Page 7 - September 2020

LITTERATEUR

NOVEL AND ROMANCE IN THE WAR WITHOUT BATTLES OF J.G. FARREL

The romance describes, in a solemn language, heroic between the two factions.
adventures inspired by the sense of the pleasing; the In this historical contingency Anglo-Irish authors
novel presents, in a daily language, a mere chronicle (J. G. Farrell, I. Murdoch and others) wanted to
of facts, at least plausible. To the first belongs, for write historical novels about the conflicts in

example, "Gulliver's travels" by Swift, while to the Ireland, which would go beyond the chronicle of
second "Your villages" by Pavese. As "Una questione the facts and confront the ideas on novels and
contemporary
privata" by Fenoglio demonstrates, in romance formulated shortly before by Northorp
literature, however, the parameters of the two Frye: "The essential difference between novel
modes often intertwine artistically. This is and romance is found in the concept of

demonstrated by the narrative relating to the characterization. The romancer does
twentieth-century Irish conflicts. Since 1920 the not attempt to create "real people" but rather
Government of Ireland Act was in force in Northern stylized figures that expand into psychological
Ireland, under which internal affairs were handled by
archetypes. It is in romance that we find Jung's
the Belfast Parliament, while Westminster controlled
libido, soul and shadow reflected in the hero,
foreign policy and tax management. Catholics were
heroine and villain respectively. This is why
discriminated against in the allocation of social
romance so often radiates a glow of subjective
housing and public employment, but above all in
intensity that the novel does not possess, and
political representation: electoral districts were
why a suggestion of allegory is at its margins.
shaped to ensure that Protestants won the election.
Certain elements of the character are left free in
From 1967 the situation plummeted: the protest
the romance, making it a naturally more
marches, organized by the Northern Ireland Civil
revolutionary form of the novel. The novelist
Right Association (NICRA) and the People's
deals with the personality, with the characters
Democracy, were often attacked by Protestant
wearing their personae or social masks. It needs
extremists. Alarmed by the attacks on Unionists,
the structure of a stable society, and many of
James Callaghan, the British Home Secretary, had
our best novelists have been conventional to the
sent the British army to Northern Ireland. Tension
limit of fussiness. The romancer deals with
skyrocketed during the Catholic uprising in Derry,
individuality, with idealized characters (...) and,
which broke out between 12 and 14 August 1969 as a
conservative as he may be, something nihilistic
result of a Unionist march through the historic
and indomitable may emerge from his
Catholic quarter of Bogside. The unrest and violence
pages.”To enter the war is to enter life: it is an
between the two communities also spread to
irrevocable choice of life and morality, it is a
Belfast, where the British built a wall to separate the
redemption from 20th century ineptitude.
Catholic and Protestant quarters. This was the
Therefore,coming out of the war can mean
beginning of the so-called Troubles, which since
other ineptitude or taking on new, unexpected
then have seen the systematic outbreak of violence
responsibilities.

L I T T E R A T E U R
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