s(ch +orro6ings 6ith ones from diverse s(+1c(lt(ral fields* With Danny the 0treet, < 6as signing in D(+lin 6ith Arendon Mc.arthy N#.O We 6ere talking a+o(t the drag artiste Danny ,a -(e, 6hose name o+vio(sly translates as Danny the 0treet. This conE(red the image of a transvestite street 6ith to(gh macho stores all done (p 6ith fairy lights. < com+ined this idea 6ith a street < +elieve < hall(cinated in Paris and added the notion that Danny the 0treet co(ld travel aro(nd the 6orld and insert himself into any city any6here. This element of his a+ilities 6as +ased on my misremem+ering Danny ,a -(eCs signat(re t(ne B:n Mother GellyCs DoorstepC, 6hich < 6as s(re +egan Bon mother GellyCs doorstep < 6andered the earthC. N#.O The final to(ch 6as creating his origin story, 6here < decided he 6as the only material remnant of those fa+(lo(s other6orlds of o(r imagination and dreamsJlike Wonderland, 0l(m+erland, Hever1Hever ,and, or :=, places that hide in 6ardro+es and do6n holes.%'7 The characters from Doom Patrol are th(s dra6n from diverse so(rces of artistic history, c(lt(ral &ricolage and dreamlike elements. Doom PatrolCs conflicts are often concept(al ones 6hose sol(tion rarely re/(ires, or is rarely helped +y, physical conflict* Doom Patrol4 Crawling 'rom the Wrec-age feat(res a str(ggle against a city conceived as a tho(ght e3perimentF Down Para!ise Wa" feat(res a 6ar +et6een t6o alien races resolved 6hen the Doom Patrol enco(rage them e3change conflict for potlatchF 6hile in Magic +us, 6hen the Arotherhood of Dada are finally killed, the stakes are e3plicitly those of 6onder vers(s realism and the Doom Patrol do not to intervene 6hen Mr Ho+ody re1starts the revol(tion of everyday life (sing the remnant of the h(ngry painting, declaring* BNtOhereCs a 6orld of 6onder in this magical painting, an infinity of novelty and opport(nity N#.O NaOnd < think if 6e all 6ish hard eno(gh 6e can dissolve the +o(ndary +et6een the painting and this PrealQ 6orldC, +efore +eing attacked +y U0 government agencies. %'9 B-ealisticC violence is opposed

%'7 %'9

Morrison in .allahan, #rant Morrison4 The Earl" ,ears, p. '4. Morrison, Magic +us,, p. %%.

Mark P. Williams

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$% to avant1garde disr(ption and 6onder, 6ith the letter as a privileged position of insight. MorrisonCs drive to6ards a sense of 6onder in s(perhero comics is an attempt to mediate the violence and shock that he sees as str(ct(rally necessary to creating tension and drama 6ithin the mode, as B>rant MorrisonC e3plains to Animal Man* s(perheroes Bsettle the moral arg(ment +y +eating Ntheir Bideological oppositeCO into the gro(nd. DonCt laugh. ThatCs the 6ay 6e deal 6ith things in the real 6orld, too.C%'4 Mainstream s(perhero contin(ity can convey arg(ments, can +e a 6orking thro(gh of political positionsF the mode can accommodate politically committed content. Altho(gh Morrison treats this concept ironically in $nimal Man it remains important to the str(ct(re 'antastic 'our4 9K<=, New ()Men, The Invisi&les, The 'ilth, Seven Sol!iers of *ictor", +atman 27I7P7, and $ll)Star Superman. What these series all sho6 is an attempt to +alance the demands of a hard1+oiled, realistic aesthetic e3pectations, in the form of references to se3, dr(gs and violence, against those of 6onder, in the form of 0(rrealism, metafictional r(pt(re, self1refle3ivity, comedy and irony. This +alancing act +et6een these contrary forces is realised thro(gh conflicts +et6een a stat(s /(o 6hich maintains stasis, or Bcontin(ityC, in opposition to demands for change 6hich echo those of li+eration gro(ps and artist manifestos. <n the follo6ing part of this chapter < e3plore ho6 MorrisonCs later fictions develop in a rather different direction in respect to some of the play 6ith metafiction and 0(rrealism of these early 6orks 6hile retaining the (nderlying criti/(e. The pivotal te3ts here are his lengthy creator1o6ned series The Invisi&les, a+o(t anarcho1occ(ltist s(perheroes fighting the (ltimate conspiracy, and its
%'4

Morrison, $nimal Man4 Deus E Machina, p.

Mark P. Williams

$%

$' reflection, The 'ilth, a graphic novel a+o(t the (ltimate police force 6ho maintain the Bsocial healthC of the 6orld.

3: 'ccult Anarchist Su&erheroes: (he Pro#le"atic Post"odernis"s of The Invisi'les and The (ilth iN The Invisi&les MorrisonCs 6ork on The Invisi&les is defined +y his interest in several overlapping disco(rses present in contemporary co(nter1c(lt(re* the intersection of 0it(ationist theory and anti1cons(merist anarchism, and the intersection of psychedelic e3perience 6ith the form of postmodernist occ(ltism termed .haos Magic. Morrison employs these disco(rses to form(late a 6orld 6here a fantastic 6ar +et6een occ(lt forces is taking place in the interstices of contemporary glo+al capitalism. These forces appear as either aliens or angels at different times and contrary e3planations are given for their forms thro(gho(t the series, +(t in each case they correspond to aspects of h(man conscio(sness. ?e emphasises the relationship +et6een this allegory and his personal vie6s in intervie6, saying* B< donCt P+elieveQ in spirits or aliens, for e3ample, +(t < have had instr(ctive and life1changing enco(nters 6ith aspects of the h(man conscio(s e3perience 6hich do a pretty damn good Eo+ of +ehaving like angels or (ltra1terrestrialsC, a similar perspective to Alan Moore.%'; MorrisonCs p(+lic statements on his act(al interests in the occ(lt are th(s often contradictory, sometimes (sing occ(lt lang(age in the conte3t of cons(mer c(lt(re or corporate lang(age to descri+e occ(lt practices, a rhetorical +l(rring 6hich ca(ses some consternation, s(ch that -o= Gaveney even s(ggests BMorrisonCs occ(ltist anarchism makes him less political a 6riter than other Aritish 6riters of
%';

Morrison, intervie6* http*DD666.+igiss(escotland.comDfeat(resDvie6D"7, accessed "9D""D!;.

Mark P. Williams

$'

$7 s(perhero comicsC.%7! Altho(gh MorrisonCs (se of BmagicC does demonstrate slippage +et6een Blifestyle fantasyC K0ta+lefordL and a metaphorical (se of magical lang(age to designate cons(merism and responses to cons(merism, 6e sho(ld recall that s(ch slippage is also (sed rhetorically +y mem+ers of the 0(rrealist gro(p as a materialist metaphor for irred(ci+le elements of the s(+Eective e3perience Ks(ch as BloveC and BArtCL, something common to the diverse 6ritings of Andr5 Areton, >eorge Aataille and ,eonora .arrington.%7" MorrisonCs emphasis on the metaphorical (ses of magic and the occ(lt consistently places his fictions into a politicised materialist perspectiveF BmagicC is the metaphor +y 6hich he e3plains the s(+Eective e3perience of the conditions of life 6ithin the system of commodity e3changes. Morrison (ses 0it(ationist theory thro(gho(t The Invisi&les in dialog(e 6ith the BmagicalC lang(age, the interplay +et6een these idioms str(ct(res MorrisonCs e3plications of the relationship +et6een material relations of the Bsociety of the spectacleC 6hen descri+ed o+Eectively and 6hen descri+ed s(+Eectively. <t manifests in the interplay of revol(tionary and co(nter1revol(tionary gro(ps, in the series (sing the concept of the Bpsychogeographical !GriveC Ka BdriftC thro(gh (r+an environments to discover hidden spaces andDor ne6 6ays of (sing (r+an spacesF see Merlin .overly Ps"chogeograph"=HKL, and even in the name of key character Ging Mo+ is a taken from a Bpro10it(C gro(p ne6sletter.%7$ 0it(ationist criti/(e is fo(nded on the idea that
%7! %7"

Gaveney, SuperheroesD Capes an! Crusa!ers in Comics an! 'ilms, p. "79. 0ee Aataille KedL Enc"clopae!ia $cephalica trans. <ain White K,ondon* Atlas Press, ";;'L 6hich reprints the $cephale papers +y Aataille and others concerned 6ith, among other things, s(+version of ethnography. 0ee also, for e3ample, BMagic ArtC Kpp. ; J;7L in Areton, Andre, What Is SurrealismB Selecte! Writings ed. )ranklin -osemont K,ondon* Pl(to Press, ";94L, and the (se of magic, occ(ltism and alchemy in ,eonora .arringtonCs novel The Hearing Trumpet K,ondon* E3act .hange, N";9%O ";;7L. %7 .overly descri+es it as Ba tool in an attempt to transform (r+an life, first for aesthetic p(rposes +(t later for increasingly political endsC and compares its (sage +y >(y De+ord, <ain 0inclair, 0te6art ?ome and Will 0elf. .overly Merlin, Ps"chogeograph" K?arpenden, ?erts.* Pocket Essentials, !!7L, p."!. %7$ Ging Mo+ is a gro(p sometimes (sed to connect P(nk 6ith 0it(ationism +eca(se the theorist .hristopher >ray 6as a mem+er of +oth gro(ps. 0ee What Is SituationismB $ 2ea!er Ked. 0te6art ?ome, Edin+(rgh* AG Press, ";;7L.

Mark P. Williams

$7

$9 BimagesC, i.e. +rands and logos, as the c(lmination of commodity, govern material e3istence, dominating the imaginationF 0it(ationists attempt to transform these images +y radically altering the conte3ts of their appearance or placing them in disE(nctive sit(ations 6hich reveal ho6 they dominate the imagination. This e3tends to (sing (r+an spaces for disE(nctive activities s(ch as 6alking thro(gh areas never ordinarily 6alked thro(gh to (sing p(+lic +(siness spaces for Bplayf(lC activity. e3change indicates the (nderlying 0it(ationist infl(ence of The Invisi&les* NDane Mc>o6an*O BHo6 6here are 6e going@C NTom :CAedlam*O BHo6here in partic(lar. The Paris Situationists (sed to call this sort of thing a !GriveJdrifting aimlessly thro(gh the city, making it ne6 and strange. The 0treet of ,ittle >irls, 0(n 0treet, The :cean Aar and the 0/(are of the Appalling Mo+ile. People look at (s and see the poor and the mad, +(t theyCre looking at (s thro(gh the +ars of their cages. ThereCs a palace in yo(r head, +oy. ,earn to live in it al6ays.C%7% An early

This is a variation of 0it(ationist criti/(e e3pressed in terms familiar from 0hklovskyCs BArt as Techni/(eC, BdefamiliarisationC* it proposes realising the social val(e of artistic practice as therape(tic response to modernity. 0it(ationist theory or ideas dra6ing on 0it(ationist theory KBpro10it(CL can th(s lend themselves to either aesthetic or social practiceF MorrisonCs fictions e3plore +oth (ses. <n The Influence of Postmo!ernism on Contemporar" Writing K !!'L David P(nter, descri+es MorrisonCs The Invisi&les in terms 6hich are

paradigmatically postmodernist. ?e claims that the <nvisi+les themselves are defined +y their postmodern (ncertainty, Bprone to moments of e3treme do(+t a+o(t 6hat they are doing and 6hy they are doing itC, they are Bnever s(re 6hether in fact they are enacting someone elseCs narrative* 6hether, indeed, their story has already +een

%7%

Morrison, The Invisi&les 94 Sa" ,ou Want a 2evolution KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;%, ";;'L, p. 74.

Mark P. Williams

$9

$4 6rittenJand dra6nJfor themC. %7' P(nter sees them in terms of their fragmentation and (ncertain position of agency foremost. While Morrison arg(es that in themselves the <nvisi+les do not serve any force of change +(t can agitate for vie6ing the f(nction of the s(perhero in different terms* namely as an inspiration to action and as an imaginary +(l6ark to defend the s(+Eect, a form that anyone can adapt to themselves to some e3tent. The Invisi&les e3plicitly asks 6hether s(perheroes

enco(rage people to receive political criti/(e passively. Morrison thematises this pro+lem thro(gh the character of the anarchist1s(perhero Ging Mo+. <n the early episodes of The Invisi&les the relation of an anarchist1 s(perhero to revol(tionary tho(ght is /(estioned +y +eing e3plored from the perspective of a social o(tsider* ne6 recr(it to the <nvisi+les, Dane Mc>o6an. DaneCs re+ellio(sness and antipathy to6ards a(thority sees him attempting to +(rn do6n his schoolJ6hen ca(ght, +reaking a +ottle on his teacherCs headJand +eing remanded into a ne6 Bintensive pro+ation programmeC, the E(dge saying BNtOhis yo(ng man 6ill learn to his cost that 6e have +een developing new 6ays to deal 6ith his +rand of Pre+ellionQ. ?e 6ill learn the hard 6ayC.%77 The message of the section, +arely all(ded to here, +(t later made clear +y +oth the <nvisi+les and the agents of the :(ter .h(rch, is that 6hat Dane here thinks of as a form of resisting society and socialisation is nothing of the kind* society has professions for tolerating the violence of s(pposed revol(tion and Dane is merely placing himself more firmly 6ithin a pigeonhole, prearranged and a6aiting his Bre+ellionC. ?is revol(tionary imp(lse is assimilated and ne(tralised, a process Morrison compares to the process of 6riting fantasy fictions a+o(t revol(tion. When he s(+Eects his o6n anarchist s(perhero to 0it(ationist criti/(e.
%7'

P(nter, David, The Influence of Postmo!ernism on Contemporar" Writing4 $n Inter!isciplinar" Stu!" K,e6iston, Z(eenston, ,ampeter* The Ed6in Mellen Press, !!'L, p. "7. %77 Morrison, Sa" ,ou Want $ 2evolution, p. ;.

Mark P. Williams

$4

$; Under the infl(ence of a hypnotic light (sed +y a rival <nvisi+les BcellC, Ging Mo+ is forced to confront the f(ndamental pro+lem of s(+versive s(perhero fictions* The most pernicio(s image of all is the anarchist1hero fig(re. A creation of commodity c(lt(re, he allo6s (s to +(y into an ina(thentic sim(lation of revol(tionary pra3is. N#.O The hero enco(rages passive spectating and revolt +ecomes another prod(ct to +e cons(med.%79

Words of criti/(e imposed (pon the <nvisi+les appear as scripted lang(age intr(ding into their 6ord1+alloons in a type6ritten font. Their 6ords sho6 the direct (se of 0it(ationist Eargon imitating the specific criti/(e of central c(lt(re proposed +y the 0it(ationists, employing !Gtournement 6ithin the medi(m of comic +ooks. The

0it(ationists hailed comics as* Bthe only gen(inely pop(lar literat(re of o(r cent(ryC and called !Gtournement Bthe e3act opposite of pop art, 6hich +reaks comics into piecesC 6hich Baims at restoring to the comics their greatness and meaningC as a medi(m for critical tho(ght.%74 Morrison descri+es the 0it(ationist a(tocriti/(e as one of the most important moments in the series, saying* When yo( finally get to the a(tocriti/(e, the 0it(ationist attack on the <nvisi+les, e3posing its hidden racist or esta+lishment agenda, it t(rns o(t they do serve the stat(s /(o. <tCs E(st a +(nch of g(ys dressed (p in a stereotyped image re+ellion. N#.O The anarchist fig(re, the hero, is E(st a proEection, 6hich stops (s from +eing heroic in o(r o6n life.%7; Morrison e3tends his immanent criti/(e of the s(perhero mode not E(st to the aesthetic dimension +(t to the social val(e of that form. )rom The Invisi&les 6e can see that Morrison demands that s(perheroes +e (nderstood as e3tensions of materialist
%79 %74

Morrison, The Invisi&les C4 Counting To None KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;9, ";;4L, p. 213 2i5net, -en5, /(oted in #u" De&or! an! the Situationist International, ed. +y Tom McDono(gh, K,ondon and .am+ridge, Mass.* The M<T Press, !! L, p. "4$ %7; Morrison in .o6e10pigai, Gereth in Heighly, Patrick and .o6e10pigai $narch" for the Masses4 The Disinformation #ui!e to The Invisi&les KHe6 Iork* The Disinformation .ompany, !!$L, p. %;.

Mark P. Williams

$;

%! criti/(eF they may +e the inspiration for political action +(t they are limited in their a+ility to f(nction politically. Emphasising the limitations of the form 6ithin its o6n terms demonstrates that MorrisonCs political criti/(e in The Invisi&les is not limited to satirising the forces of conformity +(t also e3tends to those of anarchism. This is complicated still f(rther +y the reappearance of the <nvisi+le 8ohn1a1Dreams, long tho(ght to have gone over to the :(ter .h(rch. 8ohn1a1Dreams has occ(pied positions on +oth sides of the central anarchistDconspiracy +inary of The Invisi&les. Asked if he has +ecome one of BthemC he responds* BNyOes N#O the /(estion is, 6ho are the"C.%9! 8ohnCs role here is to e3tend the Ba(to1criti/(eC of the series itself, he estranges o(r vie6 of the conflict +et6een the anarchist s(perheroes and the s(pervilliano(s conspiracy, saying gnomically* When fear is all there is, there is no fear. Eternal pain is no longer pain. When 6e remem&er them and recognise them for 6hat they are, they cease to enslave (s.%9" Morrison (ses the speeches of this former1<nvisi+le to sho6 ho6 his series as a 6hole s(+verts its o6n d(alistic str(ct(re in a 6ay 6hich is directly analogo(s to the avant1 garde practices of 0(rrealism* Bthe 6ill to discover that point at 6hich opposing categories are no longer perceived contradictorily Kthe Ps(preme pointQLC.%9 The

opposing category of The Invisi&les is a te3t 6hich takes the side of normality and a(thority, The 'ilth.

iiN The 'ilth

%9! %9"

Morrison, The Invisi&les L4 The Invisi&le Jing!om KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;;, !!!L, p. %;. Morrison, The Invisi&le Jing!om, p. $. %9 -ichardson and )iEalko6ski, B<ntrod(ctionC to Surrealism $gainst the Current ed. Michael -ichardson and Gr=ys=tof )iEalko6ski K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!"L, p. 7.

Mark P. Williams

%!

%" The 'ilth K !!$D%L enters into a d(alistic relationship 6ith The Invisi&les. The 6orld of The 'ilth takes on pornography, international terrorism, KapparentlyL alien +eings, s(perheroes and Aorgesean 6orlds16ithin16orlds.%9$ Morrison descri+es The 'ilth in therape(tic terms, (sing art as a form of metaphoric inoc(lation* <[m deli+erately inEecting the 6orst aspects of life into my readerCs heads in small, h(moro(s doses of metaphor and sym+ol, in an effort to help them s(rvive the torrents of nastiness, horror and dirt 6e[re all e3posed to every day 1 especially in 6hite Western c(lt(res, 6hose entertainment ind(stries peddle a mind1n(m+ing perverted concoction of fantasy violence and degrading se3(ality 6hile living large at the e3pense of the poor in other co(ntries.%9% <n p(rs(ing this, Morrison (ses a disE(nctive and fragmentary style in the series to ill(strate the stark contrasts of 6ealthy li+ertarians Bliving largeC on a floating (topia 6ith lives of ordinary people living in terraced ho(sing. The seriesC story arcs move from a small terraced ho(se in a grey English to6n, all the 6ay to 2enice and ,os Angeles, and incl(de an ephemeral s(pervillain named 0partac(s ?(ghes 6ho can take any h(man form he chooses. The story centres aro(nd a lonely man named >reg )eely 6ho is either having a nervo(s +reakdo6n or 6ho may act(ally +e a false identity ass(med +y Hed 0lade, s(perheroic mem+er of a glo+al police force called The ?and. The disE(nctive shifts in tone and colo(ration +et6een the sections dealing 6ith >regCs life and HedCs advent(res allo6 Morrison to maintain a sense of am+ig(ity as to 6hich is Btr(eC thro(gho(t the story. The narrative of Hed 0lade sometimes appears to +e >reg )eelyCs o6n escapist fantasy to offset his Ba(thenticC terraced e3istence and the misery of +eing +(llied +y his neigh+o(rs +eca(se they s(spect him of +eing a paedophile, 6hile at other times the relationship +et6een them is more metafictional and comple3. The
%9$

8.,. Aorges is an e3plicit point of reference for the opening plot arcs of Doom Patrol4 Crawling 'rom the Wrec-age and an implicit one thro(gho(t The Invisi&les. %9% )rom .rack .omicksU :nlineJ http*DD666.crackcomicks.comDtheXfilthX/(estions.htm, 'D! D !!4.

Mark P. Williams

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% hard1+oiled, realist sections concerned 6ith >reg )eelyCs co(ncil estate are s(+verted +y the invasion of the intense and fantastical, s(ch as cosmona(t and professional assassin Dimitri1; Ka talking, dope1smoking chimpan=eeL. The 6orld of The 'ilth is also a highly se3(alised one 6hich foc(ses aro(nd the lonely masc(linity of >reg )eely and his reg(lar p(rchase of ta+loid ne6spapers and the appearance of (nsolicited pornography addressed to Bthe man 6ho lived here +eforeC. <n the

fantastic sections >reg comes home to find a naked +lack 6oman named Miami 6aiting for him in his sho6er 6ho tells him that his real name is Hed 0lade and he 6orks alongside her in a secretive international police organisation called The ?and. Miami greets >reg 6ith the 6ords BN+Oehold, < got +ored and gave myself a com+1 overC, making herself into a literal reflection of >reg as Ban old +ald manC. %9' Maimi is presented as kno6ingly manip(lating her image as a +lack 6oman to (ndermine the se3(al fantasy scenario of female se3(al availa+ility. 0he descri+es >reg )eely as Ba disg(sting disg(iseC%97 for BHed 0ladeC to adopt and repeatedly /(estions 6hy a highly1trained operative of the ?and 6o(ld (se s(ch a secret identity, for6arding the s(ggestion to the reader that Hed 0lade 6o(ld not fantasise B>reg )eelyC +(t >reg )eely might fantasise +eing an apparently desira+le s(per1agent s(ch as BHed 0ladeC. The ?and forms a kind of trans1national1nanny1state operating across the +orders +et6een co(ntries. The policing of reality performed +y The ?and clearly s(ggests that realism is a red(ctive ideological form(lation. Morrison is making a very similar arg(ment to that of Alison ,ee in 2ealism an! Power, that realist fiction and television advertising are act(ally the dominant form of social +ehavio(ral policing 6hich 6e interact 6ith every day rather than, say, ..T2 or the police* Television and advertising share 6ith the -ealists a sense of a+sol(te val(e and an impet(s to6ards didacticism. .onsider, for e3ample, the
%9' %97

Morrison, The 'ilth KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, N !! O !!$L, p. ";. <+id.

Mark P. Williams

%$ ideology proposed +y most television emanations 6here a discrete and easily defina+le PgoodQ tri(mphs over an e/(ally recognisa+le PevilQ. The PevilQ can range from assa(lt to a lack of personal hygiene, and the PgoodQ from a s(ccessf(l trial verdict to deodorant soap N#.O Ho matter 6hat the specifics, ho6ever, there is the ass(mption of Pcommon senseQ in this str(ct(re, of a shared notion of 6hat constit(tes Kand semiotically signalsL PgoodQ and PevilQ, and of the desira+ility of one over the other. %99

The 'ilth deli+erately conflates the realms of the policing of crime and the reg(lation of hygiene and social desira+ility in its plots and characters* The ?and is a metaphysical police force 6ho em+ody all of )o(ca(ltCs reg(lations of health, sanity, crime and se3(ality rolled into one* their B+eatC s(persedes all other a(thorities and covers all social interactions, em+racing phrases s(ch as Bsocial hygieneC and Bs(percleansingC. The 'ilth, like $nimal Man, employs metafiction, (sing demi(rgic characters and character1a(thors thro(gho(t the episodes. Again, like $nimal Man it echoes Alasdair >rayCs Lanar- K";4"LF the connection +et6een the m(ndane 6orld of >reg and the fantastic one of Hed reflects the realist sections on D(ncan Tha6 and the fantastic 6orlds inha+ited +y ,anark in >rayCs novel. <t can +e tho(ght of in terms of MorrisonCs contin(ing engagement 6ith the te3ts of the ne6 B0cottish ,iterary -enaissanceC. <n The Scottish Novel Since the Seventies K";;$L >avin Wallace o+serves that, follo6ing the appearance of >ray, alongside others s(ch as 8ames Gelman, literary criticism in 0cotland 6as made to a6aken Bin a reconfig(red co(ntryC to ne6 approaches to historical and political e3perience that +ro(ght fresh a6areness Bto the limitations in its myths of d(alismF to alternate representations of ling(istic fiss(reF NandO to ossified stereotypes of comm(nity, class and gender.C%94
%99

,ee, Alison, 2ealism an ! Power4 Postmo!ern +ritish 'iction K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";;!L, p. " ;. %94 Wallace, >avin introd(ction to The Scottish Novel Since the Seventies4 New *isions5 >l! Dreams ed. >avin Wallace and -andall 0tevenson KEdin+(rgh* Edin+(rgh University Press, ";;$L, pp. %J'.

Mark P. Williams

%$

%% Morrison seems to +e invoking and even satirising this sentiment since many of his characters, especially in The 'ilth, are as fl(id in their gender and se3(al choices as they are in their apparent nationality. >reg is pro+a+ly English and Miami is

pro+a+ly AmericanF the .himpan=ee Dimitri1; is -(ssianF 6hile Agent .ameron 0pector, to 6hom falls the task of revealing to the amnesiac >reg the nat(re of the 6orld they inha+it as operatives of The ?and, speaks in a 0cots demotic accent, partly, Morrison has said in intervie6, E(st for the s(+versive pleas(re of having a strong 0cottish accent perform an e3pository f(nction in an American1p(+lished comic. The forces of The ?and are not the terrifying a(thoritarian fig(res they first resem+le, and resistance to them is not the revol(tionary gest(re that it appears to +e. When >reg )eelyDHed 0lade confronts ,e Pen, the sinister insectoid presence at the centre of The ?and, ,e Pen is revealed to +e a physically and mentally scarred a(tistic girl permanently operating the machinery, and >reg is made to feel like a +(lly. <n a gest(re of overdetermined glo+alised conscio(sness she is, +eneath her ant1like mask, a victim of African civil conflict. Agent Miami says acc(singly to >reg in the d5no(ement* BNEO(st ask yo(rself 6here yo( 6ere on the day she got raped and torched in a field in .had. A(ying cat food@C, %9; playing on the role of o(traged masc(line avenger that >reg has adopted in this se/(ence, something he has earlier descri+ed as Bhard1+oiled PHed 0ladeQ modeC,%4! one dependent (pon a vie6 of the female +ody as a site of either desire or o(trage. Perception of The ?and as +eing threatening to h(man freedom leads to the constr(ction of a grand conspiracy, a s(perheroic form 6hich s6amps the narrative 6hich has +een accompanying this all along* >reg )eelyCs cat dies and his
%9; %4!

Morrison, The 'ilth, p. $!' Morrison, The 'ilth, p. "!!.

Mark P. Williams

%%

%' life loses its meaning as he s(ffers a +reakdo6n. A glo+al conspiracy 6o(ld at least affirm that there is BmeaningC in the 6orldF in this 6ay all of the grand conspiracies and the 6hole episodic str(ct(re can +e read as psychotic episodes or phases in the mental +reakdo6n of his fac(lties. The narrative of The 'ilth has a m(ltiple1layered str(ct(re 6hich can +e mapped to (nderstand its criti/(e of glo+alised po6er relations on a local, personal scale* the o(termost layer as the 6orld as 6e kno6 it from the conventions of -ealism as they apply to the 6orld of >reg )eely* sym+olised +y the glo+al ne6s media that sho(t from ne6spaper +anner headlines s(rro(nding >reg )eely in the comm(te to and from his office Eo+. Hested 6ithin this +(t concerned 6ith defending it, is the hyperreal 6orld of The ?and and its myriad agents, s(ch as >regCs alter ego Hed 0lade, 6ho are a+le to access all points of the 6orld in min(tes. <n the co(rse of the +ook it is revealed that their 6orld is Kpossi+lyL a microcosm centred aro(nd the m(ndane life of >reg )eely. Third, nested again 6ithin this is 6hat is termed a BAonsai PlanetC, a scale1model sim(lation of Earth pop(lated +y microscopic artificial intelligences called B<1,ifeC Ka reference to 8eff HoonCs BA1,ifeC from Pi el @uiceLF their social str(ct(res and +(ildings echo those of the -ealist 6orld and the +(ildings of The ?and respectively. )inally, there is a parallel metafictional layer 6hich reflects (pon the other layers* that of the Paperverse. The Paperverse is the keyF it is a 1dimensional (niverse f(ll of

s(perheroes and s(perpo6ers 6hich The ?and e3ploit as a kind of imaginary farm for Bgro6ingC ne6 technologies, and is o+vio(sly a reconception of MorrisonCs vie6 of the Bliving paper 6orldsC of mainstream s(perhero comics. The Paperverse is the c(lt(ral BmarginC to the BcentralC reg(lating c(lt(re of The ?and, it is also the land of

Mark P. Williams

%'

%7 the imagination, +ringing elements from it Bo(tC into the BrealC 6orld +rings 6ith it po6ers in the form of 6eapons or kno6ledge. As a s(perhero comic it foregro(nds the relationship of Morrison as a comic +ook 6riter, in that he is +orro6ing from the central or dominant mode of comic +ook 6riting to create something 6hich is definitively more marginal* a creator1o6ned comic +ook Ksee 0cott Mc.lo(dCs 2einventing Comics%4"L. The relationship of the Paperverse to The ?and mirrors that of >rant MorrisonCs 6riting as a 6hole to the American s(perhero comics ind(stry itself* a so(rce of ideas and invention for reinvigorating the central canon Kcontin(ityL +(t also a so(rce of avant1garde disr(ption and possi+le r(pt(re. The 'ilth concl(des 6ith >regDHed finally confronting BMother DirtC, the mysterio(s a(thoritarian force in charge. Using the insights Kand 6eaponsL of all the layers of his reality, he finds that dark, oo=ing dirt is at the heart of it all* the metaphor for all the violence, misery and se3(al degradation that The ?and are in charge of policing and preventing. ?e asks BN6Ohat am < s(pposed to do 6ith this@C and is told Bspread it on yo(r flo6ers, >regCF%4 +y the final pages flo6ers are starting to spring (p in +in1+ags left on the street and >regDHed has +eg(n to interact meaningf(lly 6ith his neigh+o(rs. The clash +et6een BrealisticC and BfantasticC

elements is resolved here as >regDHed finds the fantastic 6ithin the real 6hich has prod(ced a small +(t significant therape(tic effect for one personF one personCs 6orld has +een changed +y Eo(rneying thro(gh the BaestheticC distance of an estranged vision of reality. This e3perience allo6s them to take a more BcommittedC

engagement in the 6orld.

%4"

Mc.lo(d identifies +alances +et6een 6orking 6ithin and o(tside the mainstream as a generational shift among 6riters and artists inspired +y the flo(rishing (ndergro(nd comi3 scene of the late seventies and early eighties. ?e o+serves that independent p(+lishing is BAesthetically#a healthy moveC +(t 6hich co(ld Bprove their Achilles heel if hard times 6orsen and p(+lishing alternatives contin(e to vanishC. Mc.lo(d, 0cott 2einventing Comics KHe6 Iork* D. .omics, !!!L, p. 7%. %4 Morrison, The 'ilth, pp. $!4J;.

