A Story beside(s) Itself: The Language of Loss in Djuna Barnes's Nightwood

Author(s): Victoria L. Smith

Source: PMLA, Vol. 114, No. 2 (Mar., 1999), pp. 194-206
Published by: Modern Language Association
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L. Smiith
Victoria

A Storybeside(s) Itself:The
Language of Loss in Djuna
Barnes' Nghtwood

VICTORIA L. SMITH is assistantprofessorofEnglishat

MiamiUniversity,
Oxford.This
essay is part of a book she is
writingonfeministtheoriesof
loss and of representation
in
modernwomen'snovels.

N A WRY REVIEW in theNewstatesman

and Nation (17 Oct.
1936),a criticsuggeststhatDjuna Barnes'sNightwood(first
pub-

lished in England in 1936) is not obscene:

The testofa book'sobscenity

is saidtobe itspowerofcorrupting
thosewho
areopento corruption;
and,had I a daughter
whosepassionsformistresses
andoldergirlswerebeginning
to cause scandalandalarm,I shouldcertainly
insistthatshe readNightWood.If,afterobservingtheawfulfateof Robin
[and]Nora[...] shedidnotentera religiousretreat
orimmediately
announce
herengagement
to somethoroughly
eligibleyoungman,I shouldrealisethat
thetimehad come to say good-bye;thatall I could do was to buy hera
dinner-jacket
and turnherloose. [. .] A morethorough-going
deterrent
it
wouldbe hardtoimagine.
(qtd.inMarcus,"Mousemeat"198)
We learnherethatNightwoodis notobscene,because it is unlikelyto corrupt+even those younggirlsgiven to corruption-and thatthereason it
will not corruptis thedepictionof the lesbian characters'"awful fate."I
What is thisawful fate?To be sure,theplot of Nightwoodreveals little:
boy (Felix) meets girl (Robin); boy loses girl; girl (Nora) meets girl

(Robin)andalsolosesher;theseactionsareall commented
onindepth,
although
ina modeof"hilarious
obliquely,
sorrow"
bythegayDr.Matthew
Dante O'Connor.2There are no suicides,no anguishedand twistedreturns

toheterosexuality,
andno horrible
confrontations
witha hostileworld,at

least not directly.The awful fateseems simplya narrativeof loss-certainlynot theexclusive domain of lesbians. Yet neitherthenarrativenor

thelossis simple.Forwithin
Barnes'sdifficult
andthickly
brocadednarrativeis wrappeda loss notonlyofa loverbutalso ofsomething
moreelusive and less recognizable. The narrativeshapes itself around a blank
space, an absence,thatoutlinesa loss of access to history,
to language,and

torepresentation
in generalforthoseconsignedtothemargins
ofculture

194

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195

L. Smitb
Victoria

orcolorbecauseoftheir
gender,
sexuality,
religion,
evenopacity,
anawfulfateindeed.Thecomplexity,
of
itssustained
use
Barnes'swriting-itsindirectness,
oftropes-enablesus to see theoutlines,theshadows,thepsychesofthosepeople,particularly
Jews,
thathavebeenprelesbians,andmalehomosexuals,
for.
andunaccounted
viouslyunremarked,
unspoken
is thusa profoundly
Nightwood
politicalwork,for
fiction-her
theeffectsof Barnes'sexperimental
lovesandlosses-are, parapublicdisplayofprivate
ofthoselosses.
doxically,
recuperations
Most earlycriticismof Nightwoodfocuseson
on whatcriticsconsidered
formalconsiderations,
Barnes'sdistinctly
modernist
orradicalstyle.More
criticsconcentrate
on content,
seerecentfeminist
ing radicalalterity,
a breakdownof standardduor
alisms(e.g.,masculinity/femininity,
day/night),
the reverseand political side of a "traditional,"
Whilesomeof
New Criticalversionofmodernism.
theselattercriticshavenegotiated
thetwindifficultiesofBarnes'sobscureyetbeautiful
languageand
herradicalinsightsintothenatureofhistoryand
fewhaveattempted
to showthecontent
sexuality,
of Barnes'sform-thatis, whatherradicalnarrativestylemightbe in serviceof.3My aimhereis to
showhowBarnescounters
lossesin
"unspeakable"
and of cultureand historythrougha speakingor
ofthoselosses.The publicdisplayof
performance
Barnes'sNightwoodoffersa seriesof textualand
a lexicon,ifyouwill,forspeakpsychicstrategies,
ingunspeakablelosses and desires-unspeakable
in the sense of "the love thatdare not speak its
name"and in thesense thatdesireis, in part,unconscious. The textparadoxicallyperformsunspeakableloss anddemandsthatwe recognizeloss
of a lover),as well as recognizethe
(of history,
subjectwho speaks.Nightwoodaccomplishesthis
speech about loss in two relatedways: through
rhetorical
andpsychicindirection.
I discusstheinterconnectedness
ofrhetoric
andloss through
three
keyfigures,
Felix,Dr. O'Connor,andRobin,each
of whichspiralsus closerto an understanding
of
loss. Thisindirect
approachis whyI claimthatthe
novelis a storybeside(s) itself:it narratessomethingbesides its overtnarrativeand tells itself
throughstories that stand beside the narrated
events.4Nightwoodis also a storybesideitselfin
thepsychicor affectivesense: a storyout of its

