NOT “THE ONLY STORY”: NARRATIVE, MEMORY, AND SELF-BECOMING IN JULIAN BARNES’ NOVEL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2021.2.04Keywords:
The Only Story, Julian Barnes, Paul Ricoeur, memory, storytelling, self-becoming, identityAbstract
Not the Only Story: Narrative, Memory and Self-becoming in Julian Barnes’ Novel. Julian Barnes’s The Only Story depicts the affair of the narrator, Paul, with an older, married woman, Susan. Yet while the obvious subject matter may be trite, the writer’s treatment of it is noteworthy. More specifically, the present paper aims to explore the manner in which this story is remembered by the narrator. Using Paul Ricoeur’s work on the narrative self, we suggest that the protagonist does not wish to deliver an accurate account of the events that shaped his life, but rather he attempts to come to terms with the latter through storytelling. Thus, “the only story” is not necessarily that of Paul’s first love. It is, rather, the only story that matters to him, which must include all others and which he must tell in order to shape and understand his own process of becoming.
REZUMAT. Nu doar Singura poveste: despre narațiune, amintire, și devenirea-de-sine în romanul lui Julian Barnes. Romanul lui Julian Barnes, Singura Poveste, dezvoltă relaţia amoroasă a naratorului, Paul, cu Susan, o femeie căsătorită, mai în vârstă decât el. Tema este banală, însă modul în care aceasta este abordată de către autor este remarcabil. Mai precis, lucrarea de faţă explorează felul în care naratorul îşi aminteşte povestea sa. Cu ajutorul teoriei despre sinele narativ a lui Paul Ricoeur, sugerăm faptul că protagonistul nu îşi doreşte să prezinte un raport meticulos al evenimentelor care i-au modelat viaţa, ci mai degrabă să se împace cu acestea prin povestire. Așadar, “Singura poveste” nu expune, neaparat, prima iubire a lui Paul. Este povestea care le include pe celelalte şi pe care el trebuie să o spună pentru a-şi înţelege devenirea de sine.
Cuvinte-cheie: Singura poveste, Julian Barnes, Paul Ricoeur, amintire, povestire, devenire-de-sine, identitate
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