Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

The Eyre Affair as a Postmodern Parody of Jane Eyre

Year 2017, Volume: 3 Issue: 3, 106 - 115, 01.10.2017

Abstract

Although being a term that has been used since the ancient times, parody has
always been a controversial subject, and it has been defined by a good number
of critics in different ways throughout the periods. While some critics see it as
a low form of literature, some others have tried to raise it to a higher status,
this time stripping it off from its humour which they considered to be dragging
parody down. This paper will examine the main controversies over the term,
referring to leading critics’ views on the subject and then will analyse The Eyre
Affair by Jasper Fforde in this sense. It aims to show how Fforde’s book can be
read as a postmodern parody and how it carries the main characteristics of
postmodernism and parody alike. 

References

  • “burlesque”. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. Accessed: 20 August 2016. “parody”. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. 2nd edition, 2001. “parody”. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms. 4th edition, 1999. “parody”. The Routledge Dictionary of Literary Terms. 3rd edition, 2006. “pastiche”. The Routledge Dictionary of Literary Terms. 3rd edition, 2006 Anderson, Nicole L (2012), “Postmodern Elements in The Eyre Affair”. UI Victorian Wiki. https://wiki.uiowa.edu/display/vicwik/Postmodern+Elements+in+The+Eyre+Affair Barthes, Roland (1981), “Theory of the Text” in Untying the Text: A Post-Structuralist Reader (ed. by Robert Young). Routledge, in Korkut, Nil. “Kinds of Parody from The Medieaval to the Postmodern” Dissertation, Middle East Technical University, 2005. Beninger, Mark and Thomas, Katrin (2007), “A Parallelquel of a Classic Text and Reification of the Fictional – the Playful Parody of Jane Eyre in Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair” in A Breath of Fresh Eyre: Intertextual and Intermedial Reworkings of Jane Eyre, ed. by Margarete Rubik and Elke Mettinger-Schartmann, Radopi, 2007, pp.181-196 Brontë, Charlotte (2008), Jane Eyre. Oxford University Press, UK. Dentith, Simon (2000), Parody. Routledge, UK. Eco, Umberto (1985), “Reflections on ‘The Name of the Rose’”. Encounter, April, pp.7-18. Fforde, Jasper (undated), Interview with Cristopher Hennessey-DeRose. http://www.zonesf.com/jasperfforde.html _________ (2002a), Interview with Murray Waldren. The Weekend Australian, http://users.tpg.com.au/waldrenm/fforde.html _________ (2002b), Interview with Claire E. White. The Internet Writing Journal, February 2002. _________ (2005), Interview with Simone Swink. January Magazine, June 2005. http://januarymagazine.com/profiles/fforde.html _________ (2001), The Eyre Affair. Hodder. Foucault, Michel (1972), The Archaeology of Knowledge and The Discourse on Language. Translated by A.M. Sheridan Smith. Pantheon. Hutcheon, Linda (1988), A Poetics of Postmodernism: History, Theory, Fiction. Routledge, UK. _________ (2000), A Theory of Parody: The Teachings of Twentieth-Century Art Forms. University of Illinois Press, USA. James, Jamie. “The Paper Chase”. Review of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Los Angeles Times, 17.03.2012. Jameson, Fredric (1991), Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Verso. Kitchin, George (1931), A Survey of Burlesque and Parody in English. Oliver and Boyd. Korkut, Nil (2005), Kinds of Parody from The Medieaval to the Postmodern. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Middle East Technical University. Lelievre, F.J. (1954), “The Basis of Ancient Parody”, Greece and Rome, Series 2, 1/2, June, pp.66-81 in Rose, Margaret A. Parody: Ancient, Modern and Post-Modern. Cambridge University Press, 1993. McHale, Brian (1987), Postmodernist Fiction. Routledge, UK. Rose, Margaret A. (1993), Parody: Ancient, Modern and Post-Modern. Cambridge University Press, UK.

