Postmodernist and Feminist Literature in Britain
Key Authors and Characteristics
John Fowles: Fowles is a clear example of a postmodernist novelist. His works had great commercial success in the UK and the USA. He experimented with themes and forms, playing with the past and present, such as in *The French Lieutenant’s Woman* (1969). In this work, Fowles attempts to capture the reader’s attention and make them an active participant. Fowles also uses his own memory to play with the experiences of his characters. Another of his most important works is the novel *The Collector* (1963).
Martin Amis: One of the most important contemporary novelists. Through violent language, he intends to represent the class system as established in Britain during the tenure of Margaret Thatcher. He uses the City of London to represent this change in society. He also uses Dickens’s idea that language should be used to identify a character and their social class, but also adds dialectal accents. Amis creates a new kind of language, using new expressions and Americanisms that are gradually being incorporated into British life.
Other important authors are Malcolm Bradbury (intellectual novels), Tom Sharpe (writing with irony), and David Lodge, with works such as *The British Museum is Falling Down*.
These novels are set under the rule of Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. These novels began to represent London as a symbol of not only social conflict but also as the place of moral doom for the people of the provinces. It also becomes a place of mixed identities and the perfect medium for social criticism, giving voice to social minorities.
Postmodernist Textual Strategies
- The Reader and Interpretation: The reader plays a key role, as they are the one who has to decipher the meaning of the text.
- Rewriting Key Works: Rewriting major works in the Western canon from another perspective. An example of this is *The Bloody Chamber* by Angela Carter, inspired by *Bluebeard*.
- Hyperreality: Postmodernists believe that reality has been replaced by something false that looks real.
- Crossing Cultures: They discuss crossing cultures, the notion of multiculturalism, and transculturalism. They question the idea of the limits of who we are and how these have changed.
Major Feminist Writers of This Period
Margaret Drabble: Her literary background is very strong. Her writing is influenced by the writing of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, so her novel is mostly realistic. She is not considered a feminist; however, she writes about women of her social class to express her own experiences. That allows her to grow with their characters. The successes and failures of the characters exemplify the situation in England at that time. Her works include *The Radiant Way* (1987), *A Natural Curiosity* (1989), and *The Gates of Ivory* (1991).
A. S. Byatt: Her novels are realistic. She is not closed to using strategies such as postmodernist intertextuality and the use of contemporary history. Her major works are: *The Virgin in the Garden* (1978), *Still Life* (1985), and *Possession* (1990).
Jeanette Winterson: In her novels, she seeks to represent multiple identities, playing with elements such as transvestism, the sexuality of characters, and religious oppression. An example of this is *Written on the Body* (1992), where you don’t know if the narrator is male or female. Many of her works contain autobiographical elements. For example, *Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit* (1985), one of her first collections of novels in which she talks about herself and homosexuality. She incorporates elements of reality and history, such as fairy tales, into her works. These elements are highlighted in *The PowerBook* (2000).
Angela Carter: For her, reality consists of short stories, so rewriting becomes an instrument for changing the story. Carter rewrites stories from a different perspective with the aim of transforming how people see themselves. Through this rewriting, she wants to give a voice to social minorities and convey a positive message. Among her works is *The Bloody Chamber*, rewriting the traditional tale *Bluebeard*.