Endings and closures : reading and re-reading Frank Davey's The Abbotsford Guide to India, Daphne Marlatt's Ana Historic, and Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter
Date
1990
Authors
Liggett, Leslie Diane
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Abstract
In Frank Davey's The Abbotsford Guide to India, Daphne Marlatt's Ana Historic, and Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter there is a tension between the works' endings and the texts' closure. That tension leads to reĀreading of the books, thus deferring closure, then leading to further re-reading. Using the distinction between work and text as a basis for the difference between ending and closure, this thesis examines the problem of closure in these three texts.
The introduction establishes working definitions for the terms "work," "text," "ending," and "closure," clarifying how they will be used in this thesis. Generic complication also requires explanation, as it is one of the major factors leading to the deferral of closure in these texts. A discussion of the notion of gratification as it relates to generic indeterminacy and as it may be affected by the tension between endings and closures concludes the introduction.
Chapter one discusses Davey's Abbotsford Guide to India. Davey's main strategies for the deferral of closure are closely related to his political agenda in this book: he decentralizes literature, refuses to privilege one narrative line over another, and constantly questions the "authority" of the author. His speaking subject shifts, leaving the reader confused and unsure of her ground. In this way, the reader is invited to re- read, often in order to clarify her own as well as Davey's position within the text. This reĀreading defers closure.
Chapter two examines Daphne Marlatt's reconstruction of history in Ana Historic. Marlatt rejects a male-centred version of history and writes her own version, one in which women are the central figures. Marlatt's characters become writers as well, so that their stories echo hers, and the readers are invited into the process of constructing stories. By erasing temporal boundaries and allowing communication to move through time, Marlatt draws readers into her text and out of it. She recreates lives that were considered closed, denying death as closure and denying the restrictive boundaries of language. Marlatt allows women to choose their own endings, thus to deny closure.
Like Marlatt, Ondaatje too uses death to deny closure rather than to impose it. Chapter three examines Buddy Bolden's multiple deaths; death as a metaphor for closure in the text is undone because Buddy Bolden is resurrected over and over. Confusion about the speaking subject, generic complication and a list of acknowledgements that appears at the end of the book all contribute to the deferral of closure in Coming Through Slaughter.
The conclusion suggests that the lack of closure in these texts is both a cause and an effect of generic indeterminacy. Finally, it discusses gratification as a unique result of the tension between endings and closures in The Abbotsford Guide to India, Ana Historic and Coming Through Slaughter.