Mark P. Williams

%7

%9

5: Post"odernis" as -ecadence in New )*Men and Seven Sol#iers of +ictor$ MorrisonCs recent 6ork for mainstream s(perhero comics introd(ces a ne6 tone to this e3isting repertoire, criti/(e of postmodernism as decadence. <n New ()Men KMarvel, !!"1 !!%L and Seven Sol!iers of *ictor" KD., !!'1 !!7L respectively, MorrisonCs 6riting demonstrates a 6ider criti/(e of cons(merist postmodernity. Aoth series resist the ideology of individ(alism, 6hich defines >reg )eelyCs life in The 'ilth, and treat gro(p activity as the defining str(ct(re of meaningf(l social engagement. The t6o narratives of s(perhero gro(ps Morrison constr(cts relate

c(lt(ral activity to +iological and ecological activity to form a layered criti/(e of cons(merist ideology. <n +oth, Morrison presents t6o versions of BpostmodernismC* one self1a+sor+ed and decadent, the other egalitarian and progressive, and s(ggests that o(r present social position is closer to the former than the latter. MorrisonCs

New ()Men and Seven Sol!iers of *ictor" +oth (se metaphors of evol(tion and e3tinction in a 6ay e3plicitly connected 6ith the idea of c(lt(ral decadence. <n New ()Men Morrison employs a str(ct(re of story arcs foc(sing on the responses of different gro(ps to a glo+al catastrophe to develop the (nderlying theme of evol(tion. )rom the first pages of +ook one, called E is for E tinction, a motif of life and death str(ggle +ecomes the g(iding metaphor. Mankind is on the verge of e3tinction, a genetic trigger precipitated +y the appearance of the m(tants. Apparently to co(nter this threat, MorrisonCs ne6 s(per villain, .assandra Hova, decides to (nleash a +rand ne6 type of genocidal 0entinel ro+ot (pon the m(tant1r(n co(ntry, >enosha, effectively declaring a species16ar on every m(tant on Earth. .ontin(ing the evol(tionary theme these 0entinels c(stomise and employ all availa+le technology of a given area into their o6n +odies. They represent a technological Mark P. Williams %9

%4 e/(ivalent of the m(tants, o(t1evolving their rivalsF they are faster, more aggressive and more efficient than the anthropomorphic 0entinels of yore. <t is /(ickly revealed that .assandra Hova is a malignant telepath 6hose po6ers are a match for those of Professor ]* she is the e/(al and opposite force of aggression to his pacifism +eca(se, it transpires, she is the t6in sister of .harles ]avier, 6hom he killed in a life or death psychic str(ggle 6hile they 6ere +oth in the 6om+F%4$ she do(+les Professor ] as +oth a t6in and reflection. 0he s(pplants .harles ]avier, taking over his +ody and e3posing his Bschool for the giftedC as a haven for m(tants live on television, ca(sing h(man1m(tant race riots and making the ]1Men come o(t from +ehind their cost(mes and masks. .assandraCs appearance +egins the series of life and death str(ggles 6hich 6ill define the movement of the plot from episode to episode, 6here oppositional individ(als and gro(ps conflict and overcome one another. The progression thro(gh this play of oppositions then rapidly forms ne6 gro(ps and ne6 identities, demonstrating c(lt(ral evol(tion thro(gh synthesis of interests and ideas. Morrison presents t6o visions of synthesis for h(man1m(tant differences as political sol(tions in the ne6 social order. The ]1Men g(ided +y .harles ]avier represent the ,eft1li+eral doctrines of pl(ralism, conservation, co1 e3istence and social E(stice. They are opposed +y a h(man s(premacist gro(p calling themselves the U1Men. This gro(p are ideological cons(merists 6ho see m(tants as nothing more than ra6 materials to +e e3ploited and descri+e m(tants as a dangero(s genetic elite 6hich they nat(rally 6ish to s(pplant. They are led +y a man called 8ohn 0(+lime, 6hose +ook, The Thir! SpeciesJa -ight16ing tractJproposes the forci+le integration of m(tant attri+(tes, via DHA and +ody part grafts, into a select gro(p of

%4$

New ()Men4 Imperial, KHe6 Iork* Marvel, N !! O !!%L ]1Men R" ", p. N %O.

Mark P. Williams

%4

%; h(mans, forming 6hat they term Bthe transpecies movementC. %4% The title of

0(+limeCs +ook is an o+vio(s all(sion to the concept of the BThird WayC, itself a position 6hose coinage stems from the roots of fascism.%4' We see one of 0(+limeCs adolescent follo6ers (sing the lang(age of fashion s(+c(lt(res to E(stify killing a fello6 st(dent to take his 31ray eye+alls, saying* B(ncool is the ne6 cool. <Cm pro(d to +e 6eird. <Cm pro(d to +e part of the international U1Man Army.C%47 This statement is clearly a grotes/(e parody of

postmodern appropriationF it s(ggests that the idiom of revol(tion is often (sed to E(stify lifestyle choices +y Bre+ellio(sC mem+ers of socially dominant gro(ps. This is then related to 8ohn 0(+limeCs f(lly1indoctrinated follo6ers in their Bspace s(itsC 6ho parody religio(s f(ndamentalism* they speak in a Hiet=schean1individ(alist manner a+o(t Bsealing NthemselvesO in BperfectionC, having Bleft the fallen 6orld +ehind# :(r r(les are post1h(man r(les no6... A 6hole ne6 moralityC. %49 0(+lime himself (ses the rhetoric of self1help and self1esteem* Bmy +ook is a+o(t empowering the different, cele&rating the strangeC, and B+ody modification philosophiesC concerned 6ith BreleasNingO the m(tant 6ithinC%44. ?e makes p(+lic statements 6hich emphasise a sense of entitlement, asking BN6Ohy canCt 6e share the f(t(re and +ecome the s(per+eings 6e all !eserve to +e@C.%4; These p(+lic 6ords are clear attempts at appropriating the leftCs championing of the disenfranchised, 6hile his private 6ords to 0cott 0(mmers K.yclopsL and Emma )rost KWhite Z(eenL are nakedly po6er1h(ngry* BNyOo( m(tants think itCs yo(r t(rn to r(le the 6orld, +(t thereCs a thir! voice, a third
%4% %4'

Morrison, New ()Men4 Imperial, p. N"$O. -ichard >riffithsC +ook 'ascism traces the prehistory of the term as a movement to, among others, the philosophy of >eorge 0orel as someone Bneither -ight nor ,eftC Kp. "'L 6hich, after WW<, manifested as Ba ne6 myth N#O that of the creation of a Pthird 6ayQ +et6een the opposing forces of .apitalism and comm(nism.CKp. $!LJ>riffiths, -ichard, 'ascism K,ondon and He6 Iork* .ontin((m, N !!!O !!%L. %47 Morrison, New ()Men4 Imperial, ch. ", p. N O. %49 Morrison, New ()Men4 Imperial, ch. $, p. N%O. %44 Morrison, New ()Men4 Imperial, ch.", pp. N"; & !O %4; Morrison, New ()Men4 Imperial, ch.", p.N"%O.

Mark P. Williams

%;

'! speciesJman pl(s. And to (s, yo(Cre E(st livestoc-.C%;! ?e is the s(pervillain as self1 conscio(s capitalist e3ploiterF his p(+lic 6ords are -nowingl" ideological, a deli+erate false1conscio(sness, he reveals his real rapacio(sness as a cons(merist in private. MorrisonCs political constr(ction of this scenario ret(rns to the model of the 0it(ationist <nternational, 6hose political activities 6ere predicated (pon the parody and (ndermining of ,eft and -ight 6ing politics +y sho6ing the 6ays in 6hich they f(nction as co1dependant oppositions. <n 0(+lime, 6e see a vicio(s right1 6ing ideology employing the lang(age of li+eration and diversity associated 6ith left1 li+eral philosophies to disg(ise its tr(e intentions. ?e represents a pec(liarly

(npleasant, satirical allegory of postmodernism* he and his follo6ers sample the ideologies of the past and appropriate the rhetoric of li+eration str(ggles and oppressed minorities to serve a c(lt(ral s(premacist agenda. 0(+lime is the dark side of postmodernismF his philosophies E(stify the e3ploitation 6hich (nderpins aggressive cons(merism 6hile (sing li+eral rhetoric to distance himself from s(ch. ?e is the opposing reflection of the ]1MenCs pro1m(tant, peacef(l li+eration str(ggle. <n MorrisonCs conception of the ]1Men, to +e a m(tant is a state of contin(o(s (nfolding. ?e introd(ces secondary1level m(tations to e3isting characters to emphasise the inherent Kand necessaryL insta+ility of the definition of Bh(manC on an evol(tionary level. This then affects the +ehavio(r of pro1m(tant and anti1m(tant gro(ps and hence of m(tant political factions, pressing the theme of political and c(lt(ral evol(tion thro(gh a constant, violent process of s(persession. The process

of aggressively overcoming one another c(lminates in a possi+le f(t(re that Morrison o(tlines as a series1concl(ding arc, collected as Here Comes Tomorrow. ?(manity is e3tinct +(t for the last representatives B-over and <C, a +oy named Tom 0kylark and

%;!

Morrison, New()Men4 Imperial, ch. , p. N O.

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'" his pet B0entinel Mark "C, 6hile ?ank Mc.oy, The Aeast, has, T la $ge of $pocal"pse, +ecome a tyrant 6ho clones endless Bcra6ler chimeraeC in his BAio1 fo(ndriesC.%;" The Aeast, possessed +y B0(+lime NinO aerosol formC, %; (ses the stored DHA samples of all the old ]1Men as ra6 materials to e3ploit. ?e gives his Bcra6lerC soldiers po6ers the heatDforce vision from BP.yclopsQ traitsC, and ena+les them to replicate themselves instantly (sing BPm(ltiple manQ codesCF%;$ postmodernist appropriation th(s appears to +e a form of e3ploitation of +iopo6er and nat(ral reso(rces sim(ltaneo(sly. As the ne6 incarnation of 0(+lime, The AeastCs am+ition is to +ring a+o(t Bevol(tionCs endC%;%Ja phrase 6hich clearly echoes )rancis )(k(yamaCs The En! of Histor"J(sing the diverse KDHAL samples of the ]1Men to prod(ce a homogenised f(t(re. B0(+limeC then reveals itself as Bthe Pfirst genomeQC 6hich +ro(ght a+o(t the propensity to6ards violence in sentient life, fighting to +ecome the dominant life form* B6e +artered o(r genetic innovations 6ith increasingly more organised lifeformsN#.O Even humanit", the Pcro6n of creationQ had no defence against (s N#O 6e lived insi!e himC. M(tants 6ere the first threat, B6ith their

potential to +reed strong, invulnera&le offspringC. 0(+limeCs response 6as Bto infect them 6ith aggression NtoO !ivert their great energies into mindless conflict0.%;' 0(+lime presents conflict itself as a deli+erate evol(tionarily negative imp(lse 6hich divides h(manity and m(tants against each other and themselves to ens(re the s(premacy of its viral form. This is a political gest(re* 0(+lime artificially introd(ces violence and competition into +iology an! c(lt(re togetherF sym+olically, this conc(rs 6ith MorrisonCs (nderlying criti/(e in The Invisi&les and The 'ilth* s(perheroes m(st
%;" %;

Morrison, New ()Men4 Here Comes Tomorrow, ch. ", p. N" O. Morrison, Here Comes Tomorrow, ch. %, p. N4O. %;$ Morrison, Here Comes Tomorrow, ch. ", p. N"'O. %;% Morrison, Here Comes Tomorrow, ch. %, p. N" O. %;' Morrison, Here Comes Tomorrow, ch. %, pp. N"J O

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' fight, as a 6ay of diverting social energies so that the stat(s /(o can +e maintained, an allegory of s(perheroic contin(ity as an endless series of identical conflicts. <n Seven Sol!iers of *ictor" K !!'17L, the 6orld of the D. Universe is threatened +y the invasion of Z(een Morgayne, also called >loriana Tene+rae, a name 6hich recalls >loria Monday from Dare, 6ho, like that sinister Prime Minister, seeks po6er for its o6n sake. Dra6ing on a mi3t(re of Arth(rian 6riting and .eltic myth, >loriana Tene+rae is the Z(een of the B0heedaC Kalso spelled as in the <rish original, BsidheCL, 6ho live a +illion years in the f(t(re on a dying earth. They s(rvive this hostile environment +y time travelling to prey on other, preceding, civili=ations in a manner 6hich evokes a sense of the totalitarian Baesthetics of po6erC* <deas, reso(rces, fashions, technologies. We 6ill slake o(r thirst on the E(ices of their accomplishments#. We 6ill feast on the fr(its of their ind(stryU N#.O <n their !eath agonies the empires of the earth 6ill revitali1e o(r stale sciences, o(r dead arts.%;7

This is another criti/(e of postmodernism* the 0heeda are the s(preme decadent civili=ation, attracted to the decline and decadence of each civili=ation of the earth in t(rn to drain it not E(st of materials +(t even of its concepts and its history. >loriana, in disg(ise as BMiss )ridayC, ta(nts an Arth(rian knight, 8(stin, +y e3plaining 6hat is 6rong 6ith lang(age in the t6entiethDt6enty1first cent(ry 6orld* Ball men are liars in this ageC, B6ords can mean an"thing and ever"thing N#.O 6hat once 6as truth is plia+le, (ntr(st6orthy and slippery no6C.%;9 8(stin Kact(ally a female knight, also in disg(iseL is from a >olden Age, Bthe first Arth(rian Epoch, "!,!!! years agoC 6here lang(age so(nded entirely different and ideas of tr(th are more fi3ed.%;4 What has attracted >loriana Tene+rae to the present
%;7 %;9

Morrison, Seven Sol!iers of *ictor"5 vol7 = KD.* He6 Iork, !!9L Morrison, Seven Sol!iers5 v7K4 %4. %;4 <+id.

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'$ age are the things that conf(se and even revolt 8(stin* that fle3i+ility of Btr(thC is precisely 6hat she 6ishes to (se in order to Brevitali=eC her o6n c(lt(re. The 0heeda are attracted to c(lt(res 6hen they have +ecome BripeC, i.e. 6hen they have +ecome s(fficiently decadent and similar to their o6n that they can +e comforta+ly assimilated 6itho(t resistance, i.e., 6hen they are s(fficiently postmodern. >loriana Tene+raeCs civili=ation moves thro(gh time, she reconte3t(alises herself ahistorically to points at the decline of other civili=ations, physically and metaphysically appropriating elements from all other times and c(lt(res to s(stain the totalitarian perspective of her o6n c(lt(re in its state of decadence. The 0heeda represent a BpostmodernismC that presents itself as an apolitical, totalitarian a+sol(te, something that appears as a c(lt(ral given, nat(rali=ed and internali=ed as s(ch* The 0heeda are the pinnacle of natural selection N#.O The last living species clinging to life on a !"ing earthU .ons(ming their o6n histor" to s(rvive N#.O TheyCre not fairies, not aliens. The"0re usF>ne +illion "ears from to!a"D The Shee!a are what man will finall" &ecomeD Nemphasis in originalO.%;;

0(+lime also constr(cts himself in terms 6hich nat(ralise his rapacio(sness* genetic destiny. ?e presents himself as the a+sol(te f(ndamentalist postmodernist 6ho makes everything into itself +y inha+iting the positions 6hich oppose it virally* another metaphor for cons(merism and corporate c(lt(re. <n New ()Men4 Here Comes Tomorrow the threat posed +y the 8ohn 0(+limeDAeast10(+lime is the same as that of >loriana Tene+rae. The m(lti1species descendants of the ]1Men 6ho still adhere to BThe ]avier .reed N6hichO has al6ays stressed integrationC, live in Bthe Manhattan craterC in BmegamericaC.
'!!

There they

have gathered together art and architect(re from all over the 6orld, Btrying to preserve
%;; '!!

Morrison, Seven Sol!iers of *ictor"5 v7= KHe6 Iork* Marvel, !!9L, pp. ";41;;. Morrison, New ()Men4 Here Comes Tomorrow, ch. ", p. N;O and p. N7O.

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'% the achievements of the past +efore theyCre all (sed (p as fuel or compost in the race to dominate the +iosphereC.'!" .(lt(ral rapacio(sness is (nified 6ith +iological

rapacio(sness in the characters of 0(+lime and >loriana Tene+raeF +oth of them present a 6orld of homogeneity formed +y appropriating all previo(s historical periods 6hich act as Bf(elC for their ideology of cons(mption. The t6o post1apocalyptic 6orlds of these series are defined in the same terms* c(lt(ral dominance E(stified +y nat(ralising rhetoricF +oth also res(lt in a self1 destr(ctive a(thoritarian dead1end, the (ltimate decadence as postmodernism. >loriana Tene+rae and 0(+lime are effectively the nightmare version of the (ltimate BpostmodernistsC. Seven Sol!iers of *ictor" is a conflict +et6een t6o different

conceptions of 6hat might +e called BpostmodernismC* one 6hich is historically sit(ated and s(+Eect to change, effectively calling for change, a politicised BpostmodernismC, and one 6hich is static. The 0even 0oldiers and the ]1Men are presented as an antidote to this kind of decadence. They too are composed of

elements dra6n from diverse so(rces, even ahistorically thro(gh time like 8(stin, +(t they have a (nity of p(rpose 6hich is different from the maintenance of the stat(s /(o that >loriana Tene+rae seeks* they are fighting for change and progress. <n New ()Men and Seven Sol!iers of *ictor" Morrison presents (s 6ith a criti/(e of cons(merism as it manifests in the nat(ral 6orld K+iosphereL and each other Kc(lt(reL. These series s(ggest that +oth realism and the forms of fantastic fictions created (sing postmodernist techni/(es are e/(ally codified responses to contemporary modernity 6hich sho(ld +e vie6ed as aspects of cons(merist1orientated postmodernism to +e overcome. All of MorrisonCs fictions demonstrate a refle3ive a6areness of their limitation as commodified s(perhero narratives 6hile nevertheless
'!"

Morrison, Here Comes Tomorrow, ch. ", p. N;O

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'' insisting on the possi+ility of f(nctioning as an immanent criti/(e. They com+ine avant1garde techni/(es 6ith the lang(age of the corporate cons(mer c(lt(re 6hich determines their place in the 6orld to generate a critical perspective on that 6orld from 6ithin its o6n interstices.

Mark P. Williams

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'7 Conclusions: Su&erheroic and Su&er illainous roles as a ant+garde criti*ue

Morrison (ses the (nderlying str(ct(res of s(perheroic fantasy to disseminate avant1 garde ideas +y identifying the affinities +et6een s(perhero fantasy and the form(lation of the s(+Eect (nder capitalist modernity. This can +e seen in the radical conceptions of individ(ality 6hich characterise +oth his s(perheroes and s(pervillains as postmodern s(+EectsF fantasy homologo(s 6ith postmodern s(+Eectivity at its e3tremes of ideological compromise and s(+version sim(ltaneo(sly. MorrisonCs villain in The 'ilth is a BparapersonaC s(ggestively named 0partac(s ?(ghes, 6ho informs his opposite that BNaOnyone can +e 0partac(s ?(ghesC, in the same 6ay Banyone can +e President NaOnd the President can +e anyoneCF ?(ghes is Ban anti1personC, acting like a vir(s* Breprod(cing myself into the f(t(re the only 6ay < kno6 ho6. Ay violenceC. '! ?(ghes is like the commodity

form itself, al6ays the same and al6ays different, like 0(+lime in New ()Men he can take on or BinfectC ne6 +odies. There is a li+erating potential to ?(ghes and 0(+lime ho6ever, +oth characters effectively f(nction as m(ltiple names like W( Ming, formerly the ,(ther Alissett ProEect, as e3plained in the ,(ther Alissett Manifesto* The ,(ther Alissett ProEect has +een la(nched in the 0(mmer [;% +y an international gang of revol(tionaries, mail artists, poets, performers, (ndergro(nd [=ines, cy+erna(ts and s/(atters. A m(ltiple name, if it 6as (sed o(tside small circles of radicals, 6o(ld +e a practical sol(tion of pro+lems s(ch as the relation +et6een comm(nity and individ(al, or the /(est for identity. N#.O ,(ther Alissett is a1divid(al Nnot s(+Eect to individ(ationO, +eca(se the character has many personalities and rep(tationsF ,(ther Alissett is also a con1divid(al Nactively resisting individ(alism thro(gh collective definitionO, +eca(se many individ(als share the nameF ,(ther Alissett is a m(ltit(de as 6ell as a [decentrali=ed s(+Eect[, a proEect aiming to 6hat Garl Mar3 called [>emein6esen[ Ki.e. the common essence of the WoDMankind, the a6areness of the glo+al comm(nityL.C'!$

'! '!$

Morrison, The 'ilth, p. '", and ";$. The ,(ther Alissett Manifesto, from http*DD666.alt3.comDmanifestosD+lisset.html, ";D D !!4.

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'9 MorrisonCs friend, the avant1gardist 0te6art ?ome is among those 6ho have taken (p the (se of m(ltiple names, incl(ding ,(ther Alissett, in an attempt to (se fiction to act(alise the a+ove metaphors for contemporary glo+al comm(nity. ?is comments on the e3perience are ill(minating for considering MorrisonCs rhetorical (se of s(perhero roles. ?ome 6rites that BNtOhere is no fi3ed referent, merely a fiction created +y those (sing the nameC +(t Bas soon as yo( (se a m(ltiple name, +y sharing the identity and adopting an ar+itrary signifier, yo( immediately find that yo( are in a position to mo(ld +oth the signifier and 6hat is signifiedC, B+y doing something as ,(ther Alissett, yo( find yo(rself actively shaping the identity.C '!% ?ome has even s(ggested that B0te6art ?omeC can +e treated in the same 6ay, in his satirical second introd(ction to Suspect Device4 $ 2ea!er in Har!)E!ge! 'iction , he 6rites of the B0te6art ?ome ProEectC, Bla(nched on % March ";9; +y the .eltic +ards G.,. .allan and )iona Mac,eodC so that Bdiverse individ(alsC co(ld Bprod(ce a +ody of 6ork that 6o(ld +e credited to a fictional a(thor called 0te6art ?omeC. '!' These are very similar to the terms Morrison has the +(tler Alfred (se for the passing of the Aatman mantle from Ar(ce Wayne to Dick >rayson follo6ing the events of +atman 27I7P* Bthink of Aatman as a great role, like a ?amlet or Willie ,oman# :r even 8ames Aond. And play it to s(it yo(r strengths.C'!7 The po6er of the s(perhero for Morrison is that, for a differently str(ct(red set of economic reasons, it is very similar to the idea of Bopen namesC and can th(s +e reinterpreted in avant1garde terms, is str(ct(rally disposed to6ards +eing inha+ited +y avant1garde rhetoric.

'!%

?ome, 0te6art, BAringing it all +ack ?omeC, from Confusion Incorporate!4 $ Collection of Lies5 Hoa es an! Hi!!en Truths K?ove* .ode], ";;;L, pp. "$ J$$. '!' ?ome, BProletarian Postmodernism :r from the -omantic 0(+lime to the .omic Pict(res/(eC +y B0te6art ?omeC, from Suspect Device, p. '$. '!7 Morrison, >rant, +atman ? 2o&in4 2e&orn R , KHe6 Iork* D., !!;L, p. N";O.

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'4 Morrison th(s val(es the positive, li+erationary possi+ilities offered +y 6hat Arian 0ta+leford terms Blifestyle fantasyC '!9 mod(lated 6ith his o6n sense of a+s(rdism thro(gh his (se of 0(rrealism. To Morrison the 6hole 6orld is

intrinsically a+s(rd, so that a 0(rrealist response makes most sense of the act(al f(nctions of contemporary capitalism. intervie6* Until the day 6hen the p(+lishers allo6 characters to gro6 old, die and +e replaced, there can +e no real (se for Bcontin(ityC. :ther6ise allo6 characters to simply go on forever 6ith no pretence to6ards real time and (nder the f(ll (nderstanding that this is an imaginary 6orld made +y generations of 6orkers.'!4 B.ontin(ityC, ho6ever, determines the 6orlds of s(perhero comics as they act(ally e3ist, so Morrison (ses that as part of his development of a critical aesthetic. Aeca(se s(perheroic characters e3ist in an implicitly 0(rrealist environment of Bcontin(ityC they have the most a+s(rdist capa+ility to offer criti/(e on the shifting moment of capitalist modernity as constant cycle of iteration and constant demand for renea6al. Their oneiric climate co1e3ists 6ith the insistence of modernity on its for6ard1looking progression. 0(perhero histories are a +lend of a+s(rdity and realism, originally formed according to the demands of previo(s moments of modernity, 6hich are ceaselessly adapted and re1adapted, added to and taken a6ay from +y generation after generation of artists and 6riters, so importing into them a criti/(e of modernity can spread that criti/(e thro(gh the same c(lt(ral channels. <n the co(rse of t6enty years MorrisonCs partic(lar position sho6s considera+le change +(t his attit(de to6ards the s(perhero is that it represents an important fantasy mode, one 6hich has a strong positive po6er for its a(dience.
'!9

?e dra6s the analogy 6ith contin(ity in

Arian 0ta+leford o+serves that all lifestyles are, conscio(sly or other6ise, str(ct(red +y fantasy and (ses the term to designate specifically those that Bem+race and enact some kind of magic, mysticism, or calc(lated madnessC K0ta+leford, Arian, The $ to / of 'antas" Literature K,anham, Toronto, Plymo(th* The 0carecro6 Press, !!'L, pp. %91%4. '!4 Morrison in intervie6, http*DD666.se/(entialtart.comDarchiveDa(g! Dgmorrison .shtml, "9D""D!;.

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'; Today Morrison concl(des that s(perheroes have the potential to +e B(topian role modelsC 6hich act as sym+olic anchors for gro(nding Bhopef(l images of h(mankindCs f(t(re potentialC against the BNtOerror1stricken, environmentally1 handicapped, overpop(lated, paedophile1ha(nted 6orld thatCs +eing peddled +y o(r ne6s mediaC.'!; MorrisonCs vie6 of the val(e of the s(perhero is similar to that of a character in Seven Sol!iers of *ictor" 6ho 6rites* <n the f(ry of +right crayola colors, +roken +ones, and so(nd effects that can +(rst yo(r ear dr(ms if yo( let them, the themes may seem (nfamiliar +(t, tr(st me, those are h(man stories, 6rit large N#.O When yo( (se yo(r 31ray vision to really, really ,::G#every day is mythology.'"! These 6ords are those of a reporter t(rned s(perhero. The ne6spaper, called the Manhattan #uar!ian reports on the ongoing advent(res of its o6n s(perheroic avatar Manhattan >(ardian, fighting inE(stice and resc(ing those in need* it is a paper that depends on 6riting good ne6s and happy endings. The therape(tic implication of this is clear* fantastic elements in s(perhero comics are an optimistic force in modernity, they e3press hope as a virt(e in a modern idiom to co(nter depairing vie6s of modernity 6hich appear in other pop(list media. Morrison does not insist that

politically BcommittedC forms sho(ld predominate, +(t rather insists that BaestheticC forms have a material content 6hich invokes a sense of 6onder 6ith politically li+erationary implications 6hich can form part of a forcef(l political de+ate* contin(ityCs cyclicality, in em+edding a+s(rdism and m(ltiplicity over narrative and sing(larity also em+eds a constant desire for change that can +e p(t to (topian or politically radical (se. Cha&ter Fi e: China Mi ille)s Mar,is": A -ialectical Materialist Aesthetic of Fantasy
'!;

Morrison, intervie6 6ith +ig Issue Scotlan! Vhttp*DD666.+igiss(escotland.comDfeat(resDvie6D"7W, "9D""D!;. '"! Morrison, Seven Sol!iers of *ictor"5 v7 =, p. ";".

Mark P. Williams

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7!

0: Mar,ist -ialectics and Literature As +oth an activist and as a scholar of international la6 .hina Mi5villeCs Mar3ist commitment is central to his 6orkF he stood as a parliamentary candidate for the 0ocialist Alliance in !!", and has p(+lished his PhD thesis on E(rispr(dence,

+etween E6ual 2ights4 $ Mar ist Theor" of International Law K !!'L. As a fantasy novelist Mi5ville has t6ice 6on the Arth(r .. .lark A6ard for novels set in his secondary 6orld of Aas ,ag. .arl )reedman has commented significantly on the importance of Mar3ism to (nderstanding .hina Mi5villeCs fictions, identifying a BMar3ist (r+an s(+limeC in Mi5villeCs first novel, Jing 2at K";;;L,'"" and then later comparing it 6ith the image of revol(tion in his third Aas ,ag novel, Iron Council.'" )ollo6ing on from )reedman, -ich Pa(l .ooper has since related Mi5villeCs 6orld1 +(ilding techni/(es as a fantasy novelist directly to the Mar3ist concept of dialectical materialism.'"$ < read Mi5villeCs fantasy novels in terms of the dialectical

relationships 6hich define them, analysing the relationships of characters 6ithin their social strata and ideological o(tlook as a Mar3ist criti/(e of contemporary modernity in an immersive fantasy 6orld. Mi5ville has p(t for6ard his reconception of Mar3ismCs relationship 6ith fantasy theory in intervie6s and essays for p(+lications s(ch as International

'""

)reedman, .arl, BTo6ards a Mar3ist Ur+an 0(+lime* -eading .hina Mi5villeCs Jing 2atC, E3trapolation, vol. %%, iss(e %, KWinter, !!$L. Accessed via ,iterat(re :nline Vhttp*DDlion..chad6yk.co.(kW, !9D!$D"!. '" )reedman, .arl, BTo the Perdido 0treet 0tation* The -epresentation of -evol(tion in .hina Mi5villeCs Iron CouncilC, E3trapolation, vol. %7, iss(e , K0(mmer, !!'L ,iterat(re :nline* Vhttp*DDlion.chad6yk.co.(kW, !7D!7D!;. '"$ .ooper, -ich Pa(l, BA(ilding Worlds* Dialectical Materialism as Method in .hina Mi5villeCs Aas1 ,agC E3trapolation, vol. '!, iss(e K0(mmer, !!;L. ,iterat(re :nline, Vhttp*DDlion.chad6yk.co.(kW, !7D!7D!;.

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7" Socialism K !!!L,'"% Historical Materialism K !! L'"' and 2e! Planets4 Mar ism an! Science 'iction K !!;L, (niting his political and aesthetic interests in the p(+lic sphere.'"7 A(t 6hat is at stake in an attempt to (nify fantasy fiction and Mar3ism@ -evie6ing the Historical Materialism B0ymposi(m on Mar3ism and )antasyC, <stvan .sicsery1-onay descri+es the possi+le significance on an international level for the 6orlds of theory and literat(re* <f it can +e done, fantasy receives the imprimat(r of the critical ,eft K6hich matters more in the UG than the U0, yet may come to matter a good deal more here as the Empire gets rolling, over (s as over everyone elseL and perhaps a reconciliation 6ith the mass of Tolkienites and comp(ter gamers. <t may also contri+(te to a transformation in Mar3ist aestheticsN.O'"9

?o6 this transformation might occ(r has +een s(ggested +y Mark Ao(ld, 6ho has 6ritten in BThe Dreadf(l .redi+ility of A+s(rd ThingsC that a Mar3ist theory of fantasy co(ld provide Mar3ists 6ith an ill(minating ne6 conception of the nat(re of individ(al s(+Eectivity (nder capitalism.'"4 This chapter 6ill arg(e that Mar3ist dialectical materialism forms the fo(ndation of Mi5villeCs aesthetic in these fantasy 6orks and that the developments 6ithin these novels are g(ided +y an emergent Mar3ist theory of fantasy as a means to reconceive individ(alism 6ithin Mar3ism. To (nderstand ho6 dialectical materialism might apply to the conte3t of literat(re 6e m(st first ask* 6hat is meant +y dialectical materialism@ <n Je"wor!s K";97L, -aymond Williams e3plains that the tradition of dialectics 6hich (nderpins Mar3ist philosophy derives from several roots* he 6rites
'"%

Mi5ville, intervie6 6ith 8ohn He6singer, B)antasy and -evol(tionC Kpp. "'$J7$L from International Socialism II KA(t(mn, !!!L. '"' B<ntrod(ctionC, Historical Materialism vol. "!, iss(e %, ed. .hina Mi5ville '"7 Mi5ville, B.ognition as <deology* A Dialectic of 0) TheoryC Kpp. $"1%4L from 2e! Planets4 Mar ism an! Science 'iction eds Mark Ao(ld and .hina Mi5ville K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!;L. '"9 .sicsery1-onay 8r., <stvan, B,(cid Dreams or )lightless Airds on -ooftops@C Historical Materialism0s 0ymposi(m on Mar3ismC from Science 'iction Stu!ies vol7 <: K !!$L K 441$!%L, p. ;!. '"4 Ao(ld, Mark, BThe Dreadf(l .redi+ility of A+s(rd Things* A Tendency in )antasy TheoryC Kpp. '"1 44L, Historical Materialism K !! L "!*%.