senses or wits-mad or,moreprecisely,melanthenovelkeensa loss

cholic.Like themelancholic,
and in doingso calls attention
(of representation)
theonewholaments,
tothestyleofthelamentation,
andthe"dead"orlostobject.
moves-thekindsoffigures
The text'srhetorical
ofspeechBarnesuses toconveya senseoflossthenovel
producea generaltropological
sensibility:
functions
througha seriesof swervesaway from
receivedmeanings.5Tropehere
plot,convention,
can best be understoodthroughHaydenWhite's
as a "deviationfromtheliteral,convendefinition
tional,or 'proper'languageuse,"a swerve"inlocutionsanctionedneitherby customnorlogic" (2).
Barnescommented
on herswervesawayfromthe
lacked
conventional
whenshenotedthatpublishers
in thebookbecause"theyall sayitis nota
interest
of lifein it,only
novel;thatthereis no continuity
I do notgiveanyonethe
highspotsandpoetry-that
idea ofwhatpersonswore,ateorhowtheyopened
andcloseddoors,howtheyearneda livingorhow
theytookofftheirshoesandputon theirhats.God
knowsI don't"(Plumbx-xi). Her swervescan be
seenonthelevelofnarrative,
wherefewofthemonologuesseemtohavedirectbearingon theaction;
onthesentence
aredescribed
level,wherecharacters
in telescopingmetaphors
andsimiles;andevenon
thelevelofthecharacters,
whoseemtofunction
as
tropesin thenovel.WhatI proposeis to showwhy
is necessary,
Nightwood's
rhetorical
extravagance
loss.CathyCaruth'swork
especiallyforperforming
on traumaprovidessome suggestivereasonsfor
Barnes'sdifficult
andtropological
style.Following
theFreudiannotionthattraumatic
experiencecannotbe fullyassimilatedas it occurs,Caruth"explore[s]thecomplexwaysthatknowingand not
knowingareentangledin thelanguageofa trauma
andinthestoriesassociatedwithit"(Experience
4).
Thisideaofaninability
tospeakabouttrauma
when
itdemandsvoicingandwitnessing
opensup questionsabouthowtoconvey,howtonarrativize,
loss
ortraumaandforegrounds
the"paradoxicalstrucinpsychictrauma"
tureofindirectness
(60).
The novel's psychicmoves,whichI read as a
publicinterior
monologueaboutloss,entaila mechanicsof melancholiawherebytheindividual's
andthetext'senunciations
ofloss call attention
to
who and whatloses, as well as to whatis lost-

