Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2003

Thesis Director

John Guzlowski

Abstract

The moment a reader opens a book, turns to the opening lines and begins to read, a circular relationship immediately develops with the author and the text. An implied alliance is formed wherein the author, most often through a narrator, omniscient or otherwise, proposes to the reader that he/she accept a degree of responsibility for understanding the plot, theme, and the underlying meaning in the work.

Retrospectively the theory sounds simple and, with many authors, it is effective. William Faulkner and Toni Morrison, however, not only command but also demand, the reader's absolute attention in, and responsibility to, many of their respective works if he/she wants to gain an understanding of their fiction. They accomplish this end by leaving narrative lacunae--gaps--in their stories that cause great consternation for their readers. They refrain from an overabundance of words in describing every act and thought within every characters. They leave gaps or holes for their readers to fall into challenging them to bring their imaginations into the work.

The lacunae usually cause conflict in word-to-deed and deed-to-word dichotomies among the characters. However, as in the instance of Joe Christmas in Faulkner's Light in August, the conflicting lacuna can be lodged within the characters themselves. The question of Joe Christmas' race creates a conflicting black-to-white dichotomy and remains unanswered by Faulkner even to the end of the book. The reader must carefully interpret Faulkner's intentions in each passage and reach his/her assumption without ever learning the truth.

Morrison refers to the lacunae she presents in her novels as "holes or spaces." She admits she purposely controls her language or use of words to describe her characters' every thought and action in order to leave a hole for her readers to fall into. And Faulkner readily admitted he did not write so that every "idiot" could understand his meaning.

Faulkner's and Morrison's ability to create lacunae in their novels offers an excellent opportunity for a discussion of this theory as it applies in many of their novels. The underlying meaning, of course, rests in the reader's imagination.

Download

Share

COinS