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7"

7 that the term BdialecticC in Plato referred to Bthe art of defining ideas, and, related to this, the method of determining the interrelation of ideas in light of a single principleC.'"; This e3tends to most Western philosophy, +(t Williams e3plains that the (se of it in Mar3ism is dra6n specifically from >erman idealist philosophy 6hich Be3tended the notion of contradiction in the co(rse of disc(ssion or disp(te to a notion of contradictions in realityC to descri+e the f(ndamental principles of the 6orld. ' ! Williams contin(es* )or Gant, dialectical criticism sho6ed the m(t(ally contradictory character of the principles of kno6ledge 6hen these 6ere e3tended to metaphysical realities. )or ?egel, s(ch contradictions 6ere s(rpassed, +oth in tho(ght and in the 6orld1history 6hich 6as its o+Eective character, in a higher and (nified tr(th* the dialectical process 6as then the contin(al (nification of opposites, in the comple3 relation of parts to a 6hole. A version of this process & the famo(s triad of thesis, antithesis and synthesis & 6as given +y )ichte.' "

Williams e3plains that B?egelCs version of the dialectical process had made spirit primary and 6orld secondaryC +(t in Mar3ism BNtOhis priority 6as reversed and dialectics 6as then Pthe science of the general la6s of motion +oth of the e3ternal 6orld and of h(man tho(ghtQC.' Dialectical materialism is, +roadly, the e3pression

of these ideas in the material 6orldF it is more typically termed historical materialism to emphasise that it refers to h(man rather than nat(ral processes. ?istorical materialism holds that the contradictions 6hich can disr(pt or destroy the capitalist system are prod(ced +y it even as it negates its o6n preconditions. This is sometimes called the Bnegation of the negationC +eca(se it

'";

Williams, -aymond, Je"wor!s4 $ *oca&ular" of Culture an! Societ" K,ondon* )ontana, ";97L, pp. "!7. ' ! Williams, Je"wor!s, p. "!9. ' " <+id. ' Williams /(oting Engels, i+id.

Mark P. Williams

7$ prod(ces opposition to the social relations of capitalism from 6ithinF ' $ Mar3 e3plains in Capital* The monopoly of capital +ecomes a fetter (pon the mode of prod(ction, 6hich has spr(ng (p and flo(rished along 6ith, and (nder it. .entrali=ation of the means of prod(ction and sociali=ation of la+o(r at last reach a point 6here they +ecome incompati+le 6ith their capitalist integ(ment. N#.O The capitalist mode of appropriation, the res(lt of the capitalist mode of prod(ction, prod(ces capitalist private property. This is the first negation of individ(al private property, as fo(nded on the la+o(r of the proprietor. A(t capitalist prod(ction +egets, 6ith the ine3ora+ility of a la6 of Hat(re, its o6n negation. <t is the negation of negation. This does not re1esta+lish private property for the prod(cer, +(t gives him individ(al property +ased on the ac/(isitions of the capitalist era* i.e., on co1operation and the possession in common of the land and a means of prod(ction.' %

The idea of negation here means the process of creating alternative social relations from the conditions of things as they e3istF this has an aesthetic dimension, +eca(se the realm of art and literat(re are the realm of c(lt(ral prod(ction. Mar3ist dialectical materialism, then, is concerned to e3plain social development and the economies of h(man interaction incl(ding the c(lt(ral sphere* BN6Ohat the component of dialectics asserts is that concrete reality is not a static s(+stance in (ndifferentiated (nity +(t a (nity that is differentiated and specifically contradictory, the conflict of opposites driving reality on6ards in a historical process of constant progressive change, +oth evol(tionary and revol(tionary, and in its revol(tionary or discontin(o(s changes +ringing forth gen(ine /(alitative noveltyC.' ' A Mar3ist aesthetic practice m(st reflect the dialecticF its central consideration is the /(estion of ho6 to do so, given that the forms of art and literat(re 6hich are dominant are determined +y their commodity stat(s (nder capital.
' $ ' %

<+id. . Mar3, Garl, Capital5 v79 from Jarl Mar 4 Selecte! Writings ed. David Mc.lellan K:3ford* :3ford University Press, ";99L, p. %49. ' ' Edgely, -oy, BDialecticsC from $ Dictionar" of Mar ist Thought ed. Tom Aottomore, editorial +oard* ,a(rence ?arris, 2.>. Giernan, -alph Mili+and, K:3ford* Alack6ell, ";4$L, pp. " !1" ".

Mark P. Williams

7$

7% Mar3ist aesthetic theory asks 6hether the most appropriate aesthetic response to the commodity stat(s of art (nder capital is to (se the representational modes 6hich are most favo(red in the conditions of the 6orld as they are Kthe most pop(lar andDor accessi+le, and typically realistL, incorporating committed Mar3ist content into the form, or to (se a more aesthetically defamiliarised form Ks(ch as 0(rrealism, )(t(rism or the fantasticL to resist e3isting forms of representation as +eing ideologically +o(nd to capital. ,enin, for e3ample, +elieved )(t(rism and s(ch avant1garde forms to +e fla6ed at +est, Bdo(+le1dyed st(pidity and pretentio(snessC at 6orst, favo(ring 0ocialist -ealismF' 7 6hile Trotsky, more s(pportive of the principles of literary and artistic freedom, o+served that Bart is al6ays a social servant and historically (tilitarianC 6hatever its aesthetic.' 9 As Dave ,aingCs The Mar ist Theor" in $rt K";94L' 4 and .liff 0la(ghterCs Mar ism5 I!eolog" an! Literature K";4!L' ; indicate, these de+ates from the early t6entieth1cent(ry persist into later t6entieth1 cent(ry literary st(dy, taking different form(lations +et6een Trotsky and ,(kacs, and +et6een >ramsci, Alth(sser and AenEamin on the /(estion of the ideological role of art and literat(re. <n Mar3Cs conception, ideology is the phenomenological

correspondence of capitalism 6hich Bconceals the contradictory character of the hidden essential pattern +y foc(sing (pon the 6ay in 6hich the economic relations appear on the s(rfaceC. '$! ?e 6rites that ideology is Bvery m(ch different from, and indeed /(ite the reverse of, NtheO inner +(t concealed essential patternC of ho6
' 7

,enin, letter to A. H. ,(nacharsky, May 7th "; ", from The Lenin $ntholog" ed. -o+ert .. T(cker KHe6 Iork and ,ondon* Horton, ";9'L, p. 799. ' 9 Trotsky, Literature an! 2evolution K"; %L trans. -ose 0tr(nsky K,ondon* -ed6ords, ";;"L, p. ";7. ' 4 ,aingCs is a s(rvey moving from Mar3 and Engels, Trotsky and ,enin, >ramsci and Alth(sser looking at their prono(ncements on art and c(lt(ral prod(ction. ,aing, Dave, The Mar ist Theor" of $rt K?assocks, 0(sse3* ?arvester, ";94L. ' ; 0la(ghterCs te3t foc(ses (pon literat(re and the 6ays in 6hich literary forms have +een criti/(ed +y Trotsky, >eorg ,(kacs, ,(cien >oldmann and Walter AenEamin. 0la(ghter, .liff, Mar ism5 I!eolog" an! Literature K,ondon and Aasingstoke* Macmillan, ";4!L. '$! Mar3 /(oted in ,arrain, B<deologyC, $ Dictionar" of Mar ist Thought, p. !.

Mark P. Williams

7%

7' capitalism actuall" 6orks.'$" .ommodity forms are ideological +eca(se they distract people from ho6 the relations +et6een commodities act(ally f(nctionF they do this +y enco(raging a foc(s on, and investment Keconomic or emotionalL in, their epiphenomenal /(alities rather than their place in a system of e3changes that reg(lates and determines social interaction. The key /(estion for Mar3ist aesthetics is 6hether any partic(lar form of literat(re & realist, 0(rrealist, or some other mode & 6o(ld +e more or less compromised, +y +eing too a+stract Ke3perimental, avant1garde or manneristL or +y +eing too commodified as an e3isting form Kreprod(cing the stat(s /(o 6ithin its representationsL to provide a dialectical criti/(e of e3isting social relations. ?o6 does this affect Mar3ist theories of fantasy literat(re in partic(lar@

1: Mar,ist Fantasy (heory Mar3ist fantasy occ(pies a partic(larly contested space 6ithin Mar3ist aesthetic theory. <stvan .sicsery1-onay 8r. s(mmarises the de+ates on the nat(re of fantasy and its significance for Mar3ists in his revie6 of Mi5villeCs B0ymposi(m on Mar3ism and )antasyC for Historical Materialism* )antasy N#O 6as, like sf, also e3periencing a +oom in the late ";7!s and early ";9!s, f(elled +y the first paper+ack editions of TolkienCs +ooks. <n the c(lt(re 6ars of the time, ,eft sf scholars came to associate sf 6ith progressive modernism, (topian hopef(lness, and social criticism, clearly positioning sf in opposition to the right16ing, proto1fascist 6orld1vie6 s(pposedly inherent in s6ord1and1sorcery fantasies like -o+ert E. ?o6ardCs Conan the +ar&arian series and the medievalist nostalgia of Tolkienes/(e Bhigh fantasyC. <t 6as a distinction similar to the one ,(kacs made +et6een the realistic historical novel and Blegitimist pse(do1historicismCJa model of political aesthetics that still informs m(ch of the academic ,eftCs thinking a+o(t fantastic 6riting.'$

'$" '$

<+id. .sicsery1-onay, 8r., <stvan, B,(cid Dreams, or )lightless Airds on -ooftops@C, pp.

4414;.

Mark P. Williams

7'

77 <n +road terms, fantasy has historically +een considered at +est as +ack6ard1looking and escapist, complicitly ideological, and at 6orst as actively reactionary and right1 6ing. Escapism is a condition of ideology 6here+y the commodity stat(s of the literary o+Eect has +een mystified in its cons(mption as a commodity. ,eft critics, seeking to demystify, to e3pose the relations concealed +y ideology, find an affinity +et6een Mar3ismCs f(t(re1orientated revol(tionary rhetoric and 0) 6hich presents fantasy as its opposite follo6ing the distinctions dra6n +y Darko 0(vin +ased on the concept of Bcognitive estrangementC K6hich he derives from ArechtCs *erfrem!ung effe-t and 0hklovskyCs ostranenie, see introd(ctionL. As 0(vin e3plains, cognitive estrangement separates 0) from other modes in several 6ays* The estrangement differentiates N0)O from the BrealisticC literary mainstream of the "4th to !th cent(ry. The cognition differentiates it not only from myth +(t also from the fairy tale and the fantasy. The fair" tale also do(+ts the la6s of the a(thorCs empirical 6orld, +(t it escapes o(t of its hori=ons and into a closed collateral 6orld indifferent to6ard cognitive possi+ilities. <t does not (se the imagination as a means to (nderstand the tendencies in reality, +(t as an end s(fficient (nto itself and c(t off from real contingencies. '$$

To +e c(t off from Breal contingenciesC is to +e an inherently escapist formF myth and fairytale are +oth identified +y 0(vin, follo6ing >ramsci, as ideological forms 6hich conceal the act(al character of social relations (nder capitalism K0(vin +orro6s from +oth >ramsciCs Prison Note&oo-s and The Mo!ern Prince in Metamorphoses of Science 'ictionL. 0(vin locates fantasy as the commodity form 6hich is most )or 0(vin, fantasy takes part in the

e/(ivalent in its operations to ideology.

o+f(scation of social relations Kit is complicit in the negation of social relations (nder commodity capitalismL and he constr(cts 0) as the negation of fantasyCs ideological
'$$

0(vin, Darko, B:n the Poetics of the 0cience )iction >enreC Kpp. '919"L from Mark -ose Ked.L Science 'iction4 $ Collection of Critical Essa"s KEngle6ood .liffs, H8* Prentice ?all <nc., ";97L, p. 7!.

Mark P. Williams

77

79 estrangement, therefore, for 0(vin, the cognitive estrangement of 0) operates as the Bnegation of the negationC of fantasy* fantasy is inherently more ideological and 0) is inherently more dialectical materialist. Mar3ist theorisation of fantasy has +een infl(enced +y this differentiation, partic(larly in the interventions of critics s(ch as )rederic 8ameson 6ho follo6s 0(vinian distinctions. 8ameson identifies 0) as a form 6hich not only mediates +et6een the contrary aesthetic demands of faithf(lness to, and negation of, the real in literary representation, +(t as a form 6hich has a (ni/(e affinity for Mar3ist socialism thro(gh its association 6ith the (topian tradition. 8ameson locates a Mar3ist aesthetic in the practices of (topian 6riting in general and 6ith science fiction in partic(lar as representative modes 6hich are concerned 6ith resisting and imagining alternatives to present conditions* 8ameson follo6s Darko 0(vinCs arg(ment that Bcognitive estrangementC (ni/(ely characterises B0) in terms of an essentially epistemological f(nctionC as a form 6hich interrogates the e3isting 6orld, 6hile constr(cting Bthe more oneiric flights of generic fantasyC as implicitly passive and, +y implication, escapist and ideological.'$% 8amesonCs $rchaeologies of the 'uture takes a 6ider vie6 of fantasyCs capacity for (topianism than 0(vinCs early 6ritings, in it 8ameson e3plores a n(m+er of fantasy te3ts for their radical potential, among them Urs(la ,e >(inCs Earthsea novels. ?o6ever, 6hen picking o(t these specific fantasy te3ts 8ameson retains a 0(vinian hierarchy +et6een 0) and fantasy. Where he 6rites that in ,e >(inCs Earthsea magic stands for Bthe enlargement of h(man po6ers and their passage to the limit, their act(ali=ation of everything latent and virt(al in the st(nted h(man organism of the presentC he also notes as an aside that magic remains a Bfacile plot
'$%

0ee )rederic 8ameson, $rchaeologies of the 'uture4 The Desire Calle! Atopia an! >ther Science 'ictions K,ondon* 2erso, !!9 N !!'OL, p. 3iv.

Mark P. Williams

79

74 device N#O in the great +(lk of mediocre fantasy prod(ctionCF

'$'

fantasy is here

implicitly more governed +y narrative logic Khence generic or market logicL than 0). Where the Bmain formal device Nof 0)O is an imaginative frame6ork alternative to the a(thorCs empirical environment N#O disting(ished +y the narrative dominance or hegemony of a fictional Pnov(mQ Knovelty, innovationL validated +y cognitive logicC,'$7 fantasy only has plot devices 6hich predominantly create the false release of escapism, something Mar3ist criti/(e can demonstrate the ideological content of +(t not employ. 8ameson e3plains 6hy he finds the forms of 0) and fantasy to have /(ite different orientations to6ards ideology, he 6rites that Bfantasy remains generically 6edded to nat(re and to the organismC 6hile 0) privileges the mechanical, even mechanising +iology in its (se of the tropes s(ch as Bgenetic engineeringC. '$9 )or 8ameson +oth 0) and Mar3ism are f(t(re1orientated, modern and therefore materialist, 6here fantasy is implicitly nostalgic and idealist, and the Bethical dynamics of magical po6ers can today +e seen as a compensationC 6hich Bnonetheless testifies to the omnipresence of a +(ilt environmentCF '$4 fantasy th(s remains 0)Cs :ther, it operates despite itself to s(pport 0)Cs validity +y its need to act as BcompensationC Kthe f(nction Mar3 ascri+es to religionL. co(nter this in his o6n conception of fantasy@ ?o6 does Mi5ville

3: Mi ille)s Mar,ist Fantasy (heory

'$' '$7

8ameson, $rchaeologies, p. 77. 0(vin, Darko, Positions an! Presuppositions in Science 'iction KGent, :hio* Gent 0tate University Press, ";44L, p. 77. '$9 8ameson, $rchaeologies of the 'uture, p. 7%. '$4 <+id.

Mark P. Williams

74

7;

.hina Mi5ville has several strategies for asserting the val(e of fantasy to Mar3ists. Mi5ville arg(es that fantasy is not inherently escapist,'$; nor inherently more ideological than 0),'%! arg(ing instead that the insistence on the cognitive logic of 0) opposed to Bs(pposedly cognition1less fantasyC,
'%"

is itself an o+f(scation of the

literary /(alities of rhetorical pers(asion and s(rrender of te3t(al a(thority to an a(thor f(nction Ks(spension of dis+eliefL 6hich characterise &oth 0) and fantasy as forms 6hich are e/(ally +o(nd to ideology* BNfOantasy, then, in its form as 6ell as its many contents, is no less an ideological prod(ct than 0) isN#.O nor is it more soC.'% Mi5ville arg(es, contra10(vin, that vie6ing 0) and fantasy as overlapping forms is more than a Brampantly sociopathologicalC e3tension of market categories,'%$ it reflects a familial resem+lance +et6een them 6hich can +e detected in the rhetoric of +oth modes. To ill(strate this, Mi5ville p(rs(es .arl )reedmanCs 0(vinian arg(ment that 0) can +e recognised as a genre +eca(se it prod(ces an Bestrangement effectC, 6here+y the rhetoric of its constr(ction leads the reader to accept it as 0). )rom this perspective, 0) can +e said to +e +ased on Bthe attit(de of the te3t itself to the kind of estrangements +eing performedC. '%% Mi5ville co(nters +y referring +ack to 6riters from 2erne and Wells to <saac Asimov, that this cognition effect is act(ally dependent primarily on pers(asion, not on any s(pposed rigoro(sness (ni/(e to the cognitive estrangements of 0)*

'$;

Mi5ville, intervie6 6ith 8ohn He6singer, B)antasy and -evol(tionC Kpp. "'$J7$L from International Socialism II. '%! Mi5ville, B.ognition as <deologyC Kpp. $"1%4L 2e! Planets. '%" <+id. , p. $ . '% <+id. , p. %$. '%$ 0(vin, Metamorphoses of Science 'iction KHe6 ?aven and ,ondon* Iale University Press, ";9;L, p.;. '%% )reedman, .arl, Critical Theor" an! Science 'iction, /(oted in Mi5ville, B.ognition as <deologyC, p. $%.

Mark P. Williams

7;

9! The cognition effect is a persuasion. Whatever tools are (sed for that pers(asion K6hich may or may not incl(de act(ally1cognitively1logical claimsL, the effect, +y the very testimony of 0) 6riters for generations and +y the logic of the very theorists for 6hom cognition is key, is a f(nction of Kte3t(alL charismatic authorit". The reader s(rrenders to the cognition effect to the e3tent that he or she s(rrenders to the a(thority of the te3t and its a(thor f(nction. N#.O Hor is this a marginal concern for 0). WellsC is not a theory of 0) as hood6inking* it is e3tremely (nlikely that many of his readers 6o(ld ever have +een convinced of the possi+ility of gravity1repellent .avorite, +(t +eca(se of the partic(lar kind of a(thority in the te3t, a cognition effect is created even tho(gh neither reader nor 6riter finds cognitive logic in the te3tCs claims. <nstead, they rea!%write as if the" !o Nemphasis Mi5villeCsO.'%'

Mi5ville is arg(ing that 0)Cs cognitive form is not +ased on the rigoro(s cognitive logic 0(vinian criticism claims for it +(t rather that it is str(ct(red +y the same principles as fantasy* the a(dience is reading as if the impossi+le 6ere possi+le +ased on the a(thority of the te3t and the a(thor f(nction. Mi5villeCs fictions demonstrate this same +asic (nderlying premise* they (nify elements 6hich have +een identified +y, among others Andre6 M. A(tler and 8oan >ordon,'%7 as cross1generic, and as part of a 6ider c(lt(ral trend in 0)1fantasy. :n a 6ider social level, Mi5ville 6rites that the fantastic Kin either 0) or fantasyL can provide (ni/(ely (sef(l approaches for incorporating political criti/(e of ideology into fiction. ?e arg(es that the e3isting social relationships of life (nder capital are fo(nded on relationships +et6een commodities 6hich are essentially fantastic in nat(re +eca(se the la6s governing them are primarily imaginary, and +eca(se commodity relations, in t(rn, affect real social relationships, so therefore BPrealityQ is a grotes/(e Pfantastic formQC.'%9 Mi5ville 6rites*

'%' '%7

Mi5ville, B.ognition as <deologyC, pp. $41;. 0ee A(tler, Andre6 M., BThirteen Ways of ,ooking at the Aritish AoomC K$9%1;$L and >ordon, 8oan, B?y+ridity, ?eterotopia and Mateship in .hina Mi5villeCs Per!i!o Street Station0 K%'7197L S' Stu!ies5 vol7 <: K !!$L. '%9 Mi5ville, B<ntrod(ctionC, Historical Materialism vol. "!, iss(e %, ed. .hina Mi5ville,5 p. %7.

Mark P. Williams

9!

9" < am claiming that the fantastic, partic(larly +eca(se BrealityC is a grotes/(e Bfantastic formC, is goo! to thin- with. Mar3, 6hose theory is a ha(nted ho(se of spectres and vampires, kne6 this. Why else does he open Capital not /(ite 6ith an BimmenseC, as the modern English translation has it, +(t 6ith a Bmonstro(sC KungeheureL collection of commodities@ Mi5ville /(estions the e3tent to 6hich any fictional representation can +e considered intrinsically more or less ideological than any other, 6hile also asking 6hether ideologically determined social relations (nder capital can +e considered BrealisticC. This rhetorical strategy implicitly /(estions the ne6ness of contemporary commodity relations* it s(ggests that the society of the spectacle and the critical apparat(ses 6hich follo6 it, s(ch as Aa(drillardCs sim(lacra and the postmodernist theories 6hich dra6 (pon Aa(drillard, are already implicit in Mar3Cs conception of dialectical materialism and of the ha(nting and monstro(s forms +y 6hich he characterises the commodity form. )rom this perspective, 6hich Mi5ville ela+orates in Historical Materialism and 2e! Planets, it is clear that he considers fantasy to +e one of the more appropriate responses to this sit(ation. <n this 6ay fantasy can +e seen as the most important mode for Mi5ville to relate his practice as an activist, his theory as a Mar3ist and his aesthetic interests as a novelist, +eca(se, like the forces of capital, it is concerned 6ith the relationship of a non1rational, imaginary system to the real 6orld. Mi5ville arg(es that imagining the impossi+le is part of the ordinary processes of la+o(r, he 6rites* .onsider Mar3Cs distinction of Bthe 6orst of architectsC from Bthe +est of +eesC* (nlike for any +ee BAt the end of every la+o(r process a res(lt emerges 6hich had already +een conceived +y the 6orker at the +eginning, hence already e3isted ideally.C )or Mar3, h(man prod(ctive activity, 6ith its capacity to act on the 6orld and to change it & the very mechanism +y 6hich people make history, tho(gh not in the circ(mstances of their

Mark P. Williams

9"

9 choosing & is pre!icate! on a consciousness of the not)real . The fantastic is there at the most prosaic moment of prod(ction.'%4

<n 6riting this, Mi5ville is o+vio(sly ackno6ledging an intellect(al inheritance from the kind of visionary and avant1garde post1";7!s radical traditions artic(lated +y Alan Moore and >rant Morrison, sit(ating their tho(ght 6ithin a Mar3ist frame6ork. <stvan .sicsery1-onay raises an important critical point a+o(t this in his revie6 of the Historical Materialism symposi(m. ?e 6rites* There is no reason 6hy the process of thinking the not1possi+le sho(ld not +e compati+le 6ith an BidealistC notion of the imagination as a fac(lty that 6orks 6ith historical conditions as if it 6ere, in some 6ay, a(tonomo(s from them. Unless the dialectic inheres in matter Kthe v(lgar Mar3ist position par e3cellenceL, then thinking the never1possi+le is something that h(man minds +ring to the mi3Jan Bidealist em+arrassmentC at the heart of historical materialism.'%; )or Mi5ville, this idealist trace has pre1e3isting material circ(mstances in a h(man s(+Eectivity 6hich consists of conscio(s and (nconscio(s drives determined +y material capitalist social relationsF he vie6s the imaginary in this relation thro(gh the matrices of 0(rrealist and postmodernist aesthetic practices. ?is interpretation of the dialectical materialist aesthetic is a +road one, reclaiming categories considered to +elong to postmodernist disco(rseF as he says in intervie6 6ith 8oan >ordon, he is resistant to postmodernism 6hile +eing attracted to the innovations typically associated 6ith it* BNyOo( can (se certain deconstr(ctive techni/(es, for e3ample, 6itho(t +eing a postmodernistC, B< donCt think itCs fair that hy+ridity, (ncertainty, +l(rring identities, fract(ring, formal e3perimentation, or the +l(rring of high and lo6 c(lt(re sho(ld +e ceded to postmodernismU < 6ant all that, and <Cm a classical Mar3istCF cr(cially, he adds, BNfOor me, m(ch of that list is a+o(t dialectics, 6hich is

'%4 '%;

Mi5ville, Historical Materialism, p. %%. .sicsery1-onay, 8r., B,(cid Dreams or )lightless Airds on -ooftops@C, p. ;;.

Mark P. Williams

9$ something that (nderpins a lot of 6hat < think a+o(tC.''! Polysemy and hy+ridity, and the s(+version of +inary categories for Mi5ville are phases 6ithin the overarching dialectical perspectiveF hence his 6ork sit(ates de+ates from disparate radical traditions 6ithin an overarching dialectical materialism. Mi5ville is (niting politically committed and aesthetically distanced imp(lses at a higher point of insight derived from dialectical materialismF he clearly dra6s on the Bs(preme pointC of 0(rrealism.
''"

)or Mi5ville the act of 6riting politically 6ithin fantasy is an act of Bengaging +oth 6ith politics in general and 6ith the politics of genreC +eca(se it intervenes in the realm of the imaginary thro(gh a form 6hich may +e considered to derive from o(tside his chosen form in a 6ay 6hich conscio(sly echoes the 6ork of He6 Wave 6riters of the ";7!s, +lending p(lp and avant1garde frame6orks.'' Mi5villeCs interest in fantasy is derived from t6o imp(lses 6hich operate in tension and 6hich he shares 6ith, among others Moorcock and the He6 Wave 6riters* the tendency of generic form(la fantasy to codify fantasy, and the contrary po6er of 0(rrealist (ses of fantasy as idiosyncratic aesthetic forms. <n intervie6 6ith 8oan >ordon K !!$L, ''$ Mi5ville descri+es his o6n approach to 6riting as +eginning from mood and setting and partic(lar +(t specific images, Btotally a+stracted from any narrativeC dra6ing on 0(rrealist notions of the parado3ical image, inspired +y his fondness for Bin partic(lar, N#O the 6orks of Ma3 Ernst, Ives Tang(y, ?ans Aellmer, and Pa(l Delva(3C.''% These images are then BsystematisedC thro(gh a form of

''!

Mi5ville in intervie6 6ith 8oan >ordon, B-evelling in >enre* An <ntervie6 6ith .hina Mi5villeC Science 'iction Stu!ies5 vol7 <: K !!$L, p. $7$. ''" -ichardson, Michael and )iEalko6ski, Gr=ys=tof KedsL B<ntrod(ctionC to Surrealism $gainst the Current K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!"L, p. 7. '' Mi5ville in He6singer, B)antasy and -evol(tionC, p. "7!. ''$ Mi5ville in intervie6 6ith >ordon, 8oan, B-evelling in >enre* An <ntervie6 6ith .hina Mi5villeC K$''19$L Science 'iction Stu!ies ;8:5 <:4 K K8(ly, !!$L. ''% Mi5ville in >ordon, B<ntervie6C, p. $'9.

Mark P. Williams

9$

9% +estiary1making 6hich he conscio(sly derives from the Bmania for catalog(ing the fantasticC of the -ole Play >ames K-P>sL s(ch as Dungeons ? Dragons he played as a yo(th KB<Cve not played for si3teen years N#O +(t < still +(y and read the man(als occasionallyCL.''' The tensions +et6een the respective attractions of fantasy dra6n from fantastic images, things 6hich are s(rreal and defy classification, and the Bs(perheroically +analifyingC approach to fantasy of red(cing fantastic creat(res and scenarios to statistics involved in -P>s, are 6hat Mi5ville identifies as primary to his o6n 6riting process. Mi5ville 6rites that the 0(rrealists are (sef(l for radicals for the 6ay in 6hich Bthey e3amine /(estions of po6er and oppression in the very form of their 6orkC.''7 ?e states that he sees Bthe +est 6eird fiction as the intersection of the traditions of 0(rrealism 6ith those of p(lpC, implying that his o6n 6ork is defined +y the dialectic of disE(nctive imagery and estranged systems constantly acting against one another.''9 <n this schema, the codification of fantasy into statistics represents a kind of escapism 6hich is commodified and anti1fantasy or 0(rrealism represents an escape from the B+analifyingC of fantasy +eca(se it ref(ses to +e confined or codified into a form 6hich can +e 6holly commodified +(t the t6o co1e3ist as a disco(rse. Mi5villeCs novels are all a+o(t the str(ggles of individ(als to create a space to e3press their s(+Eective e3perience thro(gh the contrary demands of politically committed and aesthetically distanced practices.

5: Mar,ist Su#<ecti ity in Mi ille

''' ''7

<+id. Mi5ville in >ordon, B-evelling in >enreC, p. $7' ''9 Mi5ville in >ordon, B-evelling in >enreC, pp. $'719.

Mark P. Williams

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9' Mi5villeCs Aas ,ag novels concern attempts to descri+e the social individ(al in Mar3ist termsF the characterisation and plot conflicts are linked attempts to concept(alise a radical model of individ(al s(+Eectivity. The material determinants of s(+Eectivity are central to the character conflicts 6hich drive the plots of his Aas ,ag te3ts. This appears in Per!i!o Street Station and The Scar thro(gh the direct

deformation of s(+Eectivity Kand the +odyL +y the po6ers of government and thro(gh the s(+tler press(res of socialisation prod(cing ideologically determined conceptions of individ(ality.

iL Transformations of s(+Eectivity

Mi5villeCs 6riting reveals the ideological content of categories as determinants of social relations signalled thro(gh the (se of prefi3es s(ch as B(nC, Ba+C and BreC, each of 6hich corresponds to a social category and a mode of tho(ght. Perhaps his most s(ccinct e3pression of the significance of partic(lar prefi3es can +e fo(nd in An Lun Dun K !!9L, 6hen the lead character, Dee+a, is attempting to (nderstand the distinction +et6een the categories of things she kno6s and the categories of similar fantastic things as she is presented 6ith them. <n Un,ondon, any (m+rella that gets +roken is made a servant of a man named Arokken+roll and +ecomes an (n1+rella controlled +y him* Dee+a says, BPNyOo(r (m+rellas are +roken.QC. ?e responds* BPU"Vour um+rellas are sticks,Q N#O PMy un+rellas are awa-e.QC.''4 Mending the damage to one of these sinister (n1 +rellas changes it into a re1+rella 6ith a mind of its o6n, more like a +enign pet, and not s(+Eect to the 6ill of Arokken+roll.
''4

Mi5ville, An Lun Dun K,ondon* Macmillan, !!9L, p. "$9.