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196

ofLoss inDjuna Barnes's

Itse(fTheLanguage
beside(s)
A Story
Nightwood

notes the differencethata textlike Nightwood

can make:"Withthecorrectartistwe contemplate
life,withthepoetic artistwe make a new one"
(Plumbxi).
Barnes'sinitialchapter,
"Bow Down,"standsas
a mininovel,an anatomyof a loss thatprovidesa
pattern
forunderstanding
therestofthenovel.The
notonlyillustrates
thenovel'srhetorical
chapter
indirectionbutalso impliesthatwe can understand
theindividuallosses experiencedbyFelix,Nora,
andDr. O'Connoronlyin thecontextofhistorical
loss-the loss ofJewishhistory,
andculidentity,
tureby the Volkbeinfamily.10
Set in Viennain
1880,thischaptersuggeststhatthenovelwillconWesucceededinexplaining
thepainful
disorder
of
melancholia
that[in thosesuffering cern a heterosexualcouple, Guido and Hedvig
by supposing
fromit] an objectwhichwas losthas beensetup
Volkbein,and theirson, Felix. "Baron" Guido
againinsidetheego-thatis,thatanobject-cathexis Volkbeinhideshis Jewishancestry,
manufactures
hasbeenreplacedbyanidentification.
Atthattime an aristocratic
Christian
an Aryan
one,andmarries
[.. .] wedidnotknowhowcommon
andhowtypical wife,Hedvig,describedas havinga goose-step
itis. Sincethenwehavecometounderstand
thatthis stride.Felix is thechildof thisunion;his mother
kindofsubstitution
hasa greatshareindetermining
dies in childbirth,
andhis fatherdies a shorttime
theformtakenby theego and [. . .] whatis called
later.
Felix
knows
little
abouthispastbutseemsdeits"character."
(Ego 18)
termined
to veneratea falsepastnonetheless.
And
thoughthesecondchapterbrieflytellsof Felix's
Loss, then,constitutes
theself,or,as Freudelomarriageto Robin(who promptly
leaves himand
quentlyputsit,the"ego is theprecipitate
of abanthechildshehasborne),themajority
ofthenovelis
donedobject-cathexes"
(29).
aboutthelesbianrelationship
ofRobinand Nora,
I use thisidea of theprocessof melancholiawitha running
commentary
provided
byDr.O'Contheinternalization
of and identification
witha lost
nor."1Barnes'schoice of Viennaand thebirthof
objectthatproducean excessivenarrative-tosugFelix Volkbein,a Jew,as theplace andeventwith
gestthatNightwood
is a paradigmatic
melancholic
whichto beginNightwoodsignalsan analogical
text.Melancholiaseemsa tool superblysuitedto
modeofnarrative,
particularly
whenthenarrative
Barnes'snarrative
understanding
and herproducconcernstheprocessesofhistory.
The recounting
tionoftheself,particularly
ifwe grantthatwomen
ofFelix's birthis a paradigmofthekindof stories
(and other"others")can, in part,recognizetheir
thatBarnesgoes on to tellinNightwood
insofaras
losses even if the dominantculturerefusesto.
Felix's storyis one of a race thathad, as Barnes
Melancholiais a toolthatsculptstheego inmoving
writes,the"sanctionof theLord" but"thedisapback and forthbetweenthepsycheand culture.6
provalofthepeople,"a storyofhavingbeingbutno
Andthismovement
revealsboththenormative
patlikeother"ex-centrics"
birthright,
inthetext.
ternings
of social lifeand theself'sresistancesto
Barnes contextualizesthe meaningof Felix's
them.7
FollowingBarnes'ssidewaysmovements,
I
birthbyindicating
thathisJewishhistory
has been
suggestan analogybetweentheego and narrative, erasedandhas
subsequently
becomea "commodbothas memorialsto loss.8 The performance
of
ity"anda "sign"thathe is unabletopossess:
loss in theexcessesofBarnes'stext itstorrential
and Byzantinelanguagecoupledwithitsrelative
Ittakesa Christian,
standing
eternally
intheJew'ssalunconcern
withplot-offersa strategy
forrecupervation,toblamehimself
andtobringup fromthat
atingwhathas been unspeakable,includingthe
andfantastic
depthcharming
superstitions
through
woman,andespeciallythelesbian,subject.9
Barnes
which
theslowly
andtirelessly
milling
Jewoncemore
whether
itis a woman,a history,
or something
less
definable.The novelthusdependson whatI call
I use melancholiain
witha difference.
melancholia
a specific,Freudiansense.Freudsuggeststhatthe
ego ingeneralis constituted
through
loss,a concept
in hisworkon thepathologhe initially
formulated
ical conditionof melancholia.Laterhe reworked
his accountand stressedthatthemechanisminvolvedin melancholia(in whichtheego is builtup
a substitution
in itfora lostobject)makes
through
an essentialcontribution
to theconstruction
ofall
individuals,
notsimplythosewhoareill.He writes:

