Moments of Being: Carol Shields’s Short Fiction

Carol Shields's short fiction eschews the teleological model of plot development, and instead develops coherence through associations, thematic development, and epiphanies — what Virginia Woolf calls "moments of being." Shields departs from modernist short fiction by transforming the literary moment so that it becomes a part of both the experimental structure and world view of her stories. In so doing, she departs from the modern Joycean epiphanic tradition, as expounded by theorists such as Morris Beja, Ashton Nichols and Robert Langbaum. Unlike epiphanies in the Joycean tradition, Shields's foreground experience over insight, and they emphasize the embeddedness of the epiphany in the domestic, in keeping with what Martin Hiedegger calls "residency.

The postmodern folktales of Éilís Ní Dhuibhne

Although the success of the Irish short story is traditionally put down to the influence of the strong story-telling tradition in Ireland, actual traces of this influence have largely disappeared in recent years. A notable exception to this trend, however, is Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, whose work is heavily indebted to the Irish folklore tradition. In this article I try to determine how ancient folktale and postmodern short story are successfully, yet critically, connected in her collection The Inland Ice and Other Stories (1997). The most explicit link between the modern and the myth is provided by Ní Dhuibhne’s feminist re-writing of an Irish fairytale, “The Story of the Little White Goat”. Yet, the use of repetition, the simple and straightforward style and intrusions of the narrator in the other short stories also bear witness to the influence of the oral tradition. In addition, the short stories take over the thematic concerns of love, loss and marriage from the original fairytale. At the same time, however, the short stories also warn against an all too close identification of fantasy and reality, of the folktale and real life.Although the success of the Irish short story is traditionally put down to the influence of the strong story-telling tradition in Ireland, actual traces of this influence have largely disappeared in recent years. A notable exception to this trend, however, is Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, whose work is heavily indebted to the Irish folklore tradition. In this article I try to determine how ancient folktale and postmodern short story are successfully, yet critically, connected in her collection The Inland Ice and Other Stories (1997). The most explicit link between the modern and the myth is provided by Ní Dhuibhne’s feminist re-writing of an Irish fairytale, “The Story of the Little White Goat”. Yet, the use of repetition, the simple and straightforward style and intrusions of the narrator in the other short stories also bear witness to the influence of the oral tradition. In addition, the short stories take over the thematic concerns of love, loss and marriage from the original fairytale. At the same time, however, the short stories also warn against an all too close identification of fantasy and reality, of the folktale and real life

The role of the imagination in Virginia Woolf’s short fiction

Cet article étudie la fonction, le pouvoir et la dimension éthique de l'imagination dans quelques nouvelles de Woolf écrites à différents moments de sa carrière. Il montre que si certaines nouvelles—et certains essais—de Woolf présentent l'imagination comme une force positive dans le renouvellement de l'art, d'autres soulignent les limites de l'imagination—son recours à des formes fixes et des clichés, sa subjectivité et son incapacité à pénétrer au cœur de l'autre. En se plaçant dans une perspective éthique, cet article tente ensuite de cerner la façon dont Woolf aborde l'imagination et de situer l'auteur dans le débat critique contemporain sur l'éthique et la littérature. Bien que Woolf, comme, d'une certaine manière, Martha Nussbaum, croie au pouvoir moral de l'imagination narrative, par sa conscience de la violence potentielle et des limites de l'imagination, elle se rapproche de la conception post-structuraliste de la critique éthique qu'ont des penseurs tels que Jacques Derrida et Derek Attridge. Enfin, cet article s'interroge sur l'opposition entre l'art et la réalité dans les nouvelles de Woolf consacrées à l'imagination et conclut que, parce que Woolf continue à croire au pouvoir imaginatif de l'art, son éthique et son esthétique modernistes ne coïncident pas avec le projet post-moderne de Derrida et Attridge

The role of the imagination in Virginia Woolf’s short fiction

Cet article étudie la fonction, le pouvoir et la dimension éthique de l'imagination dans quelques nouvelles de Woolf écrites à différents moments de sa carrière. Il montre que si certaines nouvelles—et certains essais—de Woolf présentent l'imagination comme une force positive dans le renouvellement de l'art, d'autres soulignent les limites de l'imagination—son recours à des formes fixes et des clichés, sa subjectivité et son incapacité à pénétrer au cœur de l'autre. En se plaçant dans une perspective éthique, cet article tente ensuite de cerner la façon dont Woolf aborde l'imagination et de situer l'auteur dans le débat critique contemporain sur l'éthique et la littérature. Bien que Woolf, comme, d'une certaine manière, Martha Nussbaum, croie au pouvoir moral de l'imagination narrative, par sa conscience de la violence potentielle et des limites de l'imagination, elle se rapproche de la conception post-structuraliste de la critique éthique qu'ont des penseurs tels que Jacques Derrida et Derek Attridge. Enfin, cet article s'interroge sur l'opposition entre l'art et la réalité dans les nouvelles de Woolf consacrées à l'imagination et conclut que, parce que Woolf continue à croire au pouvoir imaginatif de l'art, son éthique et son esthétique modernistes ne coïncident pas avec le projet post-moderne de Derrida et Attridge

Linked Stories, Connected Lives: The Lucky Ones as Short Story Cycle

This essay considers the thematic repercussions of the peculiar narrative and generic structure of The Lucky Ones as a collection of linked short stories. The form of the short story cycle allows Cusk to stage a variety of perspectives on parenthood and family life within one book. Moreover, the tension between unity and fragmentation, which is characteristic of the form, serves to highlight the tension between individualism and connection or community in The Lucky Ones. Even though the protagonists remain bound within their own lives, families and stories they can be seen to yearn for connection and communion in the epiphanic moments that mark the singular stories. In the final part of the paper, I consider Cusk’s representation of contemporary community as a loose network of relations within the context of recent approaches to community in social theory and philosophy