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97 BIt0s not an un&rella an" more7 It0s something else7 When it was an um&rella5 it was completel" for one thing7 When it was &ro-en it !i!n0t !o that an" more5 so it was something else an! that0s when it was +ro--en&roll0s7 His slave7 UF7V It0s something new7 It0s not an (m&rella an! it0s not an (n&rella7 It0sF PWhat are yo(@ M(ttered Dee+a. PA re+rella@Q Whatever it is5 she tho(ght, it0s its own thing now7CN<talics in originalO.'';

Mi5villeCs point is that choices, and the a(tonomy to make them, create distinct differences in s(+Eectivity. ?is te3ts propose 6ays in 6hich this might then +e e3pressed thro(gh a voca+(lary of social categorisation fle3i+le eno(gh to accommodate m(ltiple perspectives* transformations in s(+Eectivity are e3pressed thro(gh estranging prefi3es to dra6 attention to them as transformations 6hich are +oth fantastic KideologicalL and concrete KphysicalL. Mi5villeCs concept(alisation of the effect of social transformation on s(+Eectivity is performed most spectac(larly in his Aas ,ag novels thro(gh the -emade of He6 .ro+(=on. The -emade are criminals 6hose sentence is to have their +odies permanently altered +y +eing Btha(mat(rgicallyC 6elded to animal, vegeta+le or mineral components according to the 6him of the magister sentencing them. They are effectively transformed into monstro(s chimerae to act as a

frightening spectacle of the po6er of the E(diciary thro(gh the Bp(nishment factoriesC. Mi5ville creates a disE(nct(re +et6een the BfittingC of the crime and the p(nishment 6hich is e3pressed thro(gh the callo(s disE(nct(re +et6een the +odies of the -emade and the parts 6elded to themF their +odies are effectively made (seless to them and to society +y their p(nishment K+arring e3ceptional cases 6ho are 6elded to ind(strial machines or s(chlike so that 6ork for the po6er of the state can form part

'';

Mi5ville, An Lun Dun, p. %9!.

Mark P. Williams

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99 of their p(nishmentL. <t is s(mmed (p, in chilling fashion, +y He6 .ro+(=on art critic Derkhan* B< 6as in co(rt the other day, sa6 a Magister sentence a 6oman to -emaking. 0(ch a sordid, pathetic, misera+le crime#C 0he 6inced at the remem+rance. B0ome 6oman living at the top of one of the Getch ?eath monoliths killed her +a+y N#.O B?er +a+yCs arms are going to +e grafted to her face. P0o she doesnCt forget 6hat she didQ he says.C B-emakingCs an art, yo( kno6. 0ick art. The imagination it takesU <Cve seen -emade cra6ling (nder the 6eight of h(ge spiral iron shells they retreat into at night. 0nail 6omen. <Cve seen them 6ith +ig s/(id tentacles 6here their arms 6ere, standing in river m(d, pl(nging their s(ckers (nder1 6ater to p(ll o(t fish.C'7! Mi5villeCs -emade are a kind of man1made a+1h(man. The term Ba+1h(manC, is William ?ope ?odgsonCs coinage, it refers to non1h(man agencies 6ith the po6er to affect the 6orld in a material 6ay and to affect h(mans in t(rnF ?odgsonCs a+h(mans vary +et6een +eing anthropomorphic animals in form Kas in The +oats of the #len Carrig K";!9L or House on the +or!erlan! K";!4LL and +eing strangely animated o+Eects possessed +y some kind of life and sinister intelligence, as in his stories of .arnacki the >host10eer, e3pressions of Bthe alien horror of an (nsympathetic (niverseC.'7" Unlike William ?ope ?odgsonCs a+h(mans, Mi5villeCs -emade are the prod(ct of capricio(s h(man po6erF -emaking is h(man vicio(sness treated, +y the ignorant, as if it 6ere a nat(ral phenomenonF it demonstrates ho6 ideology nat(ralises the (n1nat(ral e3pressions of po6er thro(gh hegemony. Their Bp(nishmentsC are ironic )o(ca(ldian spectacles of the e3ercise of totalitarian r(le. .omparatively, Mi5villeCs fello6 Mar3ist fantasy 6riter <an -. Mac,eod (ses m(tation into BchangelingsC or BtrollsC as a conse/(ence of e3pos(re to the magical s(+stance Aether, 6hich stands for capital1as1la+o(r in his novel The Light $ges K !!$L. )or Mac,eod, alienated la+o(r directly prod(ces grotes/(e deformations of the s(+Eect
'7! '7"

Mi5ville, Per!i!o Street Station K,ondon* PanDMacmillan, !!!L Nhereafter Per!i!oO, p. ""'. Mi5ville, B PAnd IetQ* The Antinomies of William ?ope ?odgsonCKpp. viiJi3 L introd(ction to House on the +or!erlan! an! >ther Novels K,ondon* >ollanc=, !! L, p. vii.

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94 +eca(se Aether has its o6n logicF for Mi5ville, the process has a more direct stamp of agency. -emaking sym+olises the deformation of conscio(sness into a+sol(te categories 6hich determine or limit s(+Eectivity inflicted +y some social agency, an ideological state apparat(s defining people as criminal, convict and slave, as opposed to citi=en, individ(al and person. With their +odies marked +y the po6er of the state in s(ch a 6ay as to render them permanently disenfranchised 6ithin He6 .ro+(=on society, the -emade are a racialised social gro(p s(+Eected to all of the 6orst normative press(res 6hich that implies. They are an (nderclass seen as differentiated from the la+o(rers +y the moral inde3 of their physical marringF it is a vision of criminality overdetermined +y social press(res and then KsociallyL nat(ralised into the kind of BdegenerationC of "4;!s novelists. ?o6ever, in Mi5ville, the 6hole, the totality, is al6ays capa+le of overcoming the shortfalls of the part, the partial and the atomised, and this takes place in the transformation from B-emadeC to Bf-eemadeC. Dynamic movements +et6een social states descri+ed (sing B:(tC, BUnC, BA+C and B-eC prefi3es follo6 a shift in the po6er relation +et6een individ(alsF the change from B-emadeC to Bf-eemadeC descri+es the movement from +eing defined o+Eectively +y someone else to6ards that of +eing s(+Eectively defined in a KrelativelyL empo6ered 6ay, a(tonomo(sly. ?ence the movement from -emade +eing indent(red criminals, the o+Eects of state po6er, to +eing f-eemade, independent s(+Eects 6ho are o(tla6s K+eyond or o(tside the stateCs po6erL. These have o+vio(s corollaries 6ith the (se of revol(tionary shifts in prefi3es employed +y -astafarian and Alack M(slim gro(ps, as in Bo(tformerC for informer or BoverstandC instead of (nderstand, terms (sed to concept(ally differentiate dominant social conscio(sness from the Bdo(+le1conscio(snessC of +lack li+eration activism Ksee Pa(l

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9; >ilroy There $in0t No +lac- in the Anion @ac- K";49LL. The B-emadeC into

Bf-eemadeC shift also s(ggests the steps to6ards taking +ack negative lang(age and affirming or o6ning it, of the BAlack is Aea(tif(lC kind, or even the more controversial, and still hotly de+ated, inversion of BniggerC into BniggaC'7 of 6hich Mi5ville, as a fan of hip hop and Dr(m n Aass, is 6ell a6are.'7$ Thro(gh these transformations Mi5ville insists on the direct relation of disc(rsive categories to act(ally e3isting social relations. ?e makes e3tensive and systematic (se of this as a practice in the constr(ction of his te3ts, creating a comple3 interrelationship of c(lt(res 6ithin the city1state of He6 .ro+(=on and descri+ing them from the perspective of characters taken from /(ite radically different +ackgro(nds. The oppositional relationship of social gro(ps 6ith contradictory

interests demonstrates their dialectical interaction 6ith the social totality, it prod(ces a dialectical materialist constr(ction of society. This can +e perceived in the persona and physiognomy of the criminal gang leader, Mr Motley, 6hose relationship 6ith the cityCs social str(ct(res is a microcosm of the political str(ct(re of the city itself. Mr Motley is Mi5villeCs s(pervillainF he is +eyond the a+ility of the la6 to p(nish him thro(gh -emaking +eca(se his entire +ody is made (p from fragments of a myriad other creat(res. We enco(nter him 6hen the artist ,in, is commissioned to make a life1si=e sc(lpt(re of himF Mi5villeCs physical description of Motley is a model of the individ(al +ody as a dialectical (nity*
'7

0ee -andall GennedyCs caref(lly n(anced dissection of the m(ltifario(s and protean manifestations of its (se as a 6ord of po6er +oth positive and negative in his +ook Nigger4 The Strange Career of a Trou&lesome Wor!, Gennedy, -andall KHe6 Iork* 2intage, !!$L. '7$ The po6er relationships of lang(age are also present at length in a novel that Mi5ville has referred to in vario(s intervie6s* @unglist K,ondon* Ao3tree, ";;'L +y T6o )ingers KAndre6 >reenL and 8ames T. Girk KEddie :tchereL 6as one of the BAackstreetsC series of novels +y different a(thors set in and aro(nd the 8(ngle m(sic scene of early B;!s ,ondon. The te3ts play (pon analogies +et6een m(sical sampling and mi3ing in Dr(m n Aass and the c(lt(ral interaction and the mi3ing of lang(age registers from a predominantly +lack Aritish 6orking1class yo(th perspective. .arl )reedman o+serves that Mi5villeCs attention to the m(ltiracial interactions of Dr(m n Aass s(+c(lt(res forms an important part of his BMar3ist (r+an s(+limeC in Jing 2at K)reedman, BTo6ards a Mar3ist Ur+an 0(+limeC, E trapolation %%*%L.

Mark P. Williams

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4! 0craps of skin and f(r and feathers s6(ng as he moved N#O feelers t6itched and mo(ths glistened. N#.O Tides of flesh 6ashed against each other in violent c(rrents. M(scles tethered +y alien tendons to alien +ones 6orked together in (neasy tr(ce, in slo6, tense motion.'7%

The contrary parts of MotleyCs 6hole are internally contradictory +(t nevertheless s(pport the 6hole Bin (neasy tr(ceC. MotleyCs +ody synthesises the characteristics of the criminal gangsterF defying the similes of p(lp fiction for a 0(rreal literalisation, his animal1like /(alities are sho6n (sing animal parts* he Bret(rned N,inCsO ga=e 6ith a pair of tigerCs eyesC and Bgestic(lated vag(ely at his o6n +ody 6ith a monkeyCs pa6C, saying* BUtVhis is not error or a&sence or mutanc"4 this is image an! essence # This is totalityC.'7' As a crime lord, Motley s(persedes the possi+ilities of the

p(nishment he is +eyond the p(nishment of the la6 sym+olically +eca(se he cannot +e -emade to +ecome more grotes/(e than he is alreadyF 6e later discover that he is also colla+orating 6ith agencies 6ithin the government and so is +eyond the la6 literally as 6ell as sym+olically, validating his assertion that his +ody represents +oth Bimage and essenceC. ,in only remem+ers him in arresting fragmentary imagesJBone hand terminating in five e/(ally spaced cra+sC cla6sF a spiralling horn +(rsting from a nest of eyesC'77J+eca(se that his 6hat his totality is composed from* disE(nctive parts s(ch as might +e grafted on to the +ody of a condemned man to make them a -emade. ?e has a dialectical vie6 of himself as a totality of contraries 6hich appear to +e antagonistic to one another +(t act(ally form a (nity. ?is +ody is a microcosm for He6 .ro+(=on as Mi5ville presents social relations as a comple3 matri3 of interactions 6hich determine ho6 the individ(al can act +(t, cr(cially, are also affected in comple3 6ays +y the actions of individ(als. The dialectic relationship of individ(al and society is clearest in the str(ct(re of the plot of Per!i!o Street Station
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Mi5ville, Per!i!o Nemphasis in originalO, p. '$. <+id. , p. "%!. '77 <+id. , p. ;%.

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4" and the actions of the characters Iagharek and <saacF thro(gh them, the plot demonstrates the distinction +et6een a+stract and concrete individ(als.

iiL A+stract individ(alism and concrete individ(alism The importance of a concrete (nderstanding of individ(al s(+Eectivity to Mi5villeCs conception of +oth fantasy 6orlds and Mar3ist theory is encaps(lated +y the follo6ing e3change from .heryl MorganCs !!" intervie6 6ith Mi5ville for Strange Hori1ons*

Cheryl: :ne thing that partic(larly fascinated me a+o(t the +ook, and < 6as disappointed that yo( didn[t spend more time on it, 6as the gar(da philosophy. The free gar(da in the .ymek desert have this militant attit(de to personal responsi+ility to go along 6ith their personal freedom. <t so(nded like something that li+ertarians sho(ld read. China: <t 6as very important to me. :ne of the things that angers me a+o(t politics is the 6ay that the individ(al has +een claimed for the right. < accept that the right has this notion of the individ(al as an a+stract political entity, and < accept that some leftists have a /(ite v(lgar notion of the individ(al +eing (nimportant. A(t < think that individ(als are very important. And +y individ(als < mean real people that (nderstand their o6n nat(re, not as an a+stract, +(t as something that e3ists 6ithin a social matri3. With the gar(da < tried to come (p 6ith a society that 6as radically comm(nist, and +eca(se of its comm(nism treats the individ(al 6ith great serio(sness and respect.'79

<n Per!i!o Street Station 6e enco(nter a lone +ird1man, a gar(da, from the .ymek desert 6ho has +een cast o(t for +eing Btoo too a+stractC an individ(alist, not considering his place 6ithin the social matri3F he has committed the crime of Bchoice theft in the second degree#6ith (tter disrespectC,'74 for 6hich he has had his 6ings sa6ed off. Iagharek comes to He6 .ro+(=on to find someone to help him fly again and meets the scientist <saac Dan de >rimne+(linF <saac does not (nderstand 6hat
'79

Morgan, .heryl, and Mi5ville at http*DD666.strangehori=ons.comD !!"D !!""!!"Dchina.shtml, 4D""D !!9. '74 Mi5ville, Per!i!o, p. 7!.

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4 Bchoice theftC implies and, E(dging the p(nishment +y the standards of -emaking, agrees to help. :ver the co(rse of the novel 6e are taken thro(gho(t He6 .ro+(=on society as <saac attempts to find a 6ay to help a 6ingless gar(da fly* in this 6ay 6e are slo6ly sho6n ho6 the different c(lt(res and gro(ps 6ithin He6 .ro+(=on act (pon one anotherF 6e are ta(ght the difference +et6een +eing an a+stract individ(al, 6hose agency is (n/(estiona+le, separate from social conte3t, and +eing a concrete individ(al 6ho e3ists and acts a(tonomo(sly 6ithin partic(lar socially determining parameters. The novel acts as a Aild(ngsroman of the dialectical conscio(sness of the individ(al. Mi5ville e3plores the concrete differences in s(+Eectivity +et6een different people 6ithin the same society, +ased on differences in race and class, thro(gh <saacCs /(est. <saac, attempting to meet (p 6ith some of He6 .ro+(=onCs small pop(lation of gar(da to st(dy ho6 they fly, has to travel to a sl(m neigh+o(rhood, a place 6hich goes +y the evocative name of 0patters* BAlmost all the gar(da in the city live in those fo(r +(ildings. There pro+a+ly arenCt t6o tho(sand in the 6hole of He6 .ro+(=on. That makes them a+o(t#(h#no(ght point f(cking no(ght three per cent of the pop(lation#C <saac grinned. B<Cve +een doing my research, see@C +ut the" !on0t all live here7 What a&out Jra-hle-iB B:h s(re, < mean, there are gar(da that get o(t. < ta(ght one once, nice gee=er. ThereCs pro+a+ly a co(ple in Dog )enn, three or fo(r in M(rkside, si3 in >ross .oil. 8a++erCs Mo(nd and 0yriac each have a handf(l, <Cve heard. And once or t6ice a generation someone like Grakhleki makes it +ig. <Cve never read his st(ff, +y the 6ay. <s he any good@C ,in nodded. B-ight, so yo(Cve got people like him, and others#yo( kno6, 6hatCs the name of that f(cker#the one in the Diverse Tendency#0hashEar, thatCs the one. They stick him in to prove the DTs are for all 3enians.C <saac made a r(de noise. BC0pecially the rich ones.C'7;

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Mi5ville, Per!i!o, pp. "99J94.

Mark P. Williams

4$ <saac and ,inCs disc(ssion here hints at m(ltiple c(lt(ral +arriers and glass ceilings, from ghettoisation to tokenism, 6hich divide, striate and stratify He6 .ro+(=onCs different peoples. Mi5villeCs presentation of He6 .ro+(=on c(lt(re is one 6hich constantly emphasises social str(ggle sim(ltaneo(sly 6ith social cohesion, depicting comple3 and s(+tly n(anced net6orks of interaction 6hich resist simplistic or red(ctive readings. This feeds +ack into the material presentation of the city as a virt(al entity 6hich is, on one hand, composed of and determined +y these interactions, 6hile on the other hand +eing the materially determining factor 6hich restricts or facilitates s(ch interaction. Mi5ville presents the relationship +et6een s(+Eectivity and ideological s(perstr(ct(re dialectically. Mi5ville implies that the social mo+ility of the gar(da pop(lation of He6 .ro+(=on is limited +y economic factors and a s(spicion of 3enians 6hich is in t(rn partially internalised to prod(ce ghetto comm(nities. The concrete

manifestations of 3enopho+ia are present in this terse little scene and made o+vio(s in interracial relations in He6 .ro+(=on thro(gh the prominence of the very term B3enianC. <saac, a visitor to the sl(ms of He6 .ro+(=on, is in (nfamiliar territoryF as part of the Aohemian set of artists and 6riters he has an a6areness of them 6hich is conscio(s +(t distanced, a6are, +(t only vicario(sly. The flats themselves are the alien environment for <saac, (nfriendly and inhospita+le to someone from his class and +ackgro(nd* The stair6ell 6as grey and (nlit e3cept +y light filtering ro(nd corners and thro(gh cracks. :nly no6, as they emerged onto the seventh floor, did the stairs look as if they had ever +een (sed. -(++ish +egan to +(ild (p aro(nd their feet. The stairs 6ere gr(++y rather than thick in fine d(st. At each floor 6ere t6o doors, and the harsh so(nds of gar(da conversations 6ere a(di+le thro(gh the splintered 6ood.'9!

'9!

Mi5ville, PSS, p. "4$.

Mark P. Williams

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4% These are harsh so(nds for harsh s(rro(ndings, BethnicC so(nds, distinct from those 6hich <saac is (sed toF Mi5ville here satirises <saacCs position* <saac is too fat and (nfit to make the ascent (p the stairs of the flats and 6hen asking the locals if there is any hope that the lift might 6ork is told 6ith relish* BNnOever got p(t in, s/(ire N#.O Aest +e getting startedCF'9" gar(da can fly and no1one +(t gar(da 6o(ld step inside a gar(da ghetto. Mi5ville places <saac into interaction 6ith different peoples of different classes on their terms, rather than his o6n, to sho6 ho6 and 6hy <saacCs +ohemian intellect(al perspective flo(nders. When the local gar(da B+ig manC instr(cts the gar(da to ref(se <saacCs offer of money for time to st(dy their flight capa+ilities, and tells <saac to leave, <saac fails to see the pro+lem (ntil the sit(ation is already escalating* B0teer clear of gro(ndcra6lersU And steer clearest of the anthros. TheyCre the 6orst, theyCll tear yo( (p, take yo(r 6ings a6ay, kill yo( deadU Don0t trust an" of PemD And that incl(des fat+oy 6ith the fat 6allet over there.C )or the first time in his tirade he looked (p at <saac and ,in. BIo(UC he sho(ted, and pointed at <saac. B)(ck off o(t of it Bfore < sho6 yo( e3actly 6hat itCs like to fly#straight f(cking do6nUC'9 <saac has made the ass(mption that other gro(ps 6ithin society 6ill have e3actly the same relationship 6ith the ideological s(perstr(ct(re of that society as himself* the same relative tr(st and sec(rity in most environmentsF the same relative level of political and economic enfranchisementF and the same standards of personal and c(lt(ral empo6erment. ?e has (nconscio(sly 6hite6ashed the differences o(t of people in an act of accidental c(lt(ral imperialism Kperhaps the most pervasive kindL. This is also indicated +y <saacCs decision to gloss over IagharekCs crime of Bsecond degree choice theft#6ith (tter disrespectC.'9$
'9" '9

<+id. , p. "4$. <+id. , p. "44. '9$ Mi5ville, Per!i!o, p. 7!.

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4' The c(lt(ral ignorance of <saacCs partial perspective sets in motion the violent events of the plot. <saac does not perceive the social matrices 6hich are mo+ilised +y his a+stract individ(al desire to kno6 ho6 flying things 6ork* Someone0s pa"ing for winge! things. N#.O 0mall1time hoods heard it from dr(g1dealersF costermongers told it to decayed gentlemenF doctors 6ith d(+io(s records got it from part1time +o(ncers. <saacCs re/(est s6ept thro(gh the sl(ms and rookeries. <t travelled the alternative architect(re thro6n (p in the h(man s(mps.'9%

As a res(lt of <saacCs 6ords passing thro(gh these +lack market channels, some deadly creat(res called slake1moths are released from the -esearch and Development department of the secretive Parliament. <saacCs a+stract sense of himself as an

individ(al in society is disconnected from this chain of events. ?is attempt to p(t right the crisis he has (n6ittingly set in motion forms a co(nterpoint to his early ignorance. ?(nting do6n the slake1moths takes <saac thro(gh all of the Bsl(ms and rookeriesC his re/(est for flying things has already passed thro(gh. <saac is, in a different 6ay from Iagharek, a Btoo too a+stractC individ(al, 6ho has not considered his o6n place as a concrete individ(al 6ithin society, and conse/(ently has accidentally taken part in releasing a deadly threat to the 6hole city. :nly at the end of the novel is IagharekCs crime of Bchoice theft second degreeC e3plained to him +y a female gar(da, GarC(chai* she says BNyOo( 6o(ld call it rapeC +(t emphasises that this is itself too a+stract Kpossessive individ(alistL a 6ay of thinking a+o(t it, the crime is choice theft +eca(se Bchoices +eget choicesC.'9' <t is then that <saac starts to see ho6 many choices can +e c(rtailed +y any one choice* BN6Ohat he sa6 most clearly, immediately, 6ere the vistas of choice that Iagharek had stolen N#.O NtOhe choice not to have se3, not to +e h(rt N#.O
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<+id. , p. ""9. Mi5ville, Per!i!o, p. 4%4.

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47 NtOhe choice not to risk pregnancyC, and if she did get pregnant BNtOhe choice not to a+ortC or BNtOhe choice not to have a childC. '97 <saac (nconscio(sly glossed IagharekCs crime as incomprehensi+ly foreign, not /(estioning eno(gh or not asking the right /(estions, enacting a form of essentialism on IagharekCs entire c(lt(re +ased on his o6n sing(lar vie6 of one individ(al gar(da a+stracted from any social conte3t. <saac reneges on his promise to help Iagharek flyF Mi5ville leaves the moral pro+lems of this decision (nresolved at the concl(sion of the novel, +(t the (nderlying c(lt(ral ass(mption is only part of the overall pro+lem 6hich has +een artic(lated* a+stract individ(alism can f(nction not to preserve individ(ality +(t to red(ce it. The plot of the novel demonstrates 6ays in 6hich a+stract individ(alism fails to acco(nt for the conse/(ences of actionsF Mi5villeCs response to this is not to diminish individ(al agency in the face of social press(res +(t to e3plore ho6 they affect individ(al actions against greater conte3ts. The relationship +et6een a+stract individ(al perceptions and socially concrete individ(al perceptions also str(ct(re the plot of Mi5villeCs second Aas ,ag novel The Scar, this time on an international scale.

iiiL <nternational la6 and concrete individ(als The Scar, tackles the relationship +et6een the accidental c(lt(ral imperialism of a+stract individ(alism and more aggressive manifestations of c(lt(ral imperialism in po6erf(l statesF The Scar implies that a+stract individ(alismCs corollary on the scale of nation1states is aggressive e3pansion or piracy and Mi5ville sho6s the individ(al and international scales as related dialectically. The central character in The Scar is from ,in and <saacCs gro(p of friends, scholar Aellis .old6ineF Aellis flees He6 .ro+(=on and enco(nters other city1states and other peoples across Aas ,ag. As s(ch
'97

<+id.

Mark P. Williams

47

49 the perspective that determines ho6 6e perceive the 6orld of Aas ,ag o(tside of He6 .ro+(=on is that of a He6 .ro+(=oner intellect(al from +ohemian circles. The Scar e3plores the economic relationships of dominance 6hich can lead to6ards the interpellation of c(lt(ral dominance 6ithin an ostensi+ly m(ltic(lt(ral space. <t dra6s thematic links +et6een the attit(des of He6 .ro+(=oners a+road and He6 .ro+(=onCs e3pansionist ideology and economic po6er K6hich makes He6 .ro+(=on s(ch an economically attractive place for so many different peoples and c(lt(res it then ghettoisesL. <n The Scar Mi5ville engages 6ith /(estions of s(+Eectivity and e/(ality thro(gh the contrasts +et6een identity a+road and foreignness. The novel is set at sea and concerns a pirate (topia and a /(est to find a mythical place 6here possi+ilities e3ist as a physical reso(rce. All of The ScarCs central characters tell stories in different registers 6hich reflect the perspective of their social position* Aellis .old6ine 6rites caricat(re and parody of cre6mem+ers on +oard the ship, alongside her epistle1c(m1Eo(rnal 6hich helps define the relationship of The Scar to the idea of The Hovel thro(gh the epistolary formF the -emade man Tanner 0ack, indent(red +elo6 decks at first, tells stories and reco(nts myths, there+y acting as a co(nter1narrative to AellisC epistolary novelF 6hile the trader and spy 0ilas )ennec (ses r(mo(r and gossip to manip(late p(+lic opinion, in m(ltiple registers, 6hile (sing 6ritten evidence to manip(late the perceptions of Aellis herself. Each of these charactersC voices is determined +y their concrete social sit(ation. 0etting his novel at sea allo6s Mi5ville to e3plore +oth the am+ig(o(s and intervening spaces +et6een different city1states, or polities, and +et6een different forms of geography 6here the r(les of society and nat(re respectively are different. The events of The Scar occ(r in a space 6here everything is negotia+le and

Mark P. Williams

49

44 dependent (pon perspective* from property and la6 to the evidence of the senses and especially c(lt(ral preE(dices. Understood dialectically, these differences are part of an overarching (nity* the sea can +e read as a metaphor for the totality of capitalist e3changes as a glo+alised economy, 6ith differing polities esta+lishing discrete territorial claims over artificially1segregated elements of a single (nified, and (nifying totality* BNeOach inlet and +ay and stream has +een classified as if it 6ere discrete. A(t it is one thingC.'99 ?ere Mi5ville presents an assertion of a Mar3ian perspective on internationalismF each polity, despite its protestations, is ecologically related to and engaged 6ith all the others via the fl(id medi(m of the sea, 6hich also stands for the movement of things 6hich are traded +y sea. The novel is a pirate advent(re narrative set on the high seas and feat(res foreign lands, strange c(stoms and massive +easts. There is a certain

/(otient of s6ash+(ckling ship1to1ship com+at and an epic naval +attle, pl(s a n(m+er of occasions for spying and deception. <n the process of moving thro(gh these it also constit(tes an e3tended comment on interc(lt(ral relations and c(lt(ral imperialism. <t 6orks thro(gh some of the ideas Mi5ville disc(sses in the te3t 6hich formed his PhD thesis, +etween E6ual 2ights4 $ Mar ist Theor" of International Law. The title of the thesis is a reference to Mar3Cs ma3im B+et6een e/(al rights, force decidesC, and an indication of 6hat kind of ans6ers to e3pect 6hen /(estioning the nat(re of international la6* Maritime la6 has +een at the heart of international la6 since its earliest incarnation. .ertain key iss(es in international la6 and relations cannot +e made sense of 6itho(t (nderstanding the centrality of the sea in international la6* the f(ndamental relationship +et6een international la6

'99

Mi5ville, .hina, The Scar K,ondon* Pan Macmillan, !! L, p. ".

Mark P. Williams

44

4; and international tradeF the consolidation of the state in the seventeenth cent(ryF and the transition to modern capitalism.'94 <n his representation of the sea in The Scar, Mi5ville provides (s 6ith a concrete e3ample +y 6hich polities physically, and politically and ling(istically, demonstrate their (nderlying po6er ine/(alities. <t is an e3ample 6here metaphor and politics can +e sho6n as concretely related +ased on social relations* the imaginary platea( of the sea is claimed and named contrarily +y different polities +(t it is al6ays the same totality. The sea is also a po6erf(l space for imaginary advent(re, representing a permanent 6ildness of piracy and (nkno6n creat(res. This is 6hy The Scar is set on a pirate (topia, the floating city of Armada +(ilt from a vast flotilla of stolen ships. The 0car of the title is a material location in Aas ,ag 6here ra6 possi+ilities Kperhaps /(ant(m pro+a+ilities, perhaps alternate (niverses, Mi5ville leaves it (ndecidedL can +e tapped into and mined* this is the o+Eect or location the pirate leaders of Armada, the ,overs, are seeking +eca(se it contains great po6er. <n (sing this literalised metaphor as the o+Eect of a /(est, The Scar seems to +e +ased partly on a co(nter1reading of postmodernist philosophy 6hich informs Michael ?ardt and Antonio HegriCs Empire K !!!L, 6here they attempt to form(late a criti/(e of contemporary glo+al capital and international la6. <n +etween E6ual 2ights, Mi5ville deals 6ith the ideas of ?ardt and HegriCs Empire, and certain motifs in The Scar echo this engagement. Empire traces the transnational e3changes of capital and determines them to +e a ne6 force, the regime of empire, 6hich affects the totality of gloa+al e3change* glo+alisation is form(lated as a kind of repressive tolerance 6hich can only +e resisted from 6ithin the flo6s and transnational e3changes 6hich characterise it. <n The Scar, the city of Armada e3ists nomadically at the literal
'94

Mi5ville, .hina, +etween E6ual 2ights4 $ Mar ist Theor" of International Law K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!'L, p. ";9.

