Materiality and the Modern Cosmopolitan Novel

(Romina) #1

22 Materiality and the Modern Cosmopolitan Novel


Although it is not a primary focus of the discussion that follows, in
analyzing Phillips’s work through a cosmopolitan theoretical lens, I
also illuminate some of these instances of divergence. A particular
area of difference, which can be pointed to here, and which is also
alluded to in the introduction, lies in the priority that cosmopoli-
tanism places on the subversion of fixed categories of identity and
belonging, and for the need for the individual to cultivate “critical”
or “ironic” distance from his or her context. Walkowitz calls this
manner of viewing the world “a critical cosmopolitan vision,” which
is suspicious of the received paradigms of seeing that are to be found
in and define any given historical context, and seeks to look beyond
fixed categories of identity and belonging. Although such a vision
may not be incompatible with postcolonial thought, it has not been
a key feature in the theoretical literature. I therefore consider this to
be an area where cosmopolitanism and postcolonialism appear to
diverge in their priorities or interests.
In the current chapter, I argue that a significant portion of Caryl
Phillips’s novels, especially Higher Ground (1989), The Nature of
Blood (1997), and A Distant Shore (2003), exhibit thematic and
formal characteristics that dovetail with cosmopolitan thought in
ways that have so far been overlooked. In particular, such priorities
involve the aspiration toward an inclusive, humanistic cosmopol-
itan vision that attempts to transcend fixed categories of identity
and belonging. I demonstrate that Phillips has deployed a variety of
techniques in these novels—and indeed throughout his work—that
encourage—and in many cases—provoke the adoption of such a
vision. Beginning with a brief discussion of Higher Ground and The
Nature of Blood , I illustrate how Phillips has employed multi-tempo-
ral intertextual narratives with shared themes of madness and physi-
cal suffering so as to promote ways of seeing that are at once critical,
cosmopolitan, and attentive to historical influences. More precisely,
this involves sophisticated juxtapositions of narratives from different
historical epochs that actively frustrate readers’ attempts to empa-
thize with and understand the respective characters.
In tracing the theoretical ramifications of this technique,
the works of Lauren Berlant, Kathleen Woodward, and Martha
Nussbaum are of particular use, but I also demonstrate that such

Free download pdf