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Cultural Memory in Contemporary Fiction: F. R. Leavis’s and Matthew Arnold’s Intellectual Presence in A. S. Byatt’s Work

Received: 12 March 2024     Accepted: 22 April 2024     Published: 23 September 2024
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Abstract

The concept of “cultural memory” serves as the foundation for this article, which explains the complex relationships between two prominent figures in the history of English letters, Matthew Arnold and F. R. Leavis, as well as how A. S. Byatt’s own work was influenced by their combined, though occasionally diametrically opposed, approaches to literature, culture, and criticism. As a result, this article begins with a discussion of the conflictual continuity and/or sustained ambivalence in Byatt’s critique of Leavisite criticism. It does this by first looking into Leavis’s position within the larger literary criticism context and then focusing on how Leavisite criticism fits into Byatt’s critical thought. Thus, Byatt’s assertion that Leavis made English literature the focal point of university education is examined by first looking into Leavis’s Cambridge. Lastly, Byatt’s criticism of Leavis’s idea of English studies is looked into in the context of critical evaluations of English literature’s place in higher education, at the same time that Byatt’s work is used as a prism to analyse the Arnoldian matrix of the Leavisite concept of “moral seriousness”. Afterward, Byatt’s critical work is critically examined in the framework of culture, society, and literature, continuing Arnold’s legacy.

Published in English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 9, Issue 4)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Memory and Counter-memory in Postmodern British Fiction

DOI 10.11648/j.ellc.20240904.11
Page(s) 97-107
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

A. S. Byatt, Cultural Memory, F. R. Leavis, Leavisite Criticism, Matthew Arnold, Moral Seriousness

References
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[2] Allen, Brooke. 2006. “Preview: Dr. Leavis, I Presume? The man who put ‘critic’ in ‘criticism’”. The Weekly Standard, May 22. Accessed December 28, 2017.
[3] Arnold, Matthew. 1903. Literature and Dogma: An Essay. Towards a Better Apprehension of the Bible. New York: The MacMillan Company.
[4] Arnold, Matthew. 1994. Culture and Anarchy [1869], edited by J. Dover Wilson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[5] Arnold, Matthew. 2009. “The Function of Criticism at the Present Time” [1864]. In Essays in Criticism. First and Second Series Complete [1900], 1-30. New York: The Cornell University Library Digital Collections.
[6] Bell, Michael. 1988. F. R. Leavis. London: Routledge.
[7] Birrer, Doryjane. 2007. “From Campus Fiction to Metacritical Fiction: A. S. Byatt’s Academic Novels.” In Academic Novels as Satire: Critical Studies of an Emerging Genre, edited by Mark Bosco and Kimberley Rae Connor, 50-71. Lewiston: The Edwin Mellen Press.
[8] Black, Michael. 2005. “Leavis on Lawrence”. In F. R. Leavis: Essays and Documents, edited by Ian MacKillop and Richard Storer, 190-224. London: Continuum.
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[12] Byatt, A. S. 1991a. Passions of the Mind: Selected Writings. London: Vintage.
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[14] Byatt, A. S. 1991c. Interview by Christien Franken. “An Interview with A. S. Byatt”. Utrecht: Department of Women’s Studies. March 1. Unpublished.
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[18] Byatt, A. S. 2001. Interview by Philip Hensher. “A. S. Byatt, The Art of Fiction”. The Paris Review 168. Accessed July 14, 2017.
[19] Byatt, A. S. 2004. Interview by Jenny Newman and James Friel. “An Interview with A. S. Byatt”. Cercles. Accessed July 14, 2017.
[20] Byatt, A. S. 2011. Interview by Tanya Harrod and Glenn Adamson. “Interview with A. S. Byatt”. The Journal of Modern Craft 4, no. 1: 65-82. Accessed July 26, 2017.
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[24] Erll, Astrid, and Ansgar Nünning, eds. 2008. Cultural Memory Studies: An International and Interdisciplinary Handbook. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter.
[25] Franken, Christien. 2001. A. S. Byatt: Art, Authorship, Creativity. Hampshire: Palgrave.
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[33] Pereira, Margarida Esteves. 2007. Do Romance Vitoriano ao Romance Pós-Moderno: A Reescrita do Feminino em A. S. Byatt. Universidade do Minho: Centro de Estudos Humanísticos, Colecção Poliedro.
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  • APA Style

    Cheira, A. (2024). Cultural Memory in Contemporary Fiction: F. R. Leavis’s and Matthew Arnold’s Intellectual Presence in A. S. Byatt’s Work. English Language, Literature & Culture, 9(4), 97-107. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20240904.11

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    ACS Style

    Cheira, A. Cultural Memory in Contemporary Fiction: F. R. Leavis’s and Matthew Arnold’s Intellectual Presence in A. S. Byatt’s Work. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2024, 9(4), 97-107. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20240904.11

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    AMA Style

    Cheira A. Cultural Memory in Contemporary Fiction: F. R. Leavis’s and Matthew Arnold’s Intellectual Presence in A. S. Byatt’s Work. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2024;9(4):97-107. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20240904.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ellc.20240904.11,
      author = {Alexandra Cheira},
      title = {Cultural Memory in Contemporary Fiction: F. R. Leavis’s and Matthew Arnold’s Intellectual Presence in A. S. Byatt’s Work
    },
      journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
      volume = {9},
      number = {4},
      pages = {97-107},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20240904.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20240904.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20240904.11},
      abstract = {The concept of “cultural memory” serves as the foundation for this article, which explains the complex relationships between two prominent figures in the history of English letters, Matthew Arnold and F. R. Leavis, as well as how A. S. Byatt’s own work was influenced by their combined, though occasionally diametrically opposed, approaches to literature, culture, and criticism. As a result, this article begins with a discussion of the conflictual continuity and/or sustained ambivalence in Byatt’s critique of Leavisite criticism. It does this by first looking into Leavis’s position within the larger literary criticism context and then focusing on how Leavisite criticism fits into Byatt’s critical thought. Thus, Byatt’s assertion that Leavis made English literature the focal point of university education is examined by first looking into Leavis’s Cambridge. Lastly, Byatt’s criticism of Leavis’s idea of English studies is looked into in the context of critical evaluations of English literature’s place in higher education, at the same time that Byatt’s work is used as a prism to analyse the Arnoldian matrix of the Leavisite concept of “moral seriousness”. Afterward, Byatt’s critical work is critically examined in the framework of culture, society, and literature, continuing Arnold’s legacy.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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