Mark P. Williams

4;

;! +order +et6een the po6ers of all other states* floating according to the dictates of its o6n leaders, across the non1territory of the open sea. <t is th(s a state 6itho(t fi3ed +orders and an implicit challenge to states 6ith +orders, f(lfilling some of the demands of the nomadic ideals proposed +y the postmodernist philosophers 6ho infl(ence ?ardt and Hegri, Dele(=e and >(attari. Dele(=e and >(attariCs 6ork in $nti)>e!ipus K";9 L and $ Thousan! Plateaus K";4!L attempts to conceive a model of non1capitalist e3changes +ased on the idea that the social po6er of resistance proceeds hori=ontally against the hierarchical str(ct(res of capitalist e3change, in essentially anarchic e3changes +et6een gro(ps on the fringes of capitalist dominanceF they descri+e this (sing a metaphor +ased on the model of spreading plants and f(ngi, in opposition to the hierarchical or Bar+orescentC str(ct(res they identify 6ith capitalist prod(ction, the rhi=ome. To e3press their idea of hori=ontal e3changes 6hich can resist the logic of capitalism Dele(=e and >(attari (se the rhetorical refrains Band#and#and#C, '9; and Beither#or#orC'4! as concept(al motifs to convey their ideas of ho6 heterogeneity and m(ltiplicity can form resistance to the f(nctions of modern glo+al capital e3change thro(gh non1hierarchical and nomadic forms of organisation. Dele(=e and >(attari cele+rate the li+erating potential of polysemy in opposition to +inary oppositions and fi3ed categories as a 6ay of imagining ne6 social possi+ilitiesF their philosophy can th(s +e identified as related to ,eft anarchism. <n Connecte!4 What it means to Live in the Networ- Societ" K !!$L, 0teven 0haviro proposes that their philosophy is of partic(lar relevance to fantastic 6riting, and dra6s on Mi5villeCs
'9;

Dele(=e, >illes, and >(attari, )eli3, $ Thousan! Plateaus trans. Arian Mass(mi K,ondon and He6 Iork* .ontin((m, N";49O !!%L, p. 9 '4! Dele(=e and >(attari, BWhereas the PeitherDorQ claims to mark decisive choices +et6een imm(ta+le terms Kthe alternative* either this or thatL, the schi=ophrenic Peither#or#orQ refers to the system of possi+le perm(tations +et6een differences that al6ays amo(nt to the same as they shift and slide a+o(tC from $nti)>e!ipus4 Capitalism an! Schi1ophrenia trans. -o+ert ?(rley, Mark 0eem and ?elen -. ,ane K,ondon and He6 Iork* .ontin((m, N";9 O !!%L, p."$.

Mark P. Williams

;!

;" Per!i!o Street Station among other te3ts to ill(strate his o6n (se of their philosophy. 0haviro links Dele(=e and >(attari 6ith Mi5villeCs theorisation of fantasy as an e3pression of revol(tionary potential implicitly present in Mar3, he 6rites* The Mar3ist idea of crisis, AatailleCs notion of e3pendit(re, and Dele(=e and >(attariCs concept of (ndecida+ility, are all 6ays of 6alking in +et6eenJof invoking e tra&eingJin order to oppose the solidity, the inertia, and the seeming self1evidence of the act(al. They are 6ays of finding am+ig(o(s points of potential, gaps in the linear chain of ca(sality, (ne3pected openings to ne6, emergent processes. Where deconstr(ction can only see (ndecida+ility as the aporia of rational tho(ght, leading to a paralysis of the 6ill, Dele(=e and >(attari rather 6elcome it as a stim(l(s to +oth tho(ght and action* Bthe (ndecida+le is the germ and loc(s par e3cellence of revol(tionary decisionsC.'4"

0haviro conc(rs 6ith Mi5ville that it is the potential of ref(sal 6hich characterises the revol(tionary potential of the imaginaryF 6here 0haviro 6rites BNtOhe a+sence of any cognitive gro(nding for o(r actions is precisely their condition of possi+ilityC, '4 he echoes Mi5villeCs conception of fantasy as that 6hich inheres in material la+o(r, +(t Mi5ville takes this conception f(rther. Dele(=e and >(attari s(ggest that resistance to glo+al capital is essentially non1hierarchical and nomadicF Mi5ville, follo6ing ?ardt and Hegri, seems to s(ggest in The Scar that nomadic and non1hierarchical relationships 6ill al6ays +e determined +y ine/(alities in social po6er. )or 0haviro BNcOrisis, (ndecida+ility NandO e3pendit(reC are the metaphysical concepts 6hich +est descri+e the net6ork society,'4$ they are conditions of postmodernity, +(t Mi5villeCs Mar3ist theory of international la6 ill(strates ho6 these conditions might +e said to characterise all glo+al e3changes, incl(ding those of pre1net6orked societies, thro(gh the glo+al character of capitalist e3pansion as it negotiates social pro+lems s(ch as sovereignt" 6hich determine ho6 civil societies interact. Mi5ville 6rites*
'4"

0haviro, /(oting Dele(=e, Plateaus Kp. %9$L, Connecte!4 What it means to Live in the NetworSociet" KMinneapolis and ,ondon* University of Minnesota Press, !!$L, p. %. '4 <+id. '4$ 0haviro, 0teven, Connecte!, p. $.

Mark P. Williams

;"

; <t 6o(ld +e a postmodern commonplace to claim that civili=ation Kor anything elseL is defined +y its BotherC, in this case the B(ncivili=edC. ?o6ever, in this instance the cr(cial antithesis of Bcivili=edC 6as B semi) civili=edCJthose states 6hich 6ere neither +eyond the p(rvie6 of la6, nor sovereign, +(t B/(asi1sovereignC N#.O 0emi1civili=ed is not, as it might appear, a mediating f(dge +et6een t6o opposites, +(t the generative pro&lematic for the ta onom" of Pcivili1ation0 . Aeca(se Bcivili=ationC is not a disc(rsive strategy for BotheringC, +(t a res(lt of the parado3es of act(ally1 e3isting sovereignty.'4%

Day is not nightJ+(t neither is it d(sk or da6n or eclipseJ(ndecida+ility in one category can prod(ce hierarchies even as it (ndermines themF the themes of The Scar are the same as those of +etween E6ual 2ights, and those present in Per!i!o Street Station. Mi5villeCs common (nderlying thesis that the crisis of (ndecida+ility

proceeds not from the (tterly (nlike K+inary oppositionsL +(t from the identifia+le, the similar and the shared* 6hat appears to +e a categorical +l(r creating a platea( of e/(ality +et6een B+inaryC terms still operates according to social po6er relations. This political thesis can +e seen in all of Mi5villeCs monsters and peoples, from the -emade and f-eemade to the gar(da and grindylo6 and from He6 .ro+(=on itself to the floating city of Armada to the other cities enco(ntered or descri+ed in The Scar* 6hat is e/(al in one 6ay 6ill form, (nder the social conditions of capital, hierarchies of po6erJ+(t f(ll kno6ledge of this permits the possi+ility of a(tonomo(s activities s(ch as resistance. )or e3ample, the city of ?igh .romlech, is descri+ed as a city 6here the living and the dead e3ist side +y side +(t Uther Do(lCs description of it Kas an indigeneL presents a series of more fl(id categories +ased on social processes* B<tCs a misconception,C he said, Bto think that ?igh .romlech is all thanati. The /(ick are there too.C N#.O BWe are a minority, itCs tr(e. And of those +orn every year many are farm1+red, kept in cages till theyCre of strength, 6hen they can +e sn(ffed and recast as =om+ies.
'4%

Mi5ville, +etween E6ual 2ights, pp. %9J%4.

Mark P. Williams

;$ :thers are raised +y the aristocracy (ntil they come of age, and are slain and 6elcomed to dead society. A(t#C ?is voice petered o(t, and he +ecame introspective for a moment. BA(t then thereCs ,iveside. The ghetto. ThatCs 6here the tr(e /(ick live. My mother 6as prospero(s. We lived at the +etter end. BThere are Eo+s that only the living can do. 0ome are man(al, too dangero(s to risk giving to =om+ies & theyCre e3pensive to animate, +(t one can al6ays +reed more of the /(ick.C ?is voice 6as deadpan. BAnd for those l(cky eno(gh, for the cream & the livemen and live6ifes, the /(ick gentry & there are the ta+oo Eo+s that the thanati 6onCt to(ch, at 6hich the /(ick can make a decent living.C'4' M(ltiplicity in s(ch passages as this is linked to concrete social positions. There are several kinds of death in this speech* the living 6ho are to +ecome =om+ies are Bsn(ffedC, 6hile the gentry are BslainCF the Bta+ooC Eo+s of the livemen ad live6ifes remind (s inevita+ly of the historical stat(s of 8e6s in .hristian E(rope. Do(lCs mother has herself Bp(t do6nCF B,ive6ife Do(l +ecame Dead6ife Do(lC, she 6as not BrecastC, like a tool or an animal 6ith a p(rposive role, +(t chose to Eoin dead society.'47 The distinction +et6een the living 6ho are Bfarm +redC and the Btr(e liveC 6ho are a BminorityC is a /(estion of categories of +ecoming and of c(lt(ral definition Ka fl(id constr(ct dependent (pon an ar+itrary relationship 6ith concrete social BgivensC s(ch as classL. ,ater 6e learn that there is yet another category, socially tolerated +(t not given stat(s, the a+1dead s(ch as vampires 6ho form a lesser caste, e3isting e/(ally +et6een the other t6o categories in +iological terms +(t +eneath &oth in social termsF Do(lCs decision to leave this polity can +e seen as an act of a(tonomy 6hich resisted a social order in 6hich he 6o(ld other6ise have to have had himself Bp(t do6nC to advance socially, or face loss of social stat(s and +eing Bsn(ffedC. The 0car dra6s comparisons +et6een He6 .ro+(=on and the other cities descri+ed thro(gh character e3changes 6hich reflect dialectically the c(lt(ral ass(mptions of partic(lar city1states.
'4' '47

Mi5ville, The Scar, p. $$%. <+id.

Mark P. Williams

;$

;% The prose of The Scar is intensively freighted 6ith f(rther comparisonsF 6here in Per!i!o Street Station this might have f(nctioned to s(ggest the m(ltic(lt(ral perspectives held 6ithin the over6eening hegemony of the city state of He6 .ro+(=on, in this second novel it serves the more pointed p(rpose of reminding the reader that the story takes place in a space 6hich is literally +et6een c(lt(res. The first passage referring to the magical Ktha(mat(rgicL li/(id commodity -ockmilk descri+es it as +eing 6orth Bseveral times its considera+le 6eight in gold, or diamonds, or oil or +loodCF'49 6hile the people kno6n as the grindylo6 of the >engris are tho(ght to +e Ba/(atic daemons or monsters or degenerate cross+red men and 6omen, depending on 6hich story one +elievedCF '44 and later, the leviathan1creat(re, the avanc KBThe mo(ntain1that1s6ims, the god6hale, the greatest +east ever to visit o(r 6orldC'4;L is descri+ed as moving (sing Bfins or filaments or pa6s or gods kne6 6hatC.';! Each comparison s(ggests interpretive (ncertainty or (ndecida+ility instead of sing(lar Btr(thC K6e never, for vario(s reasons, find o(t 6hat lim+s, if any, might provide the avanc 6ith motilityL +(t +et6een them there are al6ays po6er relations. Mi5ville demonstrates the po6er of c(lt(rally determined interpretations to the reader thro(gh the focaliser of Aellis .old6ine, 6hose perspective is a similar kind of a+stract individ(alism 6hich characterises <saac in the early part of Per!i!o Street Station. Thro(gh AellisC eyes Mi5ville gives (s a perspective on the foreign people, kno6n as grindylo6, of The >engris 6hich ill(strates the limitations of a non1 dialectic perspective. The 6ay Aellis interprets 6hat she sees gets to the heart of the novelCs themes of s(+Eectivity and e/(ality. ?er first enco(nter 6ith the grindylo6 is

'49 '44

Mi5ville, The Scar, p. "7'. <+id. , p. " 9. '4; <+id. , p. ";!. ';! <+id. , p. $;9.

Mark P. Williams

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;' thro(gh the te3t of 0ilas )ennecCs note+ook and AellisC reading of it demonstrates the shortcomings and preE(dices of her a+stract perspective* There 6ere lists of 6ords* the Eottings of someone trying to learn a foreign lang(age. BMost of that st(ffCs from The >engris,C N)ennecO said. NAellisO t(rned slo6ly thro(gh the pages of no(ns and ver+s, and came to a little section like a diary, 6ith dated entries 6ritten in a shorthand code she co(ld make little of, 6ords pared do6n to t6o or three letters, p(nct(ation dispensed 6ith. 0he sa6 commodity prices, and scri++led descriptions of the grindylo6 themselves, (npleasant little pencil sketches of fig(res 6ith prodigio(s eyes and teeth and o+sc(re lim+s, flat eel1tails. There 6ere heliotypes attached to the pages, e3ec(ted f(rtively, it seemed, in dim lightF (nclear sepia tints, discolo(red and 6ater1stained, the monstrosity of the fig(res they depicted e3aggerated +y +listers and imp(rities in the paper.';" Aellis here accepts )ennecCs diary on an a+stract level, not connecting it 6ith the concrete social relationships that )ennec m(st have engaged in to collect the information it containsF she essentialises the grindylo6 in m(ch the same 6ay <saac did 6ith the gar(da in Per!i!o Street Station. The pro+lem of the scene for Aellis .old6ine, is precisely one of reading. 0he cannot BreadC )ennec, as here she cannot read his shorthand* BNsOhe tried to parse him, to (nderstand the grammar of his actions and reactions, and she co(ld not.C '; )ennecCs intentions Kand hence his deceptionsL remain opa/(e to her even 6hen they are displayed in plain sight, +eca(se Aellis does not interpret them in terms of their social conte3tF a+straction conceals their meaning. )ennecCs mission, the story he tells to Aellis, amo(nts to :nly1Io(1 .an10ave1He61.ro+(=on1)rom1The1>rindylo6 and some6hat overshado6s the +ook 6hich )ennec deli+erately leaves vag(e* he allo6s AellisC a+stract interpretation to conceal the social relations implied +y his notes. <t is her leafing thro(gh )ennecCs +ook 6hich divides his te3t into sections for (s, 6hich she Kand 6eL read separately. )irst, the BEottingsC of lang(ageF second, a section li-e a diary f(ll of dates and fig(resF
';" ';

Mi5ville, The Scar, p. "'%. <+id. , p. "''.

Mark P. Williams

;'

;7 thirdly, physical descriptions 6ith Bheliotypes attachedC. All of this is follo6ed +y

maps and 6hat 6e are told are Bs(ggestive sketches of machineryC from The >engris, and finally Bscra6led diagrams of gashes and t(nnels N#O and mechanisms like locks and sl(ices.C';$ -ead dialectically, this co(ld +e seen as a narrative of a totality +(t Aellis, in separating each section into disEointed fragments and impressions, does not see it as s(ch. ,ike her impression of the grindylo6 it is all Bteeth and o+sc(re lim+sC 6itho(t the coherence of a +ody.';% This +(lging note+ook, 6hich Aellis a+stracts into dissonant parts, is a (nified corp(s of te3t. The Eotted lists of 6ords, taken in conE(nction 6ith Bcommodity pricesC imply the presence of sophisticated trade and c(lt(re as 6ell as lang(age. ';' <n the conte3t of depictions of o+Eectified anatomical sketch and Bf(rtiveC heliotypes, they imply something more sinister than trade or c(lt(ral e3change* they imply the st(dy of people as things. Aellis does not read the significance of this +eca(se the

grindylo6 are not f(lly BpeopleC to herF they are Ba/(atic daemons or monsters or degenerate cross+red men and 6omenC,';7 forms o(tside her e3perience of people or c(lt(re. Possi+le /(estions as to the motives for taking pict(res of people 6itho(t their permission cannot therefore occ(r to her +eca(se the grindylo6 are inscr(ta+le semi1people Kthree1fifths1h(man, perhapsL. Th(s, 6hen Aellis sees in the midst of this anthropological dissection of grindylo6 lang(age, c(lt(re, physiology, geography, technology and reso(rces, the incongr(o(s appearance of recognisa+ly familiar diagrams of Bmechanisms like locks and sl(icesC';9 Ki.e. h(man mechanisms imposed at the end of an assessment of non1h(man onesL she dra6s little inference from it. To

';$ ';%

Mi5ville, The Scar , p. "''. <+id., p. "'%. ';' <+id. ';7 <+id. , p. " 9. ';9 Mi5ville, The Scar, p. "''.

Mark P. Williams

;7

;9 her s(ch anthropological dissection is politically ne(tral, despite the oddity of the familiar mechanisms +eing appended to it. The attempt to descri+e social relationships is a political act* +eca(se Aellis reads )ennecCs note+ook as a+stract sections she does not see the ideological implications of o+Eectifying the grindylo6 as a people. The narrative of )ennecCs note+ook +egins 6ith the lang(age of the grindylo6 Kstanding for their c(lt(ral metanarrativeL +(t concl(des 6ith the imposition of h(man machinery, He6 .ro+(=oner civili=ation imposed over that of The >engris, s(ggesting imperialist e3pansion and con/(est. Iet the perspective re/(ired to make this assessment of )ennecCs te3t is missing at this point from the narrative of the novel and so it is not E(st Aellis 6ho is misreading 6hat is +eing presented to her +(t (s as readers as 6ell. Mi5ville is demonstrating to (s the dangero(s ass(mptions of c(lt(ral imperialism +y p(tting his reader in the position to misread Bforeign c(lt(reC as BmonsterC. Mi5villeCs very choice of genre points (s in this direction* pirates, lethal mos/(ito1people, sharks and similar creat(res all flo6ing across the high seasF like readers of ?odgsonCs +oats of the #len Carrig 6e e3pect the (nfamiliar to +e monstro(s and threatening and the h(mans to +e advent(ro(s and reso(rcef(l in this conte3t, +eing focalised aro(nd Aellis forces (s to make the same errors of E(dgement. Thro(gho(t The Scar, Mi5ville present criti/(es of +oth postcolonial and c(lt(ral s(premacist ass(mptions, for instance let (s consider the scenes at the clima3 of 0ilas )ennecCs narrative thread, detailing his escape from and recapt(re +y the grindylo6. Aellis thinks they are seeking a small fetish 6hich )ennec had in his

possession, the magic capa+ilities of 6hich he (sed to move a+o(t Armada (ndetected. The grindylo6 leader corrects Aellis 6ith (nderstanda+le contempt* B)or this yo( think 6e came@ This stone thing@ :(r mag(s fin@ ,ike primitives yo( think 6e a+ase o(rselves +efore gods carved in rock@ )or

Mark P. Williams

;9

;4 hoc(s1poc(s in trinkets@ N#.O Io( think 6e are children, 6e si+lings, to cross the 6orld for a p(issant toy@C';4 They re1read )ennecCs note+ook for herF 6here )ennec claimed it sho6ed a grindylo6 plot to invade He6 .ro+(=on Aellis realises that the story she 6as told 6as a precise inversion of the tr(th, a mystification of ideology* the grindylo6Cs motivations in p(rs(ing Armada 6ere similar to her o6n in +etraying it, to save The >engris from New Cro&u1on. He6 .ro+(=on is the foreign force 6hich has +een operating +y stealth, and 6hich is planning an invasion to open (p ne6 trading ro(tes and effect a massive shift in economic po6er. The >rindylo6 leaderCs 6ords lend Aellis a fresh, non1h(man, non1He6 .ro+(=oner, set of eyes 6ith 6hich to regard the information in )ennecCs +ook* BThe salp vats. The 6eapon farms. The castle. :(r anatomy. A ga=etteer of the second city. And see here,C it said 6ith opa/(e tri(mph, Bcoastline maps. The mo(ntains +et6een the ocean and the .old .la6 0ea. Where o(r placements are. Where there are fiss(res, 6here the rock is 6eakest.C';; Mi5ville presents (s 6ith a co(nter1s(+Eectivity to /(estion the primacy of AellisC narrative similarly to the contrast +et6een <saacCs c(lt(ral gloss and those of the gar(da in He6 .ro+(=on. Per!i!o Street Station and The Scar demonstrate ho6 the social forms of a society determine, in insidio(s 6ays, the formation of individ(al s(+Eectivity 6ithin it. ?aving th(s esta+lished the character of He6 .ro+(=on as an imperialist, e3pansionist po6er in the international arena KThe ScarL, and its society as a m(ltic(lt(ral one governed +y a secretive parliament and a covert militia, a polity 6hose pro+lems and internal tensions are recognisa+le as criti/(es of li+eral democracy KPer!i!o Street StationL, Mi5ville t(rns ne3t revol(tion and ho6 that might affect s(+Eectivity.
';4 ';;

to the possi+ility of

Mi5ville, The Scar, pp. '%!J%". Mi5ville, The Scar5 p. '% .

Mark P. Williams

;4

;;

7: Re olutionary Su#<ecti ity as Resistance: fro" Slake+Moths and Scars to the %ron Council

?o6 is the revol(tionary imp(lse e3pressed in the Aas ,ag novels@

Mi5ville

concl(des his first t6o Aas ,ag novels 6ith radical e3pressions of s(+Eectivity in moments of crisis 6hich (nleash (ndecida+le energies 6ith the potential to change the societies in 6hich they occ(rF for narrative reasons, related to the concerns and agendas of the characters in each te3t, they do not res(lt in social revol(tions +(t do represent revol(tionary energies as fantastic forms 6hich defy e3isting social str(ct(res. At the concl(sion of Per!i!o Street Station, Mi5ville has <saac defeat the alien menace of the slake1moths. 0teven 0haviro descri+es them as manifestations of Bvampire1capitalC 6hich leaves its victims as B=om+ie1cons(mersC, 7!! themselves cons(medF the slake1moths feed on the conscio(sness of their victims, leaving them as h(sks, devoid of s(+Eectivity. 0haviro terms them Be3(dationsC of capital, 6riting that BNaOs psychic vampires 6ho prey on imagination and tho(ght, they enact the appropriation and acc(m(lation of h(man mental creativityC. 7!" Mi5ville has <saac defeat them +y creating sim(lacra of conscio(sness, ca(sing them to overfeed (ntil they +(rst. ?e does this +y performing a dialectical (nification of t6o seemingly incompati+le models of s(+Eectivity to prod(ce a state of radical (ndecida+ility A sim(lacr(m of h(man s(+Eectivity is created +y com+ining the minds of t6o of Mi5villeCs e/(ally s(rreal creations* the .onstr(ct .o(ncil, and the
7!! 7!"

0haviro, Connecte!, pp. "74J9". 0haviro, Connecte!, p. "9!.

Mark P. Williams

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$!! Weaver. The .onstr(ct .o(ncil is a machine intelligence composed of B6ill to e3istence and aggrandi=ement, shorn of all psychologyC, 7! conscio(sness. s(+Eectivity as

)or the .onstr(ct .o(ncil, 6hen descri+ing its o6n genesis,

conscio(sness is conceived as a dialectical process of 6hich its o6n e3pansion is the only inevita+le res(lt* BNoO(r viral minds connected and o(r steam1pistoned +rains did not do(+le in capacity, +(t flo6ered N,O NaOn e3ponential +looming N,O N6Oe t6o +ecame <C.7!$ This is a dialectical (nity, +(t it is (sed +y the .onstr(ct .o(ncil at the service of an a+sol(te desire for control thro(gh collectivist assimilation* the .o(ncil is a collective 6hich denies the val(e of the individ(al. .ontrarily, the Weaver is an individ(alist entity 6hich sees no need for collectivism. The Weaver is a giant, sentient spider 6hich lives entirely on an aesthetic level 6hose s(+Eectivity is Ban endless (nfathoma+le ste6 of image and desire and cognition and emotionC. 7!% These are contrasted 6ith the mind of an (n6illing h(man participant 6ho <saac and company have kidnapped. The com+ination of the Weaver and the .onstr(ct

.o(ncilCs conscio(sness thro(gh <saacCs Bcrisis engineC is rendered as an e/(ation 6hich is realised as B W"X1C 6here is the h(man mind, represented +y the character

of AndreiE, the WeaverCs mind is " and the .onstr(ct .o(ncilCs mind is 1. Mi5villeCs interest in the concepts of totality and hy+ridity as part of a dialectic vie6 of society are manifested in this scene thro(gh the calc(lations performed +y the crisis engine* B" and 1 6ere (nified +o(nded 6holes. And most cr(cially, so 6as , AndreECs mind, the reference point for the 6hole model. It was integral to the form of each that the" were totalities C7!'Jthe crisis engine then compares this model 6ith its sim(ltaneo(s antinomy B Y"X1C, prod(cing a radical

7!

Mi5ville, Per!i!o, p. 99!. Mi5ville, Per!i!o, p. ''7. 7!% Mi5ville, Per!i!o, p. 97;. 7!' Mi5ville, Per!i!o N<talics in originalO, p. 99 .
7!$

Mark P. Williams

$!!

$!" (ndecida+ility as an emergent /(ality of attempting to resolve m(ltiple contrary (nderstandings of s(+Eectivity. The Weaver and .onstr(ct .o(ncil can +e read as contrary interpretations of the fantastic as mechanistically codified or as radically (ndecida+le, and as oppositional politics of genre, or as a (nification of generic modes, as Mark Ao(ld does. )or Mark Ao(ld, this scene is key to Mi5villeCs theory of fantasy, he relates it to Mi5villeCs negotiation 6ith the politics of genre* NTOhe lesson that Mi5ville offers is that the emergent level is not merely the prod(ct of the others* +y adding " to 1 one may prod(ce , +(t itself cannot +e red(ced to " pl(s 1 N#.O 8(st as in Per!i!o Street Station the khepri ,in is not a 6oman 6ith an insectCs head and the gar(da Iag is not an eagle 6ith a manCs +ody, so the novel is not Ba science fiction story set in a fantasy s(+1creationC.7!7 Ao(ld relates the (ndecida+ility of s(+Eectivity in this scene 6ith the (ndecida+ility of genre category, +(t it can also +e said to +e more directly a negotiation 6ith 0(vinCs distinction +et6een 0) and fantasy. The Weaver is a 6holly individ(alist s(+Eect 6hose speech is o+f(scatory and conf(sing, an analog(e for the 0(vinian concept(alisation of fantasy as a 6holly ideological constr(ct, p(re estrangement. The .onstr(ct .o(ncil, as an artificial intelligence 6hose collectivist philosophy reEects the stat(s of the individ(al, forms a co(nter1ideological constr(ct of 0) as a mechanically materialist form 6hich deval(es the non1cognitive. These models +oth are and are not s(fficient to descri+e either the Weaver or the .onstr(ct .o(ncil* as red(ctive models they s(ggest that each is incomplete (nto itself, +(t, contrarily, +oth are also B(nified +o(nded 6holesC.7!9 This can +e seen as an e3ploration of cognitive estrangementF the (nity of the like and (nlike, in this moment of crisis is a do(+le movement of de1alienation of alien creat(res, and the defamiliarisation of h(man
7!7 7!9

Ao(ld, Mark, BWhat Gind of Monster are Io(@C, from 0) 0t(dies vol. $! K !!$L, p. %!4. Mi5ville, Per!i!o, p. 99 .

Mark P. Williams

$!"

$! conscio(sness. The crisis prod(ced represents the form of the fantastic itself in the sense meant +y -osemary 8ackson, fantasy as BhesitationC. The energies of

(ndecida+ility (nleashed +y this radical e3ploration of s(+Eectivity and form are potentially revol(tionary, they do not alter the social 6orld of He6 .ro+(=on +eca(se their energies are diverted into the destr(ction of the slake1moths, saving the city +(t maintaining the stat(s /(o. 0imilarly, in The Scar Mi5ville presents the eponymo(s 0car as a place of revol(tionary potential on Aas ,ag, +(t one 6hich is so(ght p(rely for the po6er of a single dominant social gro(p. At the clima3 of The Scar, Armada, to6ed +y the avanc, finally gets close to the mysterio(s location of BThe 0carC, the place 6here the >hosthead Empire +roke the 6orld and 6here Bpossi+ilitiesC can +e mined. The nat(re of this B0carC +egins to s(ggest itself thro(gh small details* BNoO+Eects p(t do6n 6ere discovered inches from their placeJin places 6here they might have +een left, +(t had not +een. Things that 6ere dropped +roke and then 6ere not +roken, and perhaps had not +een dropped +(t 6aited on the side.C7!4 This has +een prepared for +y Uther Do(lCs >hosthead artefact, theBMight+ladeC KBUmVight not meaning potency, +(t potentialit"CL the BPossi+le 06ordC, earlier in the te3t. 7!; When activated the

Might+lade can sim(ltaneo(sly deliver all the +lo6s that it might have str(ck in com+at* it implies that the nat(re of The 0car is a location 6here things that might +e real, potentialities +oth possi+le and impossi+le, are real. ?o6ever, this presentation of the 0car co(ld itself +e fictitio(s, a tall1tale told +y the cact(s man ?edrigall to affect the po6er str(ggles taking place 6ithin Armada. Mi5ville focalises the description of The 0car solely thro(gh ?edrigall. ?e seemed to have fled earlier in the novel +(t 6hen he reappears, claims to +e an
7!4 7!;

Mi5ville, The Scar, p. ''4. <+id. , p. $$7.

Mark P. Williams

$!

$!$ alternate ?edrigall, the last s(rvivor of an alternate Armada 6hich literally fell into The 0car. The other characters are forced to /(estion themselves, spec(lating that he is BNeOither mad#C, BNeOither he is a liar, or#C or some other, (ndecida+le possi+ility.
7"!

We are left 6ith hanging ellipses over the opposites of BeitherDorC 6hich leave

them (nresolved. ?edrigallCs story, his version of events, is presented B6ith a trained fa+lerCs elo/(enceC +(t also 6ith Ba tra(ma that 6as frightening to senseC.7"" 0ince the omniscient narration never takes is as far as The 0car itself 6e are left only 6ith ?edrigallCs KpotentiallyL tall1tale and the kno6ledge that it might serve the political p(rposes of at least one of the factions on +oard Armada. The scene f(nctions as an allegory of metanarrative* the Btr(thC of the story is (nverifia+le, +(t ho6 it is interpreted +y fig(res 6ith political po6er 6ill determine ho6 people react to itF it is overheard +y Aellis .old6ine and Tanner 0ack KBTanner 6as kno6n, and he 6as respectedC, BIo( listened to Tanner, and yo( +elieved himC 7" L. Mi5villeCs

development of the concl(sion s(ggests that even 6ith a m(ltiplicity of metanarrative options and a sense of (ndecida+ility, some narratives 6ill al6ays have more po6er than others +ased on act(ally e3isting social relations KTanner +elieves ?edrigallCs story of The 0car, the ,overs do not so there is a co(p +eca(se Tanner has the respect of the mass of Armadans, not +eca(se he is correct or other6iseL. 0ocial relations determine the acceptance or reEection of the fantastic, that is, of revol(tionary potential. Mi5villeCs plots in the first t6o Aas ,ag novels concern revol(tionary potential 6hose energies are managed +y the forces of la6 and order K Per!i!o Street StationL or +y an internal po6er str(ggle KThe ScarL. <n Iron Council Mi5ville ret(rns the reader to He6 .ro+(=on in a 6ay 6hich reiterates and transforms the 6orld of
7"! 7""

<+id. , p. '7%. <+id. 7" Mi5ville, The Scar, p. '94.