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197

Victoria
L. S)with

becomesthe"collector"ofhisownpast.His undoing
is neverprofitable
untilsomegoyhas putitbackinto
as "sign." (10)
suchshapethatitcan againbe offered
This passage suggests a theftof history,whose absence is thenfilledwithfantastictracesby thedominant, Christian culture. The unrepresentedand
unrepresentablemill among these traces to collect
and rememberthemselves. The figureof the Jew
and Jews' relation to historybecome, forBarnes,
ways in which to representhow history is constructed,who gets writtenin and who gets written
out. The storyof Guido, Hedvig, and Felix marks
out a space forsomethingin additionto themarginalization and erasure of the Jew in history,especially in thelightof thenarrativethatfollows in the
otherchapters and a monologue about historythe
doctor provides in the firstchapter.As JulieAbraham remarks,"The storyof Felix Volkbein functionsas a paradigmof Barnes's understanding
of the
relationof the powerless to the record of the 'high
and mighty"' (255). Indeed, this representation of

theJewhelps us understandthewritingout of other

marginalfigures,especially thehomosexual.'2
Barnes follows the account of Felix and Guido
(two wandering Jews) with a monologue by Dr.
O'Connor thatguides the reader in understanding
the importance of Robin and Nora's story. Dr.
MatthewDante O'Connor, much like Dante in the
Commedia,oftenacts as a guide forthe readerand
for other characters in the "dark wood" of this
novel and explains in his storytellingthe intricate
production of histories and of sexualities (among
otherthings).In the monologue, the doctor moves
fromthe loss of a specific history-the Jews'-to
historyin general and shows both filled with stories and traces. Historybecomes an unpossessable
yet always desired object. The doctordescribes the
productionof history:
We mayall be nature'snoblemen[. .] butthinkofthe
storiesthatdo notamountto much!Thatis, thatare
in spiteofall manremembers
forgotten
(unlesshe remembershimself)merelybecause theybefellhim
withoutdistinction
of officeor title-that'swhatwe
call legendandit'sthebesta poormanmaydo withhis
fate; the other [. . .] we call history,the best the high

andmighty
cando withtheirs.
Legendis unexpurgated,
buthistory,
becauseofitsactors,is deflowered. (15)

The doctorimpliesthatthestoriesof thedisemin legend,which

poweredonlyget remembered
ormyth,
whereasthestohas thevalenceoffiction
as history,
ries of thepowerfulget remembered
whichhas thevalenceof fact.Here Barnesforenatureofleggrounds
thearbitrary
andconstructed
end and history,
thefactthatneitheris true.Dr.
are stories,traces
O'Connorsuggeststhathistories
thatdo notamountto muchunlesstheyarerememberedin thepresentbycertainpersonsforcertain
becomeficpurposes.One's pastandone's history
tionalconstructions.
The quotationalso suggests
thatone wayofcopingwithan exclusionorexpurThatis, I
gationfromhistoryis through
memory.
takethedoctor'sstatement
"unless[one] remembers[one]self"literally.
Memorybecomesa kind
of witnessing
of history,
a
and psychicrepository
forloss.
wayto compensate
The doctordistinguishes
betweenunofficial
and
official
theformer
is intact,
whilethelatter
history;
is "deflowered,"
marredand no longerinnocent.
His speechabove also invitesthequestionwhois
inthewaythedoctor
doingwhattowhom.History,
refers
to it,impliesa kindofconservatism
andempowerment(at least forthehighand mighty),as
wellas a traditional
sexualcoupling.It followsthat
thenarrativeof theloversRobin and Nora,with
whichmuchofNightwood
is concerned,
fallsoutside thepurviewof officialhistory,
just as Felix's
storydoes, sincetheirhistoriesarenotpartof the
dominantculture,because Robin and Nora are
womenand lesbiansandFelix is Jewish.Noraand
Robin(and Dr. O'Connor)are analogousto Felix,
then,in therelationto historytheyall share.The
Jewand thehomosexual(categoriesthatare not
mutually
exclusive)getwritten
outofhistory,
each
in a specificway.
The hows and whysof the(non)inscription
of
historyin Nightwoodare complex,involvingdeofhistory,
struction
collaboration
withdestruction,
andstrategic
remembering
andreconstruction.
For
GuidoandFelix,andbyextensiontheJew,history
is an obsessionand a fiction,as suggestedby the
statement
thattheJewis "thecollectorof his own
past."Like Guido,Felix is obsessedwiththepast,