The Eyre Affair as a Postmodern Parody of Jane Eyre

Year 2017, Volume: 3 Issue: 3, 106 - 115, 01.10.2017

Abstract

Although being a term that has been used since the ancient times, parody has always been a controversial subject, and it has been defined by a good number of critics in different ways throughout the periods. While some critics see it as a low form of literature, some others have tried to raise it to a higher status,time stripping it off from its humour which they considered to be dragging parody down. This paper will examine the main controversies over the term, referring to leading critics’ views on the subject and then will analyse The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde in this sense. It aims to show how Fforde’s book can be read as a postmodern parody and how it carries the main characteristics of postmodernism and parody alike. 

References

  • “burlesque”. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. Accessed: 20 August 2016. “parody”. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. 2nd edition, 2001. “parody”. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms. 4th edition, 1999. “parody”. The Routledge Dictionary of Literary Terms. 3rd edition, 2006. “pastiche”. The Routledge Dictionary of Literary Terms. 3rd edition, 2006 Anderson, Nicole L (2012), “Postmodern Elements in The Eyre Affair”. UI Victorian Wiki. https://wiki.uiowa.edu/display/vicwik/Postmodern+Elements+in+The+Eyre+Affair Barthes, Roland (1981), “Theory of the Text” in Untying the Text: A Post-Structuralist Reader (ed. by Robert Young). Routledge, in Korkut, Nil. “Kinds of Parody from The Medieaval to the Postmodern” Dissertation, Middle East Technical University, 2005. Beninger, Mark and Thomas, Katrin (2007), “A Parallelquel of a Classic Text and Reification of the Fictional – the Playful Parody of Jane Eyre in Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair” in A Breath of Fresh Eyre: Intertextual and Intermedial Reworkings of Jane Eyre, ed. by Margarete Rubik and Elke Mettinger-Schartmann, Radopi, 2007, pp.181-196 Brontë, Charlotte (2008), Jane Eyre. Oxford University Press, UK. Dentith, Simon (2000), Parody. Routledge, UK. Eco, Umberto (1985), “Reflections on ‘The Name of the Rose’”. Encounter, April, pp.7-18. Fforde, Jasper (undated), Interview with Cristopher Hennessey-DeRose. http://www.zonesf.com/jasperfforde.html _________ (2002a), Interview with Murray Waldren. The Weekend Australian, http://users.tpg.com.au/waldrenm/fforde.html _________ (2002b), Interview with Claire E. White. The Internet Writing Journal, February 2002. _________ (2005), Interview with Simone Swink. January Magazine, June 2005. http://januarymagazine.com/profiles/fforde.html _________ (2001), The Eyre Affair. Hodder. Foucault, Michel (1972), The Archaeology of Knowledge and The Discourse on Language. Translated by A.M. Sheridan Smith. Pantheon. Hutcheon, Linda (1988), A Poetics of Postmodernism: History, Theory, Fiction. Routledge, UK. _________ (2000), A Theory of Parody: The Teachings of Twentieth-Century Art Forms. University of Illinois Press, USA. James, Jamie. “The Paper Chase”. Review of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Los Angeles Times, 17.03.2012. Jameson, Fredric (1991), Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Verso. Kitchin, George (1931), A Survey of Burlesque and Parody in English. Oliver and Boyd. Korkut, Nil (2005), Kinds of Parody from The Medieaval to the Postmodern. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Middle East Technical University. Lelievre, F.J. (1954), “The Basis of Ancient Parody”, Greece and Rome, Series 2, 1/2, June, pp.66-81 in Rose, Margaret A. Parody: Ancient, Modern and Post-Modern. Cambridge University Press, 1993. McHale, Brian (1987), Postmodernist Fiction. Routledge, UK. Rose, Margaret A. (1993), Parody: Ancient, Modern and Post-Modern. Cambridge University Press, UK.
There are 1 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Merve Bekiryazıcı This is me

Publication Date October 1, 2017
Submission Date July 9, 2017
Acceptance Date August 1, 2017
Published in Issue Year 2017 Volume: 3 Issue: 3

Cite

APA Bekiryazıcı, M. (2017). The Eyre Affair as a Postmodern Parody of Jane Eyre. PESA Uluslararası Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 3(3), 106-115.

This website was licenced under Creative Commons 4.0 International Licence.