Mark P. Williams

$!$

$!% Aas ,ag as 6e kno6 it from the preceding t6o novelsF the novel engages 6ith /(estions of revol(tion and the preservation of the revol(tionary spirit across time and distance. <n the te3t Mi5ville (nifies the radical e3pression of s(+Eectivity 6ith the generation of social crisis, creating circ(mstances 6hich might allo6 a radical comm(ne s(ch as the <ron .o(ncillors to imagine themselves as a (nified force in a s(ccessf(l revol(tion. The plot of Iron Council concerns a gro(p of political re+els 6ho are leaving the city1state of He6 .ro+(=on to seek o(t a gro(p of other renegades, sympathisers 6ho they can inform a+o(t the stirrings of revol(tion 6ithin their former home. He6 .ro+(=on is at 6ar +oth 6ithin and 6itho(t* a+road it is fighting a 6ar of Bli+erationC against the TeshF at home the Parliament is attempting to p(t do6n an (prising centred aro(nd several dissident gro(ps. T6o gro(ps of re+els form the loci of the plot* :ri and the mem+ers of the -(nagate -ampant Kor BDo(+le1-CL on the one hand and 8(dah ,o6 and the mem+ers of the separatist gro(p, The <ron .o(ncil on the other. The <ron .o(ncil itself is originally a vast train, the vang(ard of the <ts p(rpose is to lay tracks across the

Transcontinental -ailroad Tr(st KT-TL.

continent and there+y advance the <mperialist e3pansionism of He6 .ro+(=on. 8(dah ,o6 6as originally a land1s(rveyor sent o(t into the s6amps and mangroves to prepare the 6ay for the railroad, and 6itnessing the creation of golems as a means of self1defence +y the stiltspear tri+es 6ho are +eing displaced from their land +y the rail6ay sides 6ith the natives, t(rning against the T-T. 8(dah ,o6Cs name connects him 6ith the story of the >olem of :ld Prag(e and the narratives of -a++i ,iva, or 8(dah Ae=alel ,oe6, a fig(re 6ho preserves and defends his people 6hen they are

Mark P. Williams

$!%

$!' (nder threat* BNaOnd he 6as named 8(dah ,iva, the ,ion, for he 6o(ld +e like a lion 6ho does not permit his c(+s to +e mangledC.7"$ 8(dah +ecomes a golemistF golemism is e3plained as the making meaningf(l of inherent potential 6ithin (nliving materials, Bnot orderNingO it +(t pointNingO o(t the order that inheres (nseen, al6ays already thereC, B6hat 6e do is an intervention N#.O a reorganisationC.7"% This metaphor ret(rns (s to the significance of 8(dah ,o6Cs name* the terms BinterventionC, BreorganisationC and BorderC as true or!er carry concepts of comm(nity action and are freighted 6ith Mar3ian and anarcho1comm(nist connotations. This is follo6ed 6ith a designation of BNgOolemtry NasO an interruption N#.O a s(+ordinating of the static IS to the active $MC, 7"' 6hich makes the >olem the very em+odiment of Mar3Cs description of la+o(r from Captial5 vol79* a living processing of the material, the very act of (sing. When 8(dah p(ts his golems to (se as a revol(tionary +reak a6ay from the T-T, golemism em+odies the sei=ing of the mode of prod(ction from capitalism. The revol(tionary +reak, the act 6hich created the <ron .o(ncil from the train, +reaches the nat(re of imposed a(thority and the nat(re of the la+o(rersC e3istence* :(t ahead, protected +y cact(s and -emade g(ards, is a track1laying team. They move frenetic, in a sped1(p m(mming of their (s(al 6ork, over a r(++le of nim+ostrat(s stone. They are picked off +y militia targeteers, falling 6o(nded or killed over the rails, and their comrades p(sh them aside and contin(e their (rgent 6ork. 8(dah comes in fighting. The militia 6ill not stop the train* they 6ill kill many +(t there are only yards left, and even 6ith the c(ll of track1layers Kanother man do6n 6ith a +lood +lossomL the train 6ill go thro(gh.7"7

7"$

-osen+erg, I(dl, BThe >olemC Kpp. "7 J 4L from #reat Tales of @ewish 'antas" an! the >ccult compiled, translated and introd(ced +y 8oachim He(groschel KWoodstock, He6 Iork* The :verlook Press, ";49L, p. "7%. 7"% Mi5ville, Iron Council KAasingstoke* Macmillan, !!%L Nhereafter ICO, p. "9". 7"' <+id. , p. "9 . 7"7 Mi5ville, IC, p. $'.

Mark P. Williams

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$!7 ?ere Mi5ville +orro6s the lang(age of the carnivales/(e* in its very desperation to escape and fight thro(gh the last of the rocky o+stacles to o(tr(n the militia, 6ork and festivity and the sacrificing of life have +ecome mingled into the Bsped1(p m(mming of their (s(al 6orkC. 0ocial relations are (nchanged +y the crises in the societies of He6 .ro+(=on and Armada in the first t6o novels* -emade are overdetermined criminals, f-eemade are o(tla6s, each ossified into social strataF Armadan social hierarchies are firmly gro(nded even if Armada itself is a floating, fl(idly1defined str(ct(re. The formation of the <ron .o(ncil is /(alitatively different +eca(se the first thing it does is disr(pt and ref(te social distinctions s(ch as 6orker, criminal, -emade, prostit(te and s(rveyor, and actively organise its society differently. <n t(rning the microcosm of its 6orld (pside do6n socially it res(lts in a sympathetic concrete change in the city of He6 .ro+(=on, the macrocosm from 6hich it has +roken a6ay* it +ecomes, as a 6hole, a sym+ol of revol(tionary potential. The <ron .o(ncil comes to e3ist for itself, that is, for the sake of its common comm(nity. As a self1creating comm(nity, the Bperpet(al trainC takes (p its o6n fo(nding principles of indent(red la+o(r and social marginalisation and re1lays them in a different 6ay, cr(cially, for itself. The constant dra6ing (p and re1laying of the t6o miles of track on 6hich the train sits +oth allegorises this class, gender and race inflected str(ggle and also em+odies it since the 6orkers Kfree and -emadeL do6n tools and strike to protest together for +etter pay and then take over and (se the means of prod(ction for themselves. <nstead of prod(cing the continent1spanning rail6ay intended +y Weather Wright+y and the T-T they prod(ce themselves, a small nomadic comm(ne 6hich s(+sists and s(rvives on its o6n limited reso(rces and

Mark P. Williams

$!7

$!9 good6ill and trade from other comm(nities. The very movement of the <ron .o(ncil has a kind of poetry of toil devoted to it. The poetry of the <ron .o(ncilCs motion is sym+olic* it is la+o(r 6hich is no longer alienated from those 6ho prod(ce and perform it +(t it is also a Eoy in ind(stry* the prod(ction of a hy+rid of the living and the mechanical dancing to a shared rhythm. <t is presented as a dance, +eca(se the trainCs 6heels are dogged +y daemons of motion, elementals of rhythm living off the pistonCs mechanised +eat and of the movements of the people 6ho make the .o(ncil. This is the po6er of

mechanically KreLprod(ced m(sic as a 6ork of art 6hich moves, or motivates, people viscerally* mechanism and flesh responding, each to the other, for the li+erating pleas(re of having freedom to moveF every time they B6orkC they e3press their freedom and maintain their independence from He6 .ro+(=on. Th(s, the <ron

.o(ncil manifests as a (topian comm(nity, an ideal of self1making or self1 determination and empo6erment in the face of historical circ(mstance. ,a+o(r for the <ron .o(ncillors is more a+o(t co1operation than competition +(t temporal +y the necessity of a violent opposition to He6 .ro+(=on militia. Ultimately the <ron .o(ncillors do not either overthro6 or get cr(shed +y, the militia, +eca(se 8(dah ,o6 intervenes. ?e creates a time1golem 6hich free=es the <ron .o(ncil E(st +efore it can arrive* the <ron .o(ncil is preserved as a revol(tion 6hich has not arrived +(t is still coming. <t is the am+ig(o(s free=ing of the .o(ncil that prompts online disc(ssions of Iron Council, s(ch as that of 0cott Eric Ga(fman, to consider the revol(tion of the <ron .o(ncillors as a fail(re* Mi5ville says that he doesnCt +elieve that someone 6ho lives +efore the revol(tion can really depict the post revol(tionary society, so therefore he co(ldnCt really have 6ritten it as s(cceeding. ?e also co(ldnCt 6rite it as a fail(re +eca(se that 6o(ld +e typical no+le1+(t1doomed tragic defeatism. 0o he had to free=e itF 8(dahCs fail(re is his. 8(dah is of co(rse a golemist, Mark P. Williams $!9

$!4 and 6hat greater golemist than an a(thor@ The righteo(s e3ec(tion of 8(dah seems to some e3tent to +e an a(thorial recognition of Kperhaps inevita+leL fail(re. < 6ill d(+ this phenomenon Demi(rgic >(ilt.7"9 < s(ggest that <ron .o(ncilCs plot does not BfailC the revol(tion +(t changes the terms on 6hich 6e m(st read the revol(tion and the revol(tionary 6ithin Mi5villeCs novelF moreover, in its concl(sion it even changes the terms on 6hich 6e read it as a novel. The final scenes 6here 8(dah creates the time1golem form an elevation of 8(dahCs skill as far as he can physically take it, and also an elevation of the novelCs mode of address as far as Mi5ville can take it. ?e has to free=e the <ron .o(ncillors in time, effectively take them o(tside the te3t and onto a different plane, not E(st to avoid or defer the climactic fail(re or s(ccess of their proposed revol(tion, +(t specifically to create the pers(asive impression and idea of a possi+le revol(tion for his reader +y placing the <ron .o(ncil into a radically (ndecida+le stateF the <ron .o(ncil +ecomes an artefact 6herein is preserved the revol(tionary spirit.

Conclusions: %f Iron Council is a Mar,ist Fantasy, $hat does it do for us;

< have sho6n the 6ays in 6hich Mi5villeCs conception of fantasy f(nctions as a realisation of a Mar3ist dialectical materialism. <n demonstrating this it has +ecome apparent that Mi5villeCs conception of fantasy is (northodo3 and act(ally dra6s (pon the forms and approaches of anarchism, 0(rrealism and post1";7!s antinomian and He6 ,eft manifestations disc(ssed in relation to Moorcock, .arter, Moore and Morrison in the present thesis. Hot only do his aesthetic interests demonstrate their political content +(t his politics has an aesthetic corollary. ?e has said in p(+lic appearances that his fondness for Bma3imalistC prose in fantastic fiction is +eca(se it
7"9

Ga(fman, 0cott Eric from $cephalous4 BThe 0toning of Adam -o+erts part C from http*DDacephalo(s.typepad.comDacephalo(sD !!7D!"DtheXstoningXofX.html, "$D"!D !!7.

Mark P. Williams

$!4

$!; provides a sense of +eing Be3citedly, radically h(m+le +efore the e3traordinariness of the 6orldC 6hen it invokes +oth the material comple3ity of the development of the material 6orld, and revels in ho6 that makes a person feel as a person in that material 6orld.7"4 <n that sense, he locates revol(tionary potential in the interaction of h(man, individ(al s(+Eectivity 6ith material artefacts as a meeting of the real and fantastic 6hich has a concrete social effect on other people.

7"4

Mi5ville, giving a speech in favo(r of Ma3imalism, University of East Anglia, BMinimalism vers(s Ma3imalismC, 7D!$D !!4.

Mark P. Williams

$!;

$"! We can see the importance of this if 6e reconsider Iron Council in light of the AenEaminian concept of the artefact. The po6er of an artefact as a material e3pression of the imaginary, capa+le of inspiring revol(tion is also important to Mi5villeCs contemporary, <an -. Mac,eodCs The Light $ges K !!$L 6here an artefact made of /(art=, the chalcedony, is created +y the female trollDchangeling Mistress 0(mmerton, and invested 6ith magic po6erf(l eno(gh to create a change in this 6orld* BNtOhe stone spoke to me, and < kne6 it 6o(ld speak to others 6hen its time came N#.O And the little things that happened to me thro(gh those long and empty years of 6aitingC, incl(ding the plot of the novel are Ball part of the same vast +(t ine3plica+le spellC conE(red (p +y the revol(tionary desire.7"; ?o6ever, there is a significant difference from Mi5villeCs Iron Council, even the creator of this artefact is cynical a+o(t the a+ility of the revol(tion to create a significantly +etter 6orld, it is more like an act of desperation. Mi5ville is more optimistic* the .o(ncil 6ill +e an inspirational artefact 6hich will affect changes in the f(t(reF 6here the chalcedony, as an o+Eect 6hich forms part of the te3t, has affected the characters within Mac,eodCs novel, the <ron .o(ncil +ecomes an artefact only at the end of the novel, e3tending its effect &e"on! the novel. The novel dra6s a clear analogy +et6een the creative endeavo(r that has gone into the act of forming and maintaining the .o(ncil as a comm(ne and the creative endeavo(r of fantasy. Preserved, it represents the act of fantasising as an analog(e for revol(tionary str(ggle and has +ecome an art o+Eect 6ith the potential to inspire others and 6hich is (ltimately imm(ne to attempts at co1 option +y the po6ers of ideology +eca(se it is irred(ci+le. )ree=ing the <ron .o(ncil in time distances them temporally s(ggest that politically committed politics can only +e e3pressed effectively thro(gh an act of aesthetic distancingF 8(dah ,o6Cs fello6

7";

Mac,eod, <an -., The Light $ges K,ondon* Pocket Aooks, !!$L, p. % 4.

Mark P. Williams

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$"" revol(tionaries disagree and kill him, +(t the e3istence of the time golem allo6s the .o(ncil to +e passed on to f(t(re revol(tionaries. The time golem Bstood into its a+life, a golem of so(nd and time, stood and did 6hat it 6as instr(cted to do, its instr(ction +ecome it, its instr(ction its e3istence, its command E(st &e and so it 6asC.7 ! Mi5ville renders the <ron .o(ncil an (ndecida+le +(t persistent demand for the f(t(re possi+ility of revol(tion. 0ympathisers of the <ron .o(ncillors 6rite that BTomorro6 the <ron .o(ncil 6ill move againC7 " and the final 6ords of the novel are (ltimately optimistic, (pholding the ideal of the <ron .o(ncil in speech the 6ay 8(dah preserves the .o(ncil in time* BIears might pass and 6e 6ill tell the story of the <ron .o(ncil and ho6 it 6as made, ho6 it made itself and 6ent, and ho6 it came +ack and is coming, is still comingC, BThey are al6ays comingC.7 Mi5ville makes the <ron .o(ncil a representation of the

revol(tion of the f(t(re* it has +ecome a memorial that can +e revisited Kphysically +y its sympathisersL and a story of the fantastic nat(re of revol(tion. <t is also a

metaphor for fantasy as a desire for the impossi+le 6hich can e3ist as a stor" of its own impossi&le !esire for !ifference an! change . The events of the narrative from the re+ellion of -emade and 6orkers, to travelling across the .acotopic 0tain, have left traces in the fantastical and m(ndane elements 6hich compose the <ron .o(ncil as a rich e3pression of its o6n creation as a fantasy. Mi5villeCs te3ts attempt to convey the str(ct(res of h(man creativity as tapestries of time and place, of real K+aseL and fantastic Kideological, s(perstr(ct(ralL materials 6hich are al6ays necessarily mi3ed one into the other. ?e s(ggests that fantastic forms can +ring Mar3ism closest to the e3pression of the irred(ci+le in art +eca(se, in emphasising its impossi+ility 6hile insisting on its e3istence as an
7 ! 7 " 7

Mi5ville, IC, pp. %'$J'%. Mi5ville, IC, p. %7;. <+id. , p. %9".

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$" impossi+le o+Eect, it can represent +oth the str(ggle to conceive of the 6orld as a totality and the str(ggle to change the 6orld 6hether or not that seems possi+le at any one historical moment. )antasy has Mar3ist potential for t6o reasons, +eca(se it ref(ses, it dissents from the real, and sho6s that the social, historical real is al6ays already a dialectical (nity comprised of -eal and fantastic componentsF and +eca(se it can locate the lived e3perience of the individ(al 6ithin the 6orld as a sens(o(s +eing irred(ci+le to their physical or ideological parts.

Mark P. Williams

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$"$

Radical Fantasy: (o$ards a /ernacular Modernis"

As this thesis has demonstrated, Michael Moorcock, Angela .arter, Alan Moore, >rant Morrison and .hina Mi5ville (se fantasy in a variety of 6ays to e3press their left radical politicsF analysing their 6ork ill(minates a series of interlocking de+ates over the distinctions +et6een different ideological (ses of the term BfantasyC. The /(estions 6hich have +een raised are central to ,eft socio1political perspectives on literat(re in general and fantasy literat(re in partic(lar* What is the social val(e of fantasy literat(re Kescapism or engagementL@F What val(es do specific techni/(es of fantasy 6riting tacitly perpet(ate Kaesthetic distance or political commitmentL@F and* What techni/(es can +e (sed to engage politically 6ith these ideological form(lations@ < have arg(ed that these /(estions str(ct(re the relationship of fantasy as a literary form to the material 6orld and have analysed ho6 each 6riter has engaged 6ith these /(estions in different 6ays. As ,eft radical criti/(e might +e descri+ed as that concerned 6ith e3pressing the relationship +et6een the material 6orld and the politics of changing the 6orld, so ,eft radical fantasy 6riting for the a(thors disc(ssed a+ove descri+es the relationship +et6een fantasy as the literat(re of the imagination and the real 6orld as a place in 6hich that literat(re interacts 6ith h(man material circ(mstances. This

Mark P. Williams

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$"% thesis forms an addition to the (nderstanding of fantasy as a mode consisting of f(==y sets +y e3ploring ho6 6ider c(lt(ral fields affect the positioning of 6riters 6ithin the modeF it is an attempt to ill(minate another a3is from 6hich to map fantasy as a social form. As the analysis of Moorcock, .arter, Moore, Morrison and Mi5ville has

already concl(ded, fantasy literat(re is important to people as individ(als and as gro(ps for its a+ility to provide a +ridge +et6een the possi+le and impossi+le and +et6een the material and immaterial. .onceived in this 6ay, fantasy can f(nction as a mediating form to give a sense of ho6 to grasp the 6ays in 6hich imaginary forms have concrete affects on o(r lives. )or this reason it 6ill contin(e to +e of interest to diverse ,eft radical 6riters. All of the a(thors in this st(dy (se d(alism to sho6 ho6 simplistic oppositional categories prod(ce their o6n resistance. < have analysed ho6 this

demonstrates their commitment to a materialism 6hich relates the physical 6orld to the 6orlds of the imagination, and have arg(ed that this represents a politicisation of the primary f(nction of fantasy fiction itself. The attempt to overcome this d(alism is central to the proEect of political engagement* it is the attempt to (se the (ni/(ely contrary characteristics of fantasy as a means of representing the contradictions of the material 6orld. :vercoming s(ch d(alism 6itho(t reinstating it in transformed g(ise is the theoretical point of highest insight implied +y all of the 6riters here, e3pressed, vario(sly, in 0(rrealist, dialectical materialist, antinomian -omantic, avant1gardist and Mar3ist terms. The d(alisms 6hich the fiction attempts to resolve or overcome are represented as presentl" intracta+le +(t theoretically s(rmo(nta+le* MoorcockCs (se of :rder and .haos, Entropy and ,a6F .arterCs (se of rational and anti1rationalF MooreCs (se of official and (nofficial, material and immaterialF MorrisonCs (se of Mark P. Williams $"%

$"' government1corporate conspiracies and anarchists or social o(tsiders s(perheroes and s(pervillainsF and Mi5villeCs (se of hy+rid or chimerical individ(als and polities. <n each case they (se fantasy to sho6 that the terms of the d(alisms are reversi+le, +(t that reversal is not eno(gh to s(persede the present genericDsocial formation that determines them. Their 6ritings can th(s +e seen to have anti1fantasy /(alities 6hich +ring them into line 6ith the analysis of anti1fantasy +y M. 8ohn ?arrison. <n his essay BThe Profession of 0cience )ictionC, ?arrison disc(sses his o6n (se of anti1 fantasy and its relationship 6ith generic fantasy, and 6ith the mode of fantasy as a 6hole. ?e states s(ccinctly, altho(gh from a non1politically tendentio(s perspective, the nat(re of the relation +et6een fantasy and anti1fantasy as a dialectical one* <dentify the ill(sions central to the genre. The clearest ill(sions 6e have are to do 6ith BmeaningC and BchoiceC, 6ith self1determination, pro+lem1solving. 0f dra6s ill(sions of this nat(re across o(r fears* of death, of the ordinariness of o(r lives, of the conse/(ences of o(r actions. A fantasy16orld is precisely one in 6hich action has no conse/(ences. N#.O 0(+vert these ill(sions, not for the sake of it, or for political or literary reasons, +(t +eca(se to do so might +e to reveal & for a fraction of a second, to yo(rself as m(ch as the reader & the 6orld the fictional ill(sion denies. N#.O -ecognise Kall too slo6lyL that these t6o poles of the dialectic & the 6riting of fantasyDthe s(+version of fantasy & make a disco(rse. This is in itself a form of escape. A disco(rse can +e solved. <t is like a chess pro+lem. The 6orld cannot +e solvedN.O7 $

?ere ?arrison is here dealing 6ith the tendency in fantasy to6ards codification 6hich is complicit in ideology and its co(nter1tendency to resist ideology, the same tendencies 6hich < have identified in the 6ork of Moorcock, .arter, Moore, Morrison and Mi5ville. The disco(rse 6hich is formed +y fantasyDanti1fantasy can provide the
7 $

?arrison, M. 8ohn, BThe Profession of 0cience )iction, %!* The Profession of )ictionC N 'oun!ation %7 KA(t(mn ";4;LO Kpp. "%%J'%L from Parietal #ames4 Critical Writing +" an! >n M7 @ohn Harrison K,iverpool* The 0cience )iction )o(ndation, !!'L, p. "%%.

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$"7 hallmarks of the very thing 6hich it is initiated to avoid K6hether for political, as in the case of the 6riters here, or for the more aesthetic and philosophical reasons ?arrison proposesL. Perhaps the key /(estion is 6hether or not this is really a pro+lem of fantasy so m(ch as one of +eing h(man 6hich, in any partic(larly codified generic mode of artistic representation, is inevita+ly 6rit large. ?arrison later 6rites in the same essay that anything 6hich f(nctions as an Bescape from emotional and social demandsC is Ba retreat from lifeC 6hether it is 6idely considered to +e escapist or notF cr(cially he incl(des other forms of h(man activity here, 6riting that BNiOn this sense the 6alls of 2erdon >orge are as m(ch a fantasy16orld as Middle EarthC to the clim+ing comm(nity he co(nts himself among, 6hile Bthe 6reckage of 0heffield is the landscape of a political fairy1taleC 6ritten +y conservative politics (nder Thatcher.7 % The dialectic of fantasyDanti1fantasy can +e seen as the f(ndamental division +et6een commitment and distance 6hich is inherent in activities intended to provide release from the press(res of modern capital. <ts persistence seems to +e d(e to a f(ndamental characteristic of the form* the inherent (ndecida+ility of fantasy as an ideological form or as escape from ideology. The persistence of the dialectic is not then a fail(re of form +(t a conse/(ence of seeking engagement thro(gh the form. Mark Ao(ldCs arg(ment that Bit is the very fantasy of fantasy that, at least potentially, gives it space for a hard1headed critical conscio(sness of capitalist s(+EectivityC, similarly to ?arrison, s(ggests that the persistence of the dialectic +et6een form and s(+version of form in fantasy act(ally provides for its most radical (ses.7 ' The political fantasies of Moorcock, .arter, Moore, Morrison and Mi5ville 6ork thro(gh this dialectic in different 6ays as < have demonstrated, +(t their vario(s concl(sions resonate analogically* any partic(lar form 6ithin fantasy generates a
7 % 7 '

?arrison, BThe Profession of 0cience )ictionC, p. "'!. Ao(ld, Mark, BThe Dreadf(l .redi+ility of A+s(rd Things* A Tendency in )antasy TheoryC Kpp. '"1 44L in .hina Mi5ville Ked.L Historical Materialism vol. "!, iss(e % K !! L, pp. 4$1%.

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$"9 position 6hich places it 6ithin a genre, contri+(ting to the codification of fantasy and its s(pport for ideology. A(t its nat(re as a fantasy means that it can +e re1imagined K6itho(t necessarily reco(rse to a rationalist epistemologyL and (sed to s(+vert the ne6 position, and so on* its logic s(ggests an aesthetic of permanent revol(tion, of contin(al re1engagement. To refer +ack to e3amples already (sed* s(perhero

contin(ity and the conventions of 06ord M 0orcery place specific demands 6hich can +e s(+vertedF s(+verting them +y the creation of characters s(ch as Elric and 8erry .orneli(s, or -orschach and the .omedian creates a precedent for re1codification, +(t sim(ltaneo(sly sho6s that this too can +e reversed. Mark Ao(ldCs spec(lation that fantasy co(ld +e considered a Bvernac(lar modernismC,7 7 might +e e3panded considera+ly in relation to contemporary c(lt(re (sing Mi5villeCs description, after Mar3, of commodity capital as an imaginary form 6hich affects Kand distortsL real social relationships, 6here he 6rites that BPrealityQ is a grotes/(e Pfantastic formQC and therefore fantasy can claim a mimetic representative f(nction.7 9 Pop(lar contemporary genre fantasy e3hi+its the same characteristics 6hich 0teve Aeard descri+es in modern media c(lt(re* Ban integrated circ(it 6here Preversi+ilityQ is the positive condition, not the negative limit, of their contin(ing s(ccessf(l performanceC.7 4 Aeca(se fantasy is a form 6hich is very strongly s(+Eect to the forces of commodity it can +e (sed to demonstrate that reversals s(ch as this are the positive val(e, rather than the a+sol(te limit, of commodity forms in their late capitalist mode 6ithin its o6n str(ct(ral constraintsF +(t cr(cially it can criti/(e its o6n position in this process in a 6ay 6hich dra6s

7 7 7 9

Ao(ld, BDreadf(l .redi+ilityC, p. 4". Mi5ville, Historical Materialism5 p. %7. 7 4 Aeard, 0teve, Logic +om&4 Transmissions from the E!ge of St"le Culture K,ondon* 0erpentCs Tail, ";;4L, p. "47.

Mark P. Williams

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$"4 analogies +et6een its o6n genre forces and the forces of the media c(lt(re +y 6hich commodities interpose themselves in act(al social relationships. <n media c(lt(re, there is the implicit ass(mption that commodity capitalism is, if not considered synonymo(s 6ith the -eal, then is the only 6ay thro(gh 6hich the -eal can +e glimpsed* as 0teven 0haviro 6rites BNtOhe media sphere is the only Pnat(reQ 6e kno6C, it p(rports to descri+e the 6orld in its totality. 7 ; )antasy performs the same action 6ith an entirely inverse starting position* 6here 6e are solicited +y media c(lt(re to accept the realit" of commodity relations (nder capital as the totality of the -eal, 6e are solicited +y fantasy to accept a kno6n impossi+ility Ka 6orld that co(ld never act(ally e3istL, in pretence, as the totality of a 6orld. -adical fantasy is that 6hich ackno6ledges its o6n impossi+ility to e3press the reality of the 6orld in the process of composing, 6ith every appearance of verisimilit(de, a thoro(ghly credi+le 6orld, implicitly /(estioning the Btr(thC of representations of the real Krealism or media c(lt(reL 6hich fail to engage 6ith the imaginary content KideologyL act(ally determining material social relations. < have sketched some of the affinities +et6een radical criti/(e and fantasy in respect to the diverse forms that fantasy can take, and detailed ho6 these have +een (sed. The analysis here can +e e3tended f(rther in a larger proEect* the historical manifestations of resistance, from anarchism and 0(rrealism to 0it(ationist and Mar3ist criti/(e, co(ld, for instance, +e conte3t(alised in light of diverse protest gro(ps of the contemporary anti1capitalist movement. The effect that recent

res(rgences in pop(lar protest in the 6ake of ne6 6ars in <ra/ and Afghanistan might have had on o(r idea of possi+le 6orlds is of increasing importance. As is the degree to 6hich economic models might +e descri+ed as having an essentially imaginary
7 ;

0haviro, 0teven, Connecte!5 >r What It Means to Live in the Networ- Societ" KMinneapolis and ,ondon* University of Minnesota Press, !!$L, p. $.

Mark P. Williams

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$"; content in light of the glo+al economic conditions post1 !!4, and ho6 that in t(rn affects ho6 6e perceive +oth o(r o6n position in the 6orld as s(+Eects, and the operations of ideology (pon o(r imaginations. <f 6e stake a claim on fantasy as o(r vernac(lar modernism, then radical fantasy can provide (s 6ith an important lens thro(gh 6hich 6e can estrange the epiphenomena of the commodities 6hich s(rro(nd (s, and render o(rselves Be3citedly, radically h(m+le +efore the e3traordinariness of the 6orldC the more f(lly to grasp ho6 6e might set a+o(t the task of changing that 6orld +y realising o(r o6n e3traordinary potential. 7$!

7$!

Mi5ville, giving a speech in favo(r of Ma3imalism, University of East Anglia, BMinimalism vers(s Ma3imalismC, 7D!$D !!4.

Mark P. Williams

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$ !

8i#liogra&hy: Aldiss, Arian W., +illion ,ear Spree4 The Histor" of Science 'iction K,ondon* Wiedenfeld and Hicholson, ";9$L J, 6ith Wingrove, David, Trillion ,ear Spree, K,ondon* 2ictor >ollanc=, ";47L. Armitt, ,(cy, Theorising the 'antastic K,ondon* Arnold, ";;7L Ashley, Ao+, The Stu!" of Popular 'iction K,ondon* Pinter P(+lishers, ";4;L Aadley, ,inda, Writing Horror an! the +o!"4 The 'iction of Stephen Jing5 Clive +ar-er an! $nne 2ice KWestpoint, .onnectic(t and ,ondon* >reen6ood Press, ";;7L Aakhtin, M. M., The Dialogic Imagination, trans. .ary Emerson and Michael ?ol/(ist, KA(stin* The University of Te3as Press, ";4"L. J, BThe Pro+lem of the Te3t in ,ing(istics, Philology, and the ?(man 0ciences* An E3periment in Philosophical AnalysisC from Speech #enres ? other Late Essa"s trans. 2ern W. Mc>ee KA(stin, Te3as* University of Te3as Press, ";47L. J, The +a-htin 2ea!er4 Selecte! Writings of +a-htin5 Me!ve!ev an! *oloshinov ed. Pam Morris K,ondon and He6 Iork* Ed6ard Arnold, ";;%L. J, +a-htinian Thought4 $n Intro!uctor" 2ea!er, ed. 0imon Dentith, K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";;'L.

Mark P. Williams

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$ " J, Speech #enres ? >ther Late Essa"s trans. 2ern W. Mc>ee KA(stin Te3as* University of Te3as Press, ";47L. Aallard, 8. >., The $trocit" E hi&ition K,ondon* )lamingo, N";9!O !!"L. J, Crash K,ondon* 2intage, N";9$O ";;'L. J, @7 #7 +allar!4 Conversations K0an )rancisco, .A* -ED0earch, !!'L. Aannock, 0arah, BA(toD+iographical so(venirs in Nights at the CircusC, Kpp. ";4 & "'L from The Infernal Desires of $ngela Carter4 'iction5 'emininit"5 'eminism5 ed. 8oseph Aristo6 and Trev ,ynn Aro(ghton K,ondon and He6 Iork* ,ongman, ";;9L. Aarnes, Peter, The 2uling Class K";74L, Kpp. " & " "L Peter +arnes4 Collecte! Pla"s K,ondon* ?einemann, ";4"L. Aataille, >eorge, Literature an! Evil K";'9L, trans. Alistair ?amilton, K,ondon* .alder and Aoyars, ";9$L. J, Ked.L, Enc"clopae!ia $cephalica trans. <ain White K,ondon* Atlas Press, ";;'L. Aeard, 0teve, $ftershoc-s4 The En! of St"le Culture K,ondon* Wallflo6er Press, !! L. J, Logic +om&4 Transmissions from the e!ge of St"le Culture K,ondon* 0erpentCs Tail, ";;4L. Ahaskar, -oy, BDialecticsC Kpp. " & 4L from $ Dictionar" of Mar ist

Thought ed. Tom Aottomore, editorial +oard* ,a(rence ?arris, 2.>. Giernan, -alph Mili+and K:3ford* Alack6ell, ";4$L. Aissette, 0tephen -. Ked.L, Ta&oo;H KWest Arattle+oro, 2ermont* 0pider+a+y >raffi3 M P(+lications, ";; L.