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198

A Stogy
TheLanguage
beside(s)
ofLoss inDjuna BarnessNightwood
Ikse/f

feeling"thatthegreatpastmightmenda littleifhe
bowed low enough,if he succumbedand gave
homage"(9). ButthepastGuidoandFelix collect
is an imaginary
and self-created
one. Guido buys
portraits
of his "parents"to have "an alibi forthe
blood," and the narratortells us, "Had anyone
caredto look intothematter
theywouldhavediscoveredthesecanvasesto be reproductions
oftwo
intrepidand ancientactors"(7). These portraits
embodythefalsenessand emptinessof Guido's
are notonlynot
past.The subjectsof theportraits
hisparents,
theyareactors,impersonators,
hereunknowingly
actingoutyetanotherrole.Giventhat
in someforgotten
Guido"found[theportraits]
and
dustycorner,"thepast is (literally)composedof
whatone can make of thetracesin the garbage
heapofhistory
(7).
Whileone mightarguethatGuido's movesare
anti-Semitism
and
partlytheresultof internalized
to beingvictimized
partlyhis methodofresistance
as a Jew,I suggestthatBarnesuses Guido'salienationfromhishistory
to instruct
us aboutthecompositionof identityand historyas an imaginary,
butone withpowerful
materialramifications.
That
is, the imaginaryis not withoutits effects.This
is whyFelix is drawnto Robin,whoseenigmatic
characterprovidesa perfectscreenon whichhe
can projecthis compulsionsaboutand towardthe
past.Felix tellsthedoctor,"To payhomageto our
past is theonlygesturethatalso includesthefuture"(39). Felix marriesRobin,in part,to have a
childwho can veneratethepast as he does. Thus
evenifRobinfunctions
simplyas a screenforhis
imaginary,
shenevertheless
producesa material
effect-a son.The narrator
saysthatrightaftermeetingRobin,Felix "wisheda son whowouldfeelas
he feltaboutthe 'greatpast"' (38). Felix believes
he can bestaccomplishthisaimwithan American
(likeRobin).His desiresimplythatEuropeanculturesees America as a countrywithouta past,
newlywritten
andcapableofbeingimagedin various ways.Robinis initiallydescribedas "meetof
childand desperado,"a phraseforegrounding
her
innocenceand anarchyand also alludingto the
frontier-theAmerican West-the rough and
toughthoughvirginland,emblemofAmerica(35).
Robinas a kindof imaginary
forFelixremindsus

She is
againofthenovel'stropological
sensibility.
a metonym
formemory
andhistory.
intotropesis
Barnes'sabilityto turncharacters
in Dr.O'Connor,whois a kind
evenmoreapparent
of walking,talkinganalogy,providing
strangeand
obscurestoriesthatseemingly
produceconnective
tissuebetweenevents.The othercharacters
talkto
himabouttheirwoes, and thedoctorin turntells
storiesthatat timesreflectand amplifytheirpain
and at timesdistortit by visioningit throughan
or setting
itbesidea storythat
analogoussituation
has no seemingconnection.
The followingscene is emblematicin showing
howDr.O'Connor'speculiarmonologuesandhis
structural
positioning
producea focalpointforthe
novel,sincehe is theonlycharacter
whospeaksso
andconvulsively.
extensively
about
Nora,distressed
herlossofRobin,whoeachnightleaveshertowanderbetweenbars,calls on herfriendDr.O'Connor
lateoneevening.
Shetellshim,"Doctor,I havecome
toaskyoutotellmeeverything
youknowaboutthe
night"(79). The doctoris in bed, dressedin a
woman'sflannelnightgown,
rougedandpainted.'3
Norathinks,
as sheseesthedoctorthere,
"He dresses
to lie beside himself,who is so constructed
that
love,forhim,can be onlysomething
special"(80).
Lyingbesideoneselfsuggestsa number
ofpossibilities.The imageevokestheanalogicalfunctioning
ofthenovel,whereby
meaningseemsalwaystolie
besideitself.It also indicateswhythenovelmight
in thisway;thedoctor'slove is "special"
function
(i.e., homosexual)andcan onlybe spokenofindirectlyintherealmofthenovel.The phrase"whois
so constructed"
foregrounds
theidea thatlove is
constructed-thedominantideologynaturalizes
someformsof loveas normalandothersas special
or aberrant.The passive voice here erases the
agencyoftheconstructors,
whileat thesametime
Dr. O'Connor can be read as agentsincehe constructs
himselfas therougedandpaintedobjectof
some(absent)man'sdesire.
This notionofbeingbeside oneselfis repeated
withNora and Robin.Throughout
theirrelationship,RobinleavesNoraat nightto roamfromcaf6
to cafe,drinkheavily,and findotherlovers.The
narrator
tellsus, "In theyearsthattheylivedtogether,the departuresof Robin became slowly
increasingrhythm"(59). Nora covertlyfollows

