Chronotope in John Banville`s Novels

Šajā darbā tiek petīts hronotops Džona Benvila romānos. Teorētiska daļa balstās uz hronotopa konceptu, kura autors ir Mihails Bahtins, kā arī apskata galvenās filozofiskās laika, telpas un naratīva teorijas. Šī darba praktiskais mērķis ir atspoguļot Dž. Benvila romānu hronotopa raksturojumu un nodemonstrēt kā tas izpaužas neuzticamā stāstītāja vēstījumā. Šis pētījums pierāda, ka hronotopa konstrukcija veidojas caur Benvila neuzticamā stāstītāja ļoti subjektīvo pasaules uztveri. Lielākoties Benvila daiļliteratūras dominanta tiek definēta kā epistemoloģiska. Lai gan Benvila daiļliteratūrā arī parādās ontoloģiskie un eksistenciālie jautājumi, ir vairāki pierādījumi, kas ļauj attiecināt viņa darbus vairāk modernismam, nevis postmodernismam. Atslēgvārdi: Mihails Bahtins, Džons Benvils, hronotops, laiks, telpa, epistemoloģoja, modernisms.The present research deals with the description of the chronotope in John Banville’s novels. In its theoretical part it relies on the concept of chronotope developed by Mikhail Bakhtin and on some key philosophical studies of time, space and narrative. The practical purpose of the present thesis is to describe the peculiar features of Banville’s chronotope and to demonstrate how it is realised by the narrator in his confessional writing. The research proves that the chronotope construction in Banville’s novels takes place through the extremely subjective view of the world by Banville’s typical unreliable narrator. The dominant of Banville’s fiction is defined as an epistemological one. Though ontological and existential questions are also present in Banville’s fiction, there is more evidence to categorise his novels as modernist rather than postmodernist. Key words: Mikhail Bakhtin, John Banville, chronotope, time, space, epistemology, modernism

Double Coding in John Banville’s Mefisto (1999)

The present paper examines how John Banville creates a peculiar version of the Faust legend in his novel Mefisto (1999) through the use of double coding. The term is frequently used in postmodern art, especially in literary theory and architecture. The idea consists of the possibility of sending two opposite or even multiple messages at once. Mefisto presents a fertile ground for the analysis of the way double coding might operate in a work of postmodernist fiction. Moreover, it has been one of the most challenging contemporary interpretations of the Faust legend for critics and, therefore, the present analysis has more specific relevance for those who are already taking interest in Banville’s oeuvre and/or in the Faust legend. For those who are yet to discover Banville, the article may serve as a short introduction to his idiosyncratic artistic style and peculiar means of expression. The ensuing analysis of double coding in Mefisto has the task of demonstrating that both a metanarrative appeal and a quotation/irony combination are clearly detectable in the novel. The aspiration is also to stress that Eco’s approach to a definition of double coding is more in-depth and more relevant for literary theory or postmodernism than Jencks’s one

Rene Descartes Ideas in Rose Tremain's Novel "Music and Silence"

Šis bakalaura darbs, "Renē Dekarta idejas Rozes Trimeinas romānā "Mūzika un klusums"", koncentrējas uz slēptās polemikas ar Dekarta idejām romanā "Mūzika un klusums". Tā mērķis ir demonstrēt diskusijas aktualitāti starp apgaismības filozofiem un postmodernisma rakstniekiem un domātājiem. Polemika romānā tiek analizēta, izmantojot M.Bahtina literatūras diskursa teoriju. Teorētiskajā daļā tiek izskaidroti šīs teorijas jēdzieni, kā arī viedokļu atšķirības apgaismības un postmodernistu filozofu skatījumā. Īpaša uzmanība tiek veltīta vēsturiska tēlojuma jautājumam postmodernismā. Rezultāti apstiprina šī bakalaura darba hipotēzi un demonstrē, ka Dekarta idejas ir atrodamas romānā atklātā un slēptā formā, un spēlē nozīmīgu lomu romāna personāžu likteņos.The present bachelor thesis, ‘Rene Descartes’ Ideas in Rose Tremain’s Novel Music and Silence’ , focuses on the hidden polemic with Descartes’ ideas in Music and Silence. Its purpose is to demonstrate the relevance of the debate between the philosophers of the Enlightenment and Postmodernist writers and thinkers. The polemic in the novel is analysed through Bakhtin’s concepts of novelistic discourse. Theoretical part explains these concepts as well as the points of argument between the Enlightenment and Postmodernist philosophers. The question of historical representation in Postmodernism is given a special attention. The results confirm the hypothesis of the present thesis and demonstrate that Descartes’ ideas are present in the novel in open and hidden forms and play an important role in the destinies of the characters