Mark P. Williams

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$ Alanchot, Ma(rice, B0adeCs -easonC from The +lanchot 2ea!er ed. Michael ?olland K:3ford* Alack6ell, ";;'L. Alissett, ,(ther, BThe ,(ther Alissett ManifestoC, from

http*DD666.alt3.comDmanifestosD+lisset.html, ";D D !!4. Aloom, .live, +estsellers4 Popular 'iction since 98::, KAasingstoke* Palgrave Macmillan, !! L. J, Ked.L Creepers4 +ritish Horror an! 'antas" in the Twentieth Centur" K,ondon and Ao(lder, .olorado* Pl(to Press, ";;$L. J, Literature5 Politics an! Intellectual Crisis in +ritain To!a" KAasingstoke* Palgrave, !!"L. Aloom, ?arold, The $n iet" of Influence KHe6 Iork* :3ford University Press, ";9$L. J, $ Map of Misrea!ing K:3ford* :3ford University Press, ";9'L. Aoas, >eorge, *o Populi4 Essa"s in the Histor" of $n I!ea KAaltimore, Maryland* 8ohns ?opkins University Press, ";7;L. Aone, <an Ked.L 6ith P(llen, Alan and 0cargill, Tim, Class War4 $ Deca!e of Disor!er K,ondon and He6 Iork* 2erso, ";;"L. Ao(ld, Mark, BThe Dreadf(l .redi+ility of A+s(rd Things* A Tendency in )antasy TheoryC Kpp. '" & 44L in .hina Mi5ville Ked.L Historical Materialism K !! L "!*%. J, BWhat Gind of Monster Are Io(@, 0it(ating the AoomC Kpp. $;% & %"$L Science 'iction Stu!ies ;895 vol7 <:5 pt7 < KHov, !!$L. Ao6ers, Maggie Ann, MagicMalN 2ealism K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, !!%L.

Mark P. Williams

$ $ Arace6ell, Michael, Englan! Is Mine4 Pop Life in $l&ion from Wil!e to #ol!ie K,ondon* ?arper.ollins, ";;9L. Araddon, -(th, Surreal Lives4 The Surrealists 989L.98=C KAasingstoke* PapermacDMacmillan, !!!L. Arecht, Aertolt, +recht on Theatre4 The Development of an $esthetic ed. 8ohn Willet K,ondon* Meth(en, !!"L. J, +recht4 Pla"s vol7 H, ed. 8ohn Willet and -alph Manheim K,ondon* Meth(en, ";;%L. J, The Caucasian Chal- Circle trans. 8ames and Tania 0tern 6ith W. ?. A(den K,ondon* Meth(en, !!!L. J, The 2esisti&le 2ise of $rturo Ai, trans. -alph Manheim K,ondon* Meth(en, !! L. Areton, Andr5, Manifestos of Surrealism trans. -ichard 0eaver and ?elen -. ,ane KMichigan* University of MichiganD Ann Ar+or, N";9 O ";;%L. Arooke1-ose, .hristine, $ 2hetoric of the Anreal4 Stu!ies in Narrative an! Structure5 Especiall" of the 'antastic K.am+ridge* .am+ridge University Press, ";4"L. Arooker, Will, +atman Anmas-e!4 $nal"1ing $ Cultural Icon K,ondon* .ontin((m, !!'L. A(katman, 0cott, Terminal I!entit"4 The *irtual Su&Eect in Postmo!ern Science 'iction KD(rham, H... and ,ondon* D(ke University Press, ";;$L. A(nyan, Tony, The Histor" an! Practice of the Political Police in +ritain K,ondon* Z(artet Aooks, ";4$L. A(rro(ghs, William 0., Nova E press KHe6 Iork* >rove Press, ";7%L. J, Na-e! Lunch K,ondon* )lamingo, N";77 ed.O ";;$L. Mark P. Williams $ $

$ % J, Wor! *irus, ed. 8ames >ra(erholt= and <ra 0ilver+erg K,ondon* ?arper.ollins, ";;;L .alder, 8enni, Heroes4 'rom +"ron to #uevara K,ondon* ?amish ?amilton, ";99L. .allahan, Timothy, #rant Morrison4 The Earl" ,ears KEd6ardsville, <llinois* 0e/(art -esearch and ,iterary :rganisation, !!9L. .arney, 0ean, BThe tides of ?istory* Alan MooreCs ?istoriographic 2isionC from http*DD666.english.(fl.ed(Dimagete3tDarchivesDv X DcarneyD, ;D!%D !!4. .artmell, De+orah et al KedsL, Trash $esthetics4 Popular Culture an! Its $u!ience K,ondon and 0terling, 2irginia* Pl(to Press, ";;9L. .arter, Angela, Sha!ow Dance K,ondon* 2irago, N";77O ";;%L. J, Several Perceptions K,ondon* 2irago, N";74O ";;'L. J, Love K,ondon* 2irago, N";9"O ";;9L. J, The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman , K,ondon* Peng(in, N";9 O ";4 L. J, The Passion of New Eve K,ondon* 2irago, N";99O ";4 L. J, The Sa!eian Woman4 $n E ercise in Cultural Histor" , K,ondon* 2irago Press ,td, ";9;L. J, Nothing Sacre!4 Selecte! Writings K,ondon* 2irago, N";4 O !!!L. J, <ntervie6 in ?affenden, 8ohn, Kpp. 97 & ;7L Novelists in Interview K,ondon and He6 Iork* Meth(en, ";4'L. J, E pletives Delete!, K,ondon* 2intage, ";;$L. J, in intervie6 6ith Anna Gatsavos, BAn <ntervie6 6ith Angela .arterC, 2eview of Contemporar" 'iction 9=5 no7 < K)all ";;%L* ""1"9, from Twentieth) Centur" Literar" Criticism5 vol7 9<8.

Mark P. Williams

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$ ' J, +urning ,our +oats4 Collecte! Short Stories, introd(ction +y 0alman -(shdie, K,ondon* 2intage, ";;7L. J, The Curious 2oom4 Collecte! Dramatic Wor-s, ed. 6ith prod(ction notes +y Mark Aell, introd(ction +y 0(sannah .lapp, K,ondon* 2intage, ";;9L. J, Sha-ing $ Leg4 Collecte! @ournalism an! Writings, ed. +y 8enny Uglo6, K,ondon* 2intage, ";;4L. .avendish, Margaret, D(chess of He6castle, The Description of a New Worl! Calle! the +la1ing Worl! ed. Gate ,illey K,ondon and He6 Iork* Peng(in, ";; N"777OL. .ham+ers, <ain Ked.L The La&"rinth of Solitu!e in Popular Culture4 The Metropolitan E perience K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";44L. .hesterton, >.G., The Man Who Was Thurs!a" K,ondon* Peng(in, ";47L. .l(te, 8ohn and Hicholl, Peter, The Enc"clope!ia of Science 'iction K,ondon* :r+it, ";;$L. J, and >rant, 8ohn, The Enc"clope!ia of 'antas" K,ondon* :r+it, ";;9L. J, BThe -epossession of 8erry .orneli(sC from The New Nature of the Catastrophe ed. ,angdon 8ones and Michael Moorcock K,ondon* Millenni(m, ";;9L. .ohen, 8effrey 8erome Ked.L Monster Theor"4 2ea!ing Culture KMinneapolis and ,ondon* University of Minnesota Press, ";;7L. .ole, Myke, from 0trange ?ori=ons revie6 of Iron Council,

http*DD666.strangehori=ons.comD !!%D !!%"" $D!$D !!4.

Dironco(ncil1r.shtml,

.on6ay, David, Metal Sushi K06ansea* :neiros +ooks, ";;4L

Mark P. Williams

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$ 7 .oogan, Peter, Superheroes4 The Secret >rigins of a #enre KA(stin, T]* MonkeyArain Aooks, !!7L. .ooke, -aymond, *elimir Jhle&ni-ov4 $ Critical Stu!" K.am+ridge* .am+ridge University Press, ";49L. .ooper, -ich Pa(l, BA(ilding Worlds* Dialectical Materialism as Method in .hina Mi5villeCs Aas1,agC E trapolation5 vol7 C:5 issue K K0(mmer, !!;L. ,iterat(re :nline, Vhttp*DDlion.chad6yk.co.(kW, !7D!7D!;. .o6e10pigai, Gereth and Heighly, Patrick $narch" for the Masses4 The Disinformation #ui!e to The Invisi&les KHe6 Iork* The Disinformation .ompany, !!$L. .overly, Merlin, Ps"chogeograph" K?arpenden, ?erts* Pocket Essentials, !!7L. .rom6ell, Heil, The Literar" 'antastic4 'rom #othic to Postmo!ernism KHe6 Iork and ,ondon* ?arvester Wheatsheaf, ";;!L .ro6ley, Aleister, The +oo- of Thoth KIork Aeach, Maine* 0am(el Weiser, <nc., ";;;L. .sicsery1-onay 8r., <stvan, B,(cid Dreams or )lightless Airds on -ooftops@C Historical Materialism0s 0ymposi(m on Mar3ismC Kpp. Science 'iction Stu!ies vol7 <: K !!$L. Davenport1?ines, -ichard, #othic4 =:: ,ears of E cess5 Horror5 Evil an! 2uin K,ondon* )orth Estate, ";;4L. Day, Aiden, $ngela Carter4 the 2ational #lass, KManchester and He6 Iork* Manchester University Press, ";;4L. De+ord, >(y, The Societ" of the Spectacle Trans. Donald Hicholson10mith KHe6 Iork* Tone Aooks, ";;' N";79OL. Mark P. Williams $ 7 44 & $!%L from

$ 9 De ,anda, Man(el, $ Thousan! ,ears of Nonlinear Histor" KHe6 Iork* 06erve Editions, ";;9L. Delany, 0am(el -., BTime .onsidered as a ?eli3 of 0emi1Precio(s 0tonesC in New Worl!s S', Ho. "4', ,ondon K";74L, reprinted in Delany $"e an! #omorrah KHe6 Iork* 2intageD-andom ?o(se, !!$L. J, The @ewel)Hinge! @aw KEli=a+ethto6n, He6 Iork* Dragon Press, ";99L. J, Star&oar! Wine KPleasantville, He6 Iork* Dragon Press, ";4%L. Dele(=e, >illes, B.oldness and .r(eltyC, in Masochism4 Col!ness an! Cruelt" % *enus in 'urs, KHe6 Iork* Tone Aooks, ";;"L. J, 6ith >(attari, )eli3, $nti)>e!ipus4 Capitalism an! Schi1ophrenia, trans. -o+ert ?(rley, Mark 0eem and ?elen -. ,ane K,ondon and He6 Iork* .ontin((m, N";9 O !!%L. J, 6ith >(attari, )eli3, Noma!olog"4 The War Machine trans. Arian Mass(mi KHe6 Iork* 0emiote3tKeL, ";47L. J, 6ith >(attari, )eli3, $ Thousan! Plateaus trans. Arian Mass(mi K,ondon and He6 Iork* .ontin((m, N";49O !!%L. Derrida, 8ac/(es, Specters of Mar trans. Peggy Gam(f KHe6 Iork and ,ondon* -o(tledge, !!7L
J,

The Derri!a 2ea!er4 Writing Performances ed. 8(lian Wolfries

KEdin+(rgh* Edin+(rgh University Press, ";;4L. Dick, ,esley, B)eminism, Writing, PostmodernismC, Kpp. !% & "$L from 'rom M" #u" to Sci)'i, ed. +y ?elen .arr, K,ondon* Pandora Press, ";4;L. Di ,iddo, Annalisa, $lan Moore4 Comics as Performance5 'iction as Scalpel K8ackson* University of Mississippi Press, !!;L.

Mark P. Williams

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$ 4 D(ncan, -andy, and 0mith, Matthe6 8., The Power of Comics4 Histor"5 'orm an! Culture K,ondon* .ontin((m, !!;L. D6orkin, Andrea, Pornograph"4 Men Possessing Women, K,ondon* The WomenCs Press ,td, ";4"L. Eagle, ?er+ert, BAfter6ord* .(+o1)(t(rism and -(ssian )ormalismC from 2ussian 'uturism through its Manifestoes5 989K.98KI Translated and edited +y Anna ,a6ton and ?er+ert Eagle K<thaca and ,ondon* .ornell University Press, ";44L. Eco, Um+erto, The 2ole of the 2ea!er4 E plorations in the Semiotics of Te ts KAloomington* <ndiana University Press, N";9;O ";4%L. Edgely, -oy, BDialectical MaterialismC Kpp. " ! & "L from $ Dictionar" of Mar ist Thought ed. Tom Aottomore, editorial +oard* ,a(rence ?arris, 2.>. Giernan, -alph Mili+and, K:3ford* Alack6ell, ";4$L. Erlich, ?o6ard 8., Ehrlich, .arol, De,eon, David and Morris, >lenda KedsL 2einventing $narch"4 What are $narchists Thin-ing $&out These Da"sB K,ondon* -o(tledge and Gegan Pa(l, ";9;L. Ellis, Warren, Come In $lone K0an )rancisco* AiTD Planet ,ar, !!"L. )arrell, ?enry, BAn Arg(ment <n TimeC from the Mi5ville 0eminar at http*DDcrookedtim+er.orgDcategoryDmieville1seminar, ;D!$D !!4. )reedman, .arl, BTo the Perdido 0treet 0tation* The -epresentation of -evol(tion in .hina Mi5villeCs Iron CouncilC, E trapolation5 vol7 =H5 issue K5 K0(mmer, !!'L via ,iterat(re :nline* Vhttp*DDlion.chad6yk.co.(kW, !7D!7D!;. J, BTo6ards a Mar3ist Ur+an 0(+lime* -eading .hina Mi5villeCs Jing 2atC, E3trapolation, vol. %%, iss(e %, KWinter, !!$L via ,iterat(re :nline* Vhttp*DDlion..chad6yk.co.(kW, !9D!$D"!. Mark P. Williams $ 4

$ ; )reeman, Hick, B PAll The .ities That There ?ave Ever AeenQ* In *iriconiumC Kpp. 9' & 4;L Parietal #ames4 Critical Writings &" an! on M7 @ohn Harrison ed. Mark Ao(ld and Michelle -eid K,ondon* )o(ndation 0t(dies in 0cience )iction, !!'L. )re(d, BThe UncannyC Kpp. $$; & $97L from $rt an! Literature trans. 8ames 0trachey, ed. +y Al+ert Dickson K,ondon* Peng(in, ";;!L. >agiano, Anne, BMarecheran Postmodernism* Mocking the Aad 8oke of African ModernityC, http*DD666.thefreeli+rary.comDMarecherancpostmodernism* cmockingcthec+adcEokecofc_ $D""D !!9. >am+le, 0arah, $ngela Carter4 Writing from the 'ront Line , KEdin+(rgh* Edin+(rgh University Press, ";;9L. J, Ked.L The 'iction of $ngela Carter K.am+ridge* <con Aooks, !!"L. J, $ngela Carter4 $ Literar" Life, second edition KAasingstoke* Palgrave, N !!7O !!;L. >asiorek, AndreE, Post)war +ritish 'iction4 2ealism an! $fter K,ondon and He6 Iork* Ed6ard Arnold, ";;'L. >i+son, Andre6, Postmo!ernit"5 Ethics an! the Novel 'rom Leavis to Levinas K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";;;L. >ilroy, Pa(l, There $in0t No +lac- in the Anion @ac- K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, N";49O !!9L. J, The +lac- $tlantic4 Mo!ernit" an! Dou&le Consciousness K,ondon and He6 Iork* 2erso, ";;$L. AfricancModernity_ 1a!""! ;!!9,

Mark P. Williams

$ ;

$$! >lover, David, BUtopia and )antasy in the ,ate ";7!s* A(rro(ghs, Moorcock, TolkienC Kpp. "4' & ""L from Popular 'iction an! Social

Change ed. .hristopher Pa6ling K,ondon* Macmillan, ";4%L. >olightly, 2ictor, B8ohn .o6per Po6ys and AnarchismC Kpp. " 7 & "%!L from PTo Hell With Culture04 $narchism an! Twentieth)Centur" +ritish Literature , ed. ?. >(stav Gla(s and 0tephen Gnight K.ardiff* University of Wales Press, !!'L. >om+in, -ichard, The >rigins of Mo!ern Leftism K,ondon* Peng(in, ";9'L. J, The 2a!ical Tra!ition K,ondon and He6 Iork* Meth(en, ";94L. >ordon, Uri, $narch" $liveD $nti)authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theor" K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!4L. >ray, Alasdair, Lanar-4 $ Life In 'our +oo-s K,ondon* Panther, ";4 L. >reen, 8en, and ,efan(, 0arah KedsL, Dispatches 'rom the 'rontiers of the 'emale Min! K,ondon* WomenCs Press 0), ";4'L. >reenland, .olin, The Entrop" E hi&ition K,ondon, Aoston, Mel+o(rne and ?enley* -o(tledge M Geegan Pa(l, ";4$L. J, Michael Moorcoc-4 Death Is No >&stacle KManchester* 0avoy, ";;"L. >regor, A. 8ames, The 'aces of @anus4 Mar ism an! 'ascism in the Twentieth Centur" KHe6 ?aven and ,ondon* Iale University Press, !!!L. >riffiths, -ichard, 'ascism K,ondon and He6 Iork* .ontin((m, N !!!O !!%L. >(erin, Daniel Ked.L, No #o!s5 No Masters trans. Pa(l 0harkey KEdin+(rgh* AG Press, ";;4L.

Mark P. Williams

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$$" ?affenden, 8ohn, Novelists in Interview, K,ondon and He6 Iork* Meth(en, ";4'L. ?al+erstam, 8(dith, S-in Shows KD(rham and ,ondon* D(ke University Press, ";;'L. ?arrison, M. 8ohn, BThe Ash .irc(sC Kpp. % & '4L and BThe Hash .irc(itC Kpp. ""! & $'LN";7;O from The New Nature of the Catastrophe ed. +y ,angdon 8ones and Michael Moorcock K,ondon* Millenni(m, ";;9L. J, BThe Profession of 0cience )iction, %!* The Profession of )ictionC N'oun!ation %7 KA(t(mn, ";4;LO Kpp. "%% & '%L from Parietal #ames4 Critical Writing +" an! >n M7 @ohn Harrison eds Mark Ao(ld and Michelle -eid K,iverpool* The 0cience )iction )o(ndation, !!'L. ?arter, De+orah, A., +o!ies In Pieces4 'antastic Narrative an! the Poetics of the 'ragment K0tanford, .a* 0tanford University Press, ";;7L. ?a(sman, -a(l, BDADA in E(ropeC Kpp. ; & $L from The Da!a 2ea!er4 $ Critical $ntholog" ed. +y Da6n Ades K,ondon* Tate P(+lishingD A?-., !!7L. ?a=litt B:n >(stoC from The 2oun! Ta&le Kpp. ';9 & ;;L in 2omanticism ed. D(ncan W( K:3ford* Alack6ell, N";;%O ";;4L. ?egerfeldt, Anne .., Lies That Tell the Truth4 Magical 2ealism Seen Through Contemporar" 'iction from +ritain KHe6 Iork and Amsterdam* -odopi, !!'L. ?ills, Matt, B.o(nter fictions in the Work of Gim He6man* -e6riting >othic 0) as PAlternate10tory 0toriesQC Kpp. %$7 & %''L, Science 'iction Stu!ies5 vol7 <:5 No7 < KHov, !!$L.

Mark P. Williams

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$$ ?immel6eit, 0(san, Tomlin, Allison and McGen=ie, Margaret, the WomenCs P(+lishing .ollective, Papers on Patriarch"4 Conference Lon!on 98LH KArighton* WP., N";97O ";94L. ?o, Eli=a+eth, BPost imperial ,andscapes* PPsychogeographyQ and Englishness in Alan MooreCs >raphic Hovel 'rom Hell4 $ Melo!rama in Si teen PartsC, from http*DDm(se.Eh(.ed(DEo(rnalsDc(lt(ralXcriti/(eDv!7$D7$."ho.html, ;D!%D !!4. ?odgson, William ?ope, The House >n the +or!erlan! an! >ther Novels , introd(ction +y .hina Mi5ville K,ondon* >ollanc=, !!$L ?ome, 0te6art, The $ssault on Culture4 Atopian Currents from Lettrism to Class War K0tirling* AG Press, ";;"L. J, BProletarian Post1modernismC Kpp. '$ & 7!L from Suspect Device4 $ 2ea!er in Har!)E!ge! 'iction ed. 0te6art ?ome K,ondon* 0erpentCs Tail, ";;'L. J, Neoism5 Plagiarism ? Pra is KEdin+(rgh and 0an )rancisco* AG Press, ";;'L. J, B<ntrod(ctionC to Lovel" &iscuits, >rant Morrison K06ansea* :neiros Aooks, ";;4L ?o(elle+ec/, Michel, H7P7 Lovecraft4 $gainst the Worl!5 $gainst Life , trans. Dorna Gha=eni, introd(ction +y 0tephen Ging K,ondon* Wiedenfeld M Hicolson, !!'L. ?(++le, Hick, BA .(re for the .ancer of Post16ar AritainJMoorcock as English AssassinC, BThe He6 World Entropy* A .onference on Michael MoorcockC co1organised Martyn .ole+rook and Mark P. Williams K,iverpool 8ohn Moores, !!4L.

Mark P. Williams

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$$$ ?(rley, Gelly, The #othic +o!"4 Se ualit"5 Materialism5 an! Degeneration at the fin !e siZcle K.am+ridge* .am+ridge University Press, ";;7L. J, BThe Modernist A+ominations of William ?ope ?odgsonC, from #othic Mo!ernisms, ed. +y Andre6 0mith and 8eff Wallace K,ondon* Palgrave, !!"L. ?(tcheon, ,inda, BThe Po6er of Postmodern <ronyC from #enre5 Trope5 #en!er4 Critical Essa"s &" Northrop 'r"e5 Lin!a Hutcheon an! Shirle" Neuman K:tta6a, .anada* .arleton University Press, ";; L.
J,

The Politics of Postmo!ernism K,ondon* -o(tledge, !! L.

?(ytnyk, 8ohn, +a! Mar ism4 Capitalism an! Cultural Stu!ies K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!%L. <ser, Wolfgang, The 'ictive an! the Imaginar"4 Charting Literar" $nthropolog" KAaltimore and ,ondon* 8ohns ?opkins University Press, ";;$L 8ackson, -osemary, 'antas"4 The Literature of Su&version K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";4"L. 8ames, Ed6ard, BAefore The Hov(m* The Prehistory of 0cience )iction .riticismC Kpp. "; & $'L Patrick Parrinder Ked.L Learning 'rom >ther Worl!s4 Estrangement5 Cognition an! the Politics of Science 'iction K,iverpool* ,iverpool University Press, !!!L. 8ameson, )rederick, Postmo!ernism4 >r5 The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism K,ondon* 2erso, ";;"L. 8ohnson, A.0., +S @ohnson >mni&us K,ondon* Pan Macmillan, !!%L.

Mark P. Williams

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$$% 8ordan, Elaine, BThe Dangers of Angela .arterC, Kpp. $$ & %'L in Critical Essa"s on $ngela Carter, ed. ,indsey T(cker, KHe6 Iork* >.G. ?all M co., ";;4L. 8o(ve, Hicole Ward, from BMother is a fig(re of speech#C Kpp. "$7 & "9!L in 'lesh an! the Mirror4 Essa"s on the $rt of $ngela Carter ed. ,orna 0age K,ondon* 2irago, ";;%L. Gappeler, 0(sanne, The Pornograph" of 2epresentation K.am+ridge* Polity Press, ";47L. Ga(fman, 0cott Eric from $cephalous4 The 0toning of Adam -o+erts part C from http*DDacephalo(s.typepad.comDacephalo(sD !!7D!"DtheXstoningXofX.html, "$D"!D !!7. Gaveney, -o=, BHe6 He6 World Dreams* Angela .arter and 0cience )ictionC Kpp. "9" & "44L from 'lesh an! the Mirror4 Essa"s on the $rt of $ngela Carter ed. ,orna 0age K,ondon* 2irago, ";;%L. J, SuperheroesD Capes an! Crusa!ers in Comics an! 'ilm K,ondon* <. A. Ta(ris M .o. ,td., !!9L. Geenan, 0ally, BAngela .arterCs The Sa!eian Woman* feminism as treasonC Kpp. "$ & %4L from The Infernal Desires of $ngela Carter4 'iction5

'emininit"5 'eminism5 ed. 8oseph Aristo6 and Trev ,ynn Aro(ghton K,ondon and He6 Iork* ,ongman, ";;9L. Gennedy, -andall, Nigger4 The Strange Career of a Trou&lesome Wor! KHe6 Iork* 2intage, !!$L.

Mark P. Williams

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$$' Germode, )rank, BApocalypse and the ModernC Kpp. 4% & "!4L from *isions of $pocal"pse4 En! or 2e&irthB Eds 0a(l )riedlander, >erald ?o(lton, ,eo Mar3 and E(gene 0kolnikoff KHe6 Iork and ,ondon* ?olmes M Meier, ";4'L. Ghle+nikov, 2elimir, The Collecte! Wor-s of *elimir Jhle&ni-ov5 vol7 94 Letters an! Theoretical Writings trans. Pa(l 0chmidt, ed. .harlotte Do(glas K.am+ridge, Ma. and ,ondon* ?arvard University Press, ";49L. Gho(ry, >eorge, The E traor!inar" Wor-s of $lan Moore K-aleigh, H. .arolina* T6oMorro6s P(+lishing, !!$L. Glock, >eoff, How to 2ea! Superheroes an! Wh" K,ondon* .ontin((m, !! L. Gno6les, .hristopher, >ur #o!s Wear Span!e 4 The Secret Histor" of Comic +oo- Heroes K0an )rancisco, .alifornia* Weiser Aooks, !!9L. Grafft1E+ing, -ichard von, B0e3(al PsychopathologyC Kin Ps"chopathia Se ualisL, 666.(ta.ed(DenglishDdanahayDkraffte+ing ";D""D !! . Gropotkin, Peter, BAnarchismC from The Con6uest of +rea! an! >ther Writings ed. Marshall 0. 0hat= K.am+ridge* .am+ridge University Press, ";;'L. G(spit, Donald, The Cult of the $vant)#ar!e $rtist K.am+ridge* .am+ridge University Press, ";;$L. Gyro(, Ado, BThe )antasticJThe Marvello(sC Kpp. "79 & 7;L from The Sha!ow an! Its Sha!ow4 Surrealist Writings on the Cinema ed. Pa(l ?ammond KEdin+(rgh* Polygon, ";;"L. ,aing, Dave, The Mar ist Theor" of $rt K?assocks, 0(sse3* ?arvester, ";94L.

Mark P. Williams

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$$7 ,arrain, 8orge, B<deologyC Kpp. "; & $L from $ Dictionar" of Mar ist

Thought ed. Tom Aottomore, editorial +oard* ,a(rence ?arris, 2.>. Giernan, -alph Mili+and, K:3ford* Alack6ell, ";4$L. ,a6ley, >(y, BThe <nfl(ence of P(nk on .omicsC Kpp. "!! & "";L from Pun2oc-4 So WhatB The cultural legac" of Pun- K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";;;L. J, The Saga of the Man Elf ill(s. .hris Weston, ,etterer -ichard Aird, ed. +y Martin 0kidmore K,eicester* Trident .omics, ";;!L. ,e Ar(n, Anne, Sa!e4 $ Su!!en $&"ss, trans. .amille Hash K0an )rancisco* .ity ,ight Aooks, ";;!L. ,ee, Alison, 2ealism an! Power4 Postmo!ern +ritish 'iction K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";;!L. ,enin, 2.<., The Lenin $ntholog" ed. -o+ert .. T(cker KHe6 Iork and ,ondon* W.W. Horton M .ompany, ";9'L. ,evin, ?arry, The Power of +lac-ness4 Hawthorne5 Poe5 Melville KHe6 Iork* Alfred A. Gnopf, ";9!L. ,evitt, Annette 0handler, The #enres an! #en!ers of Surrealism KAasingstoke* Macmillan, ";;;L. ,odge, David, and Wood, Higel, Mo!ern Criticism an! Theor"4 $ 2ea!er K?arlo6* ,ongman, !!!L. ,ovecraft, ?o6ard Phillips, Lor! of a *isi&le Worl! $n $uto&iograph" in Letters, ed. 0.T. 8oshi and David E. 0ch(lt= KAthens* :hio University Press, !!!L. J, BThe 0(pernat(ral ?orror in ,iterat(reC in Dagon4 Lovecraft >mni&us K. K,ondon* >rafton, ";4'L. Mark P. Williams $$7

$$9 ,a(tr5amont, .omt de, K<sidore D(casseL Mal!oror ? the complete Wor-s of the Comt !e LautrGamont trans. Ale3is ,ykiard K.am+ridge* E3act .hange, ";;%L. ,yotard, 8ean1)rancois, Hei!egger an! [the Eews\, trans. Andreas Michel and Mark -o+erts, KMinneapolis* University of Minnesota Press, ";;!L. Mac,eod, <an -., The Light $ges K,ondon* Pocket Aooks, !!$L. Mac,eod, Gen, The Star 'raction K,ondon* :r+it, ";;'L.
J, The Stone

Canal K,ondon* :r+it, ";;7L.

J, The Cassini Division K,ondon* :r+it, ";;4L. J, The S-" 2oa! K,ondon* :r+it, ";;;L. Makinen, MerEa, B0e3(al and Te3t(al Aggression in The Sa!eian Woman and New EveC Kpp. "%; & "7'L from The Infernal Desires of $ngela Carter4 'iction5 'emininit"5 'eminism5 ed. 8oseph Aristo6 and Trev ,ynn Aro(ghton K,ondon and He6 Iork* ,ongman, ";;9L Marechera, +lac- Sunlight K,ondon, <+adan, Hairo+i, E3eter* ?einemann, ";4!L. Marshall, >eorge, Spirit of 0H84 $ S-inhea! +i&le KD(noon, Argyll* 0.T. P(+lishing, ";;%L. Mar3, Garl, Jarl Mar 4 Selecte! Writings ed. David Mc.lellan K:3ford* :3ford University Press, ";99L. Matthe6s, 8. ?., The Surrealist Min! K,ondon and Toronto* Associated University Press, ";;"L. Mc.(e and Aloom, Dar- Jnights4 The New Comics in Conte t K,ondon and Ao(lder, .olorado* Pl(to Press, ";;$L.