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199

L. Smith
Victoria

Robin on hernightlyrambles:"[Nora] would go

out intothenightthatshe mightbe 'beside herthecaf6in whichshe could catcha
self,' skirting
glimpseofRobin"(59). Here"besideherself"has
twomeanings:Nora is upset(beside herselfwith
jealously,desire,longingforRobin) and thusnot
herself,and Nora is also beside-near and next
to-the womansheloves,a womanshefrequently
In theshadowydoubleimagesas partofherself.'4
nessoftheirrelationship,
Noraseemsnottobe herselfwithout
herlosses(ofRobin).
Noraasksthedoctoraboutthenighttobetter
understandRobin.In thischapter,
themorewe learn
aboutthenight,
themorewe ostensibly
learnabout
Robin.'5 Thoughthedoctoris "extremely
putout,
havingexpectedsomeoneelse,"he answersNora's
question(80). He associatesthenightwithdreams,
and fear.The doctor's
desires,sexuality,history,
monologue,some twentypages' worth,is interruptedbylittleelse thanNora's"yeses"andtears;
he says,"Theveryconstruction
oftwilight
is a fabulous reconstruction
of fear,fearbottom-out
and
wrongside up. Everydayis thought
uponandcalculated,butthenightis notpremeditated"
(80-81).
The doctorreadsthenightas a kindofprecipitate
of theunconscious,insofaras thecontentsofthe
unconsciousarerepresentative
oftheinstincts,
primalfantasies
ofpolymorphous
perversity
displaced
ontootherscenarios.The doctorthenexplainsthe
nightin termsof his own nocturnalwanderings,
cruisingmen.Amidhis bravado,assertingthathe
can tell fromwhichParisiandistricteach of his
nights'conquestshas come,he also talksaboutthe
pain of livingin a kindof worldof photographic
negatives,wherehomosexualsdo notexistexcept
at night-theantithesis
ofthedayandbyimplicationtheantithesis
oftheseen,theacceptable,and
therecordedworld.In a movingpassage,thedoctorexplainsto Norathisnegativity
effect,
whereby
sodomitescommit"theunpardonable
errorofnot
being able to exist-and [thosewho love them]
comedownwitha dummyin theirarms"(93). Dr.
O'Connor goes on to talkaboutlesbiansand returnsto a comparisonbetweenthe day and the
night.He tellsNora:
Andit's thesamewithgirls[. . .1thosewho turnthe
dayintonight,theyoung,thedrugaddict,theprofli-

gate,thedrunkenand thatmostmiserable,thelover
whowatchesall nightlonginfearandanguish.These
canneveragainlivethelifeoftheday.Whenonemeets
themathighnoontheygiveoff,as ifitwerea protecdarkandmuted.The light
tiveemanation,
something
does notbecomethemanylonger.Theybegintohave
an unrecorded
look.It is as iftheywerebeingtriedby
thecontinual
blowsofan unseenadversary.
(94)

The unrecorded
look thewomenbeginto have in
thedaylight
indicatesthattheir"night"actionsand
theirphysicalpresencesare not registered,not
marked.Herethedoctorlinksonekindofinvisibilitywithanother.
The blowsthattrythosewiththe
unrecorded
look aretheinvisiblemechanicsof societyandconvention.
darkandmuted,"a kindofimagi"[S]omething
nary,the night,the unconscious,screenprojection-these imagessurfacein thefigureofRobin;
sheis thenovel'scenter,
a metonym
forhistory
and
memory-thewomanoverwhombattlesarefought.
Robinis botha psychicand a textualdevice,the
epitomeofexplanation
by(necessary)indirection,
describedalmostentirely
through
analogies.Odd
andparadoxical,Robinis also an emptycenter.In
fact,as FrannMichelobserves,"evenwhenRobin
is thesubjectofa sentence,Barnesuses extended
analogiesin whichthesubjectis dwarfedby the
description"
("Displacing"47). Robinspeaksfew
linesinthenovel,andtheyaremostlyrecounted
by
others;she is as anonymousand enigmaticas the
Parisnightin whichshe wanders.Robinis never
portrayed
directly;we knowherthrough
descriptionsthatfollowthementionofhername.Forexample,an earlyevocationofRobinbyindirection
occursinthefirst
ofhervoice: "In the
description
tonesof thisgirl'svoice was thepitchof one enchantedwiththegiftofpostponed
abandon;thelow
drawling'aside' voiceoftheactorwho,inthesoft
usuryofhis speech,withholdsa vocabularyuntil
theprofitable
momentwhenhe shallbe facinghis
audience" (38). The descriptionbeginswiththe
tonesofthegirl'svoice,presumably
a metonym
for
her;themetonym
is thenmadeintosomeoneelse's