Mark P. Williams

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$$4 McDono(gh, Tom KedL #u" De&or! an! the Situationist International K,ondon and .am+ridge, Mass.* The M<T Press, !!%L Mc>(irk, .arol, BPAngelaCs AshesQ* a revie6 of three +ooks on .arterC from Science 'iction Stu!ies ;L85 vol7 KH part <5 KHovem+er, ";;;L* http*DD666.depa(6.ed(DsfsDrevie6sXpagesDr9;.htmRcarol, "$D!$D !!4 Meadley, $ Tea Dance $t Savo" KManchester* 0avoy, !!$L. Melt=er, Al+ert, The $narchists in Lon!on4 98<C.98CC K0anday, :rkney* .ienf(egos Press ,td., ";97L. Melville, ?erman, Mo&")Dic-5 or The Whale K,ondon* Peng(in, ";; L. Mendlesohn, )arah, 2hetorics of 'antas" KMiddleto6n, .onnectic(t* Wesleyan University Press, !!4L. J, and 8ames, Ed6ard, $ Short Histor" of 'antas" K,ondon* Middlese3 University, !!;L. Mi5ville, .hina, Jing 2at K,ondon* Macmillan, ";;4L. J, Per!i!o Street Station, K,ondon* PanDMacmillan, !!!L. J, intervie6 6ith 8ohn He6singer, B)antasy and -evol(tionC Kpp. "'$ & 7$L from International Socialism II KA(t(mn, !!!L. J, The Scar K,ondon* Pan Macmillan, !! L. J,BPAnd IetQ* The Antinomies of William ?ope ?odgsonCKpp. vii & i3L introd(ction to House on the +or!erlan! an! >ther Novels K,ondon* >ollanc=, !! L. J, B<ntrod(ctionC and ed. Historical Materialism vol7 9:5 issue = K !! L. J, B)ifty )antasy M 0cience )iction Aooks That 0ocialists 0ho(ld -eadC Kpp. "49 & ;7L from +rea-ing Win!ows4 The 'antastic Metropolis 2ea!er, ed. +y ,(is -odrig(es K.anton, :hio* Prime Aooks, !!$L. Mark P. Williams $$4

$$; J, in intervie6 6ith $am Maga=ine, BThe -oad to Perdido* An <ntervie6 With .hina Mi5villeC, http*DD666.$ammaga=ine.comDlitarchivesD !!$Dfe+Dintervie6XchinaXmieville. html, "$D"!D !!7. J, in intervie6 6ith 8oan >ordon B-evelling in >enre* An <ntervie6 6ith .hina Mi5villeC Kpp. $'' & 9'L in Science)'iction Stu!ies ;895 vol7 <:5 part <MK::<N. J, BThe He6 WeirdC, Locus, Dec !!$. J,BThis M(ch < Gno6C The >&server Maga1ine K 4th Hovem+er, !!%L. J, Iron Council K,ondon* PanDMacmillan, !!%L. J, in intervie6 6ith The Aeliever, http*DD666.+elievermag.comDiss(esD !!'!%D@read\intervie6Xmieville, "$D"!D !!7. J, Loo-ing 'or @a-e KAallantine Aooks* He6 Iork, !!'L. .5 +etween E6ual 2ights4 $ Mar ist Theor" of International Law K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!'L. J, from http*DD666.infinitypl(s.co.(kDnonfictionDintchina.htm, "$D"!D !!7. J, in intervie6 6ith 0cience )iction M )antasy .hronicles online for(mJsee http*DD666.sffchronicles.co.(kDfor(mD$"7;1the1china1mieville1intervie6.html, 4D""D !!9. J, An Lun Dun K,ondon* Macmillan, !!9L. J, BMa3imalism vers(s MinimalismC, presentation at 0chool of English and .reative Writing, University of East Anglia, hosted +y To+y ,itt., K7th March, !!4L.

Mark P. Williams

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$%! J, B.ognition as <deology* A Dialectic of 0) TheoryC Kpp. $" & %4L from 2e! Planets4 Mar ism an! Science 'iction eds Mark Ao(ld and .hina Mi5ville K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!;L. Mighall, -o+ert, $ #eograph" of *ictorian #othic 'iction K:3ford* :3ford University Press, ";;;L. Miller, )rank, 8ansen, Gla(s, Dar- Jnight 2eturns )rank Miller, ill(s. Gla(s 8ansen KHe6 Iork* D., ";;7 N";47OL. Millidge, >ary 0pencer KedL 6ith 0mokey Man KedL $lan Moore4 Portrait of an E traor!inar" #entleman K0(rrey* A+iogenesis Press, !!$L. Mitchell, D.M. $ Serious Life KManchester* 0avoy, !!'L. J, Ked.L The Starr" Wis!om4 $ Tri&ute to H7P7 Lovecraft K,ondon* .reation, N";;%O !!$L. Moorcock, Michael, BWhatCs the Arg(ment@C in New Worl!s S', K0ep1:ct, ";7%L, vol. %4, Ho "%%. J, New Worl!s S', KMay18(ne, ";7%L, vol.%4, Ho"% . J, Storm&ringer K,ondon* Mayflo6er Aooks, ";74L.

J, The 2etreat 'rom Li&ert"4 The Erosion of Democrac" in To!a"0s +ritain K,ondon* Tom+a Aooks, ";4$L. J, B0tarship 0tormtroopersC Kpp. 9; & ;'L from The >pium #eneral an! other stories K,ondon* >rafton Aooks, ";4%L. J, Elric $t the En! of Time K,ondon* Panther, ";4'L. J, BHe6 WorldsJ8erry .orneli(sC in Elric at the En! of Time K,ondon* Panther, ";4'L.

Mark P. Williams

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$%" J, intervie6, .olin >reenland for IC$ #uar!ian Conversations Kdate (ncertain, ";4;@L. J,BWorking in the Ministry of Tr(th* Pornography and .ensorship in .ontemporary AritainC, in Pornograph"4 Women5 *iolence an! Civil Li&erties, ed. +y .atherine <t=in K:3ford* :3ford University Press, ";; L. J, intervie6, .olin >reenland, Michael Moorcoc-4 Death Is No >&stacle KManchester* 0avoy, ";; L. J, Earl $u&ec an! other stories K,ondon* :rion Aooks, ";;$L. J, Elric of Melni&onG NElric :mni+(sO K,ondon* :rion Aooks, ";;$L. J, 'a&ulous Har&ours K,ondon* :rion, ";;'L. J, War $mongst the $ngels K,ondon* Millenni(mD:rion Aooks, ";;9L. J, The New Nature of the Catastrophe ed. +y ,angdon 8ones and Michael Moorcock K,ondon* :rion, ";;9L. J, BThe M(rdererCs 0ongC K";4"D49L from The New Nature of the Catastrophe ed. +y ,angdon 8ones and Michael Moorcock K,ondon* :rion, ";;9L. J, Michael Moorcoc-0s Multiverse ill(s. Walter 0imonson, ed. 8(lie -otten+erg and 0t(art Moore KHe6 Iork* D. .omics, ";;;L. J, BDoves in the .ircleCKpp. 4 & '7L from Lon!on +one ,ondon* 0cri+ener, !!"L. J, The Cornelius 3uartet KHe6 Iork and ,ondon* )o(r Walls Eight Windo6s, !!"L. J,The Dreamtheif0s Daughter K,ondon* 0imon M 0ch(ster, !!"L. J, The Lives an! Times of @err" Cornelius K,ondon and He6 Iork* )o(r Walls Eight Windo6s, !!$L.

Mark P. Williams

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$% J, B)iring the .athedralC from The Lives an! Times of @err" Cornelius KHe6 Iork* )o(r Walls Eight Windo6s, !!$L. J, B?omage to .orn(copiaC Kpp. '" & '%L from Portrait of an E traor!inar" #entleman ed. +y 0mokey Man and >ary 0pencer Millidge K,eigh1:n10ea* A+iogenesis Press, !!$L. J, B<n ,ighter 2einC in Elric at the En! of Time K,ondon* Panther, ";4'L J, B<ntrod(ction* My ,ives, My TimesC from The Lives an! Times of @err" Cornelius K,ondon and He6 Iork* )o(r Walls Eight Windo6s, !!$L. J, intervie6 BTo Write )or the 0pace Age* Michael Moorcock on William 0. A(rro(ghs, intervie6 6ith Mark P. WilliamsC Vhttp*DDrealityst(dio.orgDintervie6sDmichael1moorcock1on16illiam1s1 +(rro(ghsD, ! D!'D!;.W. J, intervie6, BMichael Moorcock on Politics, P(nk, Tolkien, and Everything ElseC from Vhttp*DDcorporatemofo.comDpoliticsXandXotherX+(llshitDmichaelXmoorcockXon XpoliticsXp.htmlW, " D!'D!4. J, intervie6 for =one1sf.com, http*DD666.=one1sf.comDmmoorcock.html, 9D!;D !!7. J,BThe 06astika 0et1UpC from The Lives an! Times of @err" Cornelius K,ondon and He6 Iork* )o(r Walls Eight Windo6s, !!$L. J, Wi1ar!r" an! Wil! 2omance4 $ Stu!" of Epic 'antas" , introd(ction +y .hina Mi5ville, After6ord +y 8eff 2anderMeer KA(stin, T]* MonkeyArain, <nc., !!'L.

Mark P. Williams

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$%$ J, /(oted in Higel .ross B.risis )rom the Midnight .irc(s* ,ad+roke >rove ";79J94C from Vhttp*DD666.terrascope.co.(kD)eat(resD,ad+roke>rove.htmW, "'D!'D!;. J, intervie6, BMichael Moorcock <n .onversation 6ith Alan Moore and <ain 0inclairC, Aritish ,i+rary .onference .entre, ;th 8(ne, !!;. Moore, Alan, Watchmen ill(s. Dave >i++ons, KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, N";47O ";49L. J, * for *en!etta, ill(s. David ,loyd KHe6 Iork* D. .omics, N";44O ";4;L. J, B<ntrod(ctionC to * for *en!etta, ill(s. David ,loyd KHe6 Iork* D. .omics, N";44O ";4;L . J, *oice of the 'ire KAtlantaDPortland* Top 0helf, N";;'O !!$L. J, in intervie6 BI is for Iear TeroC from Clive +ar-er0s $ ] / of Horror ed. 0tephen 8ones K,ondon* AA. Aooks, ";;9L J, Supreme4 The 2eturn K.enterville, :hio* .hecker+ook P(+lishing >ro(p, N";;9O !!$L. J, The League of E traor!inar" #entlemen5 vol79 K,a 8olla, .alifornia* AmericaCs Aest .omics, N";;;O !!!L. J, The League of E traor!inar" #entlemen5 vol7K ill(s. Gevin :CHeil K,a 8olla, .alifornia* WildstormDAmericaCs Aest .omics, N !!!O !!"L. J, Top Ten &oo- 9 ? K ill(s. +y >ene ?a and Tander .annon K,a 8olla, .A* WildstormDAmericaCs Aest .omics, !!!L. J, BPo6ers of Arrest* Precinct Ten and 0ocial 0(per12isionC introd(ction to Top Ten4 collecte! e!ition &oo- 9 ill(s. +y >ene ?a and Tander .annon K,a 8olla, .A* AmericaCs Aest .omics, !!!L.

Mark P. Williams

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$%% J, in intervie6 6ith David Gendall for The Edge Maga=ine, from* http*DD666.theedge.a+elgratis.co.(kDmooreivie6.htm, "$D!$D !!4. J, intervie6 6ith S'4 AJO PTrips Through Time an! Space0, K.hannel %* dir. Dprod(cer Mark .arlish, !!"L. J, BPrism and Pentecost* David ,indsay and the Aritish ApocalypseC introd(ction to ,indsay, David, $ *o"age to $rcturus KManchester* 0avoy, !! L. J, Promethea5 &oo- 9 ] H ill(s. 8.?. Williams <<< KpencilsL, Mick >ray KinkL, .harles 2ess Kadditional artL and Todd Glein KletteringL K.A*

WildstormDAmericaCs Aest .omics, !! L. J, BThe Promethea P(==le* An Advent(re in )olkloreC B<ntrod(ctionC to Promethea5 &oo- 9 ill(s. 8.?. Williams <<< KpencilsL, Mick >ray KinkL, .harles 2ess Kadditional artL and Todd Glein KletteringL K.A* AmericaCs Aest .omics, !! L. J, in intervie6 6ith Gho(ry, >eorge for The E traor!inar" Wor-s of $lan Moore KHorth .arolina* T6oMorro6s P(+lishing, !!$L. J, <ntervie6D spoken 6ord, The Min!scape of $lan Moore Kdir. DeT 2ylen=* 0hado6snake )ilms, !!$L. J, intervie6 6ith 8ay Aa+cock BMagic is AfootC K !!$L originally p(+lished in $rthur ;= Kpp. ""9 & $9L from ,uggoth Cultures an! >ther #rowths K-anto(l, <llinois* Avatar Press, !!9L. J, intervie6 6ith Pa(l >ravett, from http*DD666.pa(lgravett.comDarticlesD""7XmooreD""7Xmoore.htm, "%D1$D !!4. J, The Mirror of Love, ill(s. 8os5 2illarr(+ia KAtlantaDPortland* Top 0helf Prod(ctions, !!%L.

Mark P. Williams

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$%' J, B<ntrod(ctionC to Aritton, David, 'uc- >ff $n! Die ill(s. Gris >(idio and 8ohn .o(lthart KManchester* 0avoy, !!'L J, BThe Airth .a(lC, $ Disease of Language ill(s. Eddie .amp+ell K,ondon* Gnocka+o(tJPalmano Aennett Aooks, !!'L. J, ,uggoth Cultures an! >ther #rowths K-anto(l, <llinois* Avatar Press, !!9L. J, The League of E traor!inar" #entlemen4 +lac- Dossier , ill(s. Gevin :CHeil, 6ith Aen Dimagmali6, Aill :akley, Todd Glein, Gristy Z(inn and 0cott D(n+ier K,a 8olla, .A* WildstormDAmericaCs Aest .omics, !!4L. J, B>oing Undergro(ndC Kpp. & 9L Do!gem Logic ;9 KGnocka+o(t

AooksD.lose Enco(nters* Horthampton, 0ept !!;L. Morgan, .heryl, and Mi5ville at

http*DD666.strangehori=ons.comD !!"D !!""!!"Dchina.shtml, 4D""D !!9. Morgan, 8ack, The +iolog" of Horror4 #othic Literature an! 'ilm K.ar+ondale and Ed6ardsville, ill.* 0o(thern <llinois University Press, !! L. Morrison, >rant, $nimal Man4 >rigin of the Species KHe6 Iork* D., N";4;O !!$L. J, $r-ham $s"lum4 $ Serious House on Serious Earth ill(s. Dave McGean KD.* ne6 Iork, N";4;O !!%L. J, $nimal Man4 Deus E Machina KHe6 Iork* D., N";4;, ";;!O !!%L. J, Doom Patrol4 The Painting that $te Paris KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, N";4;, ";;!O !!%L. J, Dare N2evolver ;9)L K8(ly ";;! & 8an(ary ";;"L and Crisis ;CC)CH K)e+r(ary ";;" & March ";;"LOfrom ,ester!a"0s Tomorrows K,ondon* Gnocka+o(t >osh, !!9L.

Mark P. Williams

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$%7 J, Doom Patrol4 Magic +us ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, N";; O !!9L. J, The Invisi&les 94 Sa" ,ou Want a 2evolution ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;%, ";;'L. J, The Invisi&les K4 $pocal"pstic- ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;', ";;7L. J, The Invisi&les <4 Entrop" In The AJ ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;7L. J, The Invisi&les =4 +loo!" Hell In $merica ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;9L. J, B<Cm A PolicemanC, from Lovel" +iscuits K06ansea* :neiros Aooks, ";;4L. originally p(+lished in Disco K::: ed. 0arah .hampion K,ondon* 0ceptre, ";;4L. J, The Invisi&les C4 Counting To None ill(s +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;9, ";;4L. J, The Invisi&les H4 Jissing Mr 3uimper ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;4, ";;;L. J, B<ntrod(ctionC to Metal Sushi David .on6ay, K06ansea* :neiros, ";;4L. J, Lovel" +iscuits K06ansea* :neiros Aooks, ";;4L. J, The Invisi&les L4 The Invisi&le Jing!om ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, ";;;, !!!L. J, Marvel +o" ill(s. +y vario(s KMarvel* He6 Iork, !!!1 !!"L. J, BMorrison Manifesto, ! :cto+er, !!!C, in New ()Men 94 E is for

E tinction, KHe6 Iork* Marvel, N !!"O !!'L.

Mark P. Williams

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$%9 J, New ()Men4 E is for E tinction, ill(s. )rank Z(itely et al KHe6 Iork* Marvel .omics, N !!"O !!'L. J, New ()Men4 Imperial, ill(s. )rank Z(itely et al KHe6 Iork* Marvel .omics, N !!"1 !! O !!%L. J, New ()Men4 New Worl!s ill(s. <gor Gordey et al KHe6 Iork* Marvel .omics, !! L. J, The 'ilth ill(s. Weston, .hris and Erskine, >ary KHe6 Iork* D.D2ertigo, N !! O !!$L. J, New ()Men4 Here Comes Tomorrow ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* Marvel, !!%L. J, Seven Sol!iers of *ictor"5 vol79.= ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* Marvel, !!%, !!', !!7, !!9L. J, contri+(tion to $n"wa" Morton, Tom, and Patha, .atherine, KTomD.at P(+lications, !!'L. J, BPop Magic, part C from +oo- of Lies4 The Disinformation #ui!e to Magic- an! the >ccult KHe6 Iork* The Disinformation .ompany, !!'L. J, +atman an! Son, ill(s. +y vario(s KHe6 Iork* D., !!7, !!9L

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Mark P. Williams

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$%4 Hash, .hristopher, Worl! Postmo!ern 'iction K,ondon and He6 Iork* ,ongman, ";;$L. Heocleo(s, Mark, Imagining the State KMaidenhead and Philadelphia* :pen University Press, !!$L. J,The Monstrous an! the Dea!4 +ur-e5 Mar 5 'ascism K.ardiff* University of Wales Press, !!'L. He6man, Gim, Science 'iction%Horror4 a 0ight M 0o(nd 2ea!er K,ondon* A)< P(+lishing, !! L. H(nn, ?eather, Thatcher5 Politics an! 'antas"4 The Political Culture of #en!er an! Nation K,ondon* ,a6rence and Wishart, !! L. Hoon, 8eff, Pi el @uice4 Stories from the $vant)Pulp K,ondon* Alack 06an, ";;4L. :CDay, Marc BM(ta+ility is ?aving a )ield DayC* The 0i3ties A(ra of Angela .arterCs Aristol TrilogyC Kpp. % & ';L in 'lesh an! the Mirror. :CHeil, Horman, 'ascism an! the Wor-ing Class KMiddlese3* 0hakti P(+lications, ";4 L. :tto, Aeatrice G., 'ools $re Ever"where4 The Court @ester $roun! the Worl! K.hicago and ,ondon* University of .hicago Press, !!"L. Palmer, Pa(lina, B)rom P.oded Manne/(inQ to Aird Woman* Angela .arterCs Magic )lightC, in Women 2ea!ing Women0s Writing, ed. +y 0(e -oe KArighton* ?arvester, ";49L. Parkin, ,ance, The Poc-et Essential $lan Moore K?arpenden, ?ertfordshire* Pocket Essentials, !!"L.

Mark P. Williams

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$%; Parrinder, Patrick, Ked.L Learning 'rom >ther Worl!s4 Estrangement5 Cognition an! the Politics of Science 'iction K,iverpool* ,iverpool University Press, !!!L. Pennman, <an, -evie6 of Lon!on +one +y Michael 7" ", Moorcock, '"99;$,

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Mark P. Williams

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$'! -ead, Aenedict, B?er+ert -ead* An :vervie6C from Her&ert 2ea!4 $ +ritish *ision of Worl! $rt ed. Aenedict -ead and David Thistle6ood K,eeds* ,eeds .ity Art >alleries, and ,ondon* The ?enry Moore )o(ndation, ";;$L. -ead, ?er+ert, The Meaning of $rt K,ondon* )a+er and )a+er, N";$"O ";99L.
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Mark P. Williams

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$'" J, The 9K: Da"s of So!om ? >ther Writings , trans. A(stryn Wainho(se and -ichard 0eaver, 6ith introd(ctions +y 0imone de Aea(voir and Pierre Glosso6ski, KHe6 Iork* >rove Press, ";77L. 0age, ,orna, BThe 0avage 0idesho6* A Profile of Angela .arterCKpp. '" & 9L New 2eview %, $;D%! K";99L. J,Ked.L 'lesh an! the Mirror4 Essa"s on the $rt of $ngela Carter K,ondon* 2irago, ";;%L. 0ass, ,o(is A. Ma!ness an! Mo!ernism4 Insanit" in the Light of Mo!ern $rt5 Literature an! Thought K.am+ridge, MA and ,ondon* ?arvard University Press, ";; L. 0a6yer, Andy, N !!!O -evie6 of Per!i!o Street Station, from <nfinity Pl(s, http*DD666.infinitypl(s.co.(kDnonfictionDperdido.htm, "$D"!D !!7. 0chlo+in, -oger .. Ked.L, The $esthetics of 'antas" Literature an! $rt KHotre Dame, <ndiana and ,ondon* University of Hotre Dame Press and The ?arvester Press, ";4 L. 0e+estyen, Amanda, Ked.L 0HL5 0LI5 0II4 'rom Women0s Li&eration to 'eminism ed. Amanda 0e+estyen KAridport, Dorset* Prism Press, ";44L. 0haviro, 0teven, Connecte!5 >r What it Means to Live in the Networ- Societ" KMinneapolis and ,ondon* University of Minnesota Press, !!$L. 0heehan, 0eSn M., $narchism K,ondon* -eaktion, !!$L. 0heets, -o+in Ann, BPornography, )airy Tales, and )eminism* Angela .arterCs PThe Aloody .ham+erQC, in Critical Essa"s on $ngela Carter, ed. ,indsey T(cker, KHe6 Iork* >.G.?all M co., ";;4L. 0her6in, David, from IfF7 $ Stor" K,ondon* 0phere, ";74L.

Mark P. Williams

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$' 0ho6alter, Elaine, Se ual $narch"4 #en!er an! Culture at the [fin !e siZcle\ K,ondon* Alooms+(ry, ";;"L. 0la(ghter, .liff, Mar ism5 I!eolog" an! Literature K,ondon and Aasingstoke* Macmillan, ";4!L. 0inclair, <ain, BA(lls M Aears M Mithraic Misalignments* Weather in the .ityC, Lights >ut for the Territor", ill(s. Marc Atkins K,ondon* >ranta Aooks, ";;9L. J, Li6ui! Cit", photography +y Marc Atkins K,ondon* -eaktion Aooks, ";;;L. J,BWatching the WatchmanC in Li6ui! Cit", ill(s. Marc Atkins K,ondon* -eaktion Aooks, ";;;L. J, Crash4 Davi! Cronen&erg0s Post)Mortem on @7#7 +allar!0s [TraEector" of 'ate\ K,ondon* A)< P(+lishing, ";;;L. J, from a revie6 of MoorcockCs Jing of the Cit" for >(ardian Unlimited Aooks, http*DD+ooks.g(ardian.co.(kDlr+DarticlesD!,,%!";$4,!!.htmlRarticleXcontin(e, "!D"!D !!7. J, in intervie6 6ith 'ortean Times, http*DD666.forteantimes.comDarticlesD"%9Xiainsinclair.shtml, "D7D !!'. J, E!ge of the >rison K,ondon* ?amish ?amilton, !!'L. 0ingh, Amardeep, BTrans1speciation from Margaret .avendish to .hina Mi5ville,C from http*DD666.thevalve.orgDgoDvalveDarticleDtransD, "4D!%D !!4. 0kene, Anthony, Monsieur /enith the $l&ino, introd(ction +y 8ack Adrian, for6ard +y Michael Moorcock KManchester* 0avoy, !!"L.

Mark P. Williams

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$'$ 0kinn, De= Comi 4 The An!ergroun! 2evolution K,ondon* .ollins M Aro6n, !!%L. 0locom+e, -omain B<ntrod(ctionC to 0(ehiro Mar(o Altra #ash Inferno trans. 8ames ?avoc and Takako 0hinkado K,ondon* .reation Aooks, !!"L. 0mith, Allan ,loyd, and 0age, 2ictor KedsL, Mo!ern #othic KManchester and He6 Iork* Manchester University Press, ";;7L. 0piegelman, Art, +rea-!owns4 Portrait of the $rtist as a ,oung QR?SD KPeng(inD2iking* ,ondon, !!4 N";9 OL. 0pinrad, Horman,BThe ,ast ?(rrah of the >olden ?ordeC Kpp. 94 & ;;L from The New Nature of the Catastrophe ed. ,angdon 8ones and Michael Moorcock K,ondon* Millenni(m, ";;9L. J, The Iron Dream K,ondon* Panther, ";9%L. 0piteri, -aymond, and ,a .ross, Donald KedsL Surrealism5 Politics an! Culture KAldershot* Ashgate P(+lishing .ompany, !!$L. 0pivak, >ayatri .hakravorty, B)eminism and .ritical TheoryC Kpp. %97 & ;$L in Mo!ern Criticism an! Theor"4 $ 2ea!er, N0econd EditionO ed. David ,odge and Higel Wood K,ondon* ,ongman, !!! N";44OL. 0ta+leford, Arian, Scientific 2omance in +ritain 9I8:.98C: K,ondon* )o(rth Estate, ";4'L. J, The $./ of 'antas" Literature K,anham, Toronto, Plymo(th* The 0carecro6 Press <nc., !!;L. 0tally+rass, Peter, and White, Allon, The Politics an! Poetics of Transgression K,ondon* Meth(en, ";47L. 0tory, 8ack Trevor, BThro6a6ay )riendsC, the introd(ction to The 2ussian Intelligence KGent* He6 English ,i+rary, ";4$L. Mark P. Williams $'$

$'% 0trong, 0imon, $KC8 Multiple +om& [>utrage\, introd(ction +y 0te6art ?ome K?ove* .ode], ";;'L. 0(sanne Gappeler, BPlaying in the ,iterary 0anct(aryC in The Pornograph" of 2epresentation K.am+ridge* Polity Press, ";47L. 0(leiman, 0(sanne -(+in, BThe )ate of the 0(rrealist <magination in the 0ociety of the 0pectacleC Kpp. ;4 & ""7L from 0age, ed. 'lesh an! the Mirror7 0(vin, Darko, B:n the Poetics of the 0cience )iction >enreC Kpp. '9 & 9"L from Mark -ose Ked.L Science 'iction4 $ Collection of Critical Essa"s KEngle6ood .liffs, H8* Prentice ?all <nc., ";97L. 0(vin, Darko, B0), Metaphor, Para+le, and .hronotopeC Kpp. "7! & 4"L5 $ctes Du Premier Collo6ue International De Science 'iction !e Nice Metaphores No7 8)9: K";4$L. J, Positions an! Presuppositions in Science 'iction KGent, :hio* Gent 0tate University Press, ";44L. J, Metamorphoses of Science 'iction KHe6 ?aven and ,ondon* Iale University Press, ";9;L. 06an6ick, Michael, BA .hangeling -et(rnsC Kpp. $$ & %7L from Me!itations on Mi!!le Earth ed. Garen ?a+er K,ondon* 0imon and 0ch(ster, !!$L. Ta++i, 8oseph, Postmo!ern Su&lime4 Technolog" an! $merican Writing from Mailer to C"&erpun- K<thaca and ,ondon* .ornell University Press, ";;'L. Taylor, -oger ,., $rt5 $n Enem" of the People K?assocks, 0(sse3* ?arvester, ";94L. Te6, Philip, +7S7 @ohnson4 $ Critical 2ea!ing KManchester and He6 Iork* Manchester University Press, !!"L. Mark P. Williams $'%

$'' Thomas, .hantel, B)antasising 8(lietteC, in Sa!e an! the Narrative of Transgression, ed. David A. Allison, Mark 0. -o+erts and Allen 0. Weiss, K.am+ridge* .am+ridge University Press, ";;'L. Todd, -ichard, Consuming 'ictions4 The +oo-er Pri1e an! 'iction in +ritain To!a" K,ondon* Alooms+(ry, ";;7L. Todorov, T=vetan, The 'antastic.$ Structural $pproach to a Literar" #enre, trans. -ichard ?o6ard K<thaca, HI* .ornell University Press, ";9'L. Tolkien, 8.-.-., B:n )airy10toriesC K";%9, pp. "" & 9!L from Tree an! Leaf K,ondon* >eorge Allen and Un6in, ";7%L. Trotsky, ,eon, Literature an! 2evolution K"; %L trans. -ose 0tr(nsky KAnn Ar+or* University of Michigan, ";7! N,ondon* -ed6ords, ";;"OL. J, Trots-" on Literature an! $rt ed. Pa(l H. 0iegel KHe6 Iork* Pathfinder Press, ";9!L. 2anderMeer, 8eff, The New Weir! ed. 6ith Ann 2anderMeer, K0an )rancisco* Tachyon P(+lications, !!4L. J, BAngela .arter* A Personal Appreciation K6ritten immediately after ne6s of her deathLC,

http*DD666.themodern6orld.comDscriptori(mDcarterXapprec.html, !7D!7D!7. 2i5net, -en5, /(oted in #u" De&or! an! the Situationist International, ed. Tom McDono(gh, K,ondon and .am+ridge, Mass.* The M<T Press, !! L. Wallace, >avin, The Scottish Novel Since the Seventies4 New *isions5 >l! Dreams ed. >avin Wallace and -andall 0tevenson KEdin+(rgh* Edin+(rgh University Press, ";;$L. Warner, Marina, 'rom the +east to the +lon!e4 >n 'air" Tales an! their Tellers, K,ondon* 2intage, ";;'L. Mark P. Williams $''

$'7 J, Metamorphosis4 Wa"s of Telling the Self, K:3ford* :3ford University Press, !! L. J, No #o the +oge"man4 Scaring5 Lulling an! Ma-ing Moc- , K,ondon* 2intage, !!!L.
J,

BAngela .arter* Aottle Alonde, Do(+le DragC Kpp. %$ & '7L from 'lesh

an! the Mirror ed. ,orna 0age. Wascho6ski +rothers, * for *en!etta NfilmO dir. 8ames McTeig(e KD.D2ertigo, !!'L. Watson, Aen, $rt5 Class ? Cleavage4 3uantulumcun6ue Concerning Materialist Estheti K,ondon* Z(artet Aooks, ";;9L. Wat=, Anna, BAngela .arter and SurrGalisme et Se ualitGC the Modern )iction Het6orkCs conference on Angela .arter at Horthampton University, 8(ne !!;. Wa(gh, Patricia, BThe Woman Writer and the .ontin(ities of )eminismC from Contemporar" +ritish 'iction K:3ford* Alack6ell, !!7L. Wegner, Philip, BGen Mac,eodCs Permanent -evol(tion* Utopian Possi+le Worlds, ?istory and the A(gen+lick in the )all -evol(tion Z(artetC Kpp. "$9 & ''L from 2e! Planets4 Mar ism an! Science 'iction eds Mark Ao(ld and .hina Mi5ville K,ondon* Pl(to Press, !!;L. Willett, 8ohn, The Theatre of +ertolt +recht K,ondon* Meth(en Drama, N";';O ";99L. Willett, -alph, BMoorcockCs Achievement and Promise in the 8erry .orneli(s AooksC Science 'iction Stu!ies I5 vol7<5 part 9 KMarch, ";97L. Wisker, >ina, B-evenge of the ,iving Doll* Angela .arterCs horror 6ritingC, K""7 & "$"L from The Infernal Desires of $ngela Carter4 'iction5 'emininit"5

Mark P. Williams

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$'9 'eminism5 ed. +y 8oseph Aristo6 and Trev ,ynn Aro(ghton K,ondon and He6 Iork* ,ongman, ";;9L. Williams, -aymond, Je"wor!s4 $ *oca&ular" of Culture an! Societ" K,ondon* )ontana, ";97L. J, The Long 2evolution K,ondon* Peng(in, N";7"O ";7'L. Wolk, Do(glas, 2ea!ing Comics from* http*DD666.ne6sarama.comD-eading.omicsDDo(glasX!".html, "'D!%D !!4. Woodcock, >eorge, $narchism4 $ Histor" of Li&ertarian I!eas an! Movements K,ondon* Peng(in, ";47L. Ieatman, Anna, BPrefaceC to Postmo!ern 2evisionings of the Political K,ondon and He6 Iork* -o(tledge, ";;%L.

Selected We#sites

http*DDacephalo(s.typepad.comDacephalo(sD http*DD666.+ar+elith.com http*DD666.comic+ookreso(rces.comD http*DD666.fantasticmetropolis.com http*DD 666.fantomas1lives.com http*DD666.se/(entialtart.com http*DD666.ste6arthomesociety.org. http*DD666.strangehori=ons.comD http*DD666.m(ltiverse.orgD http*DD666.=one1sf.com

Mark P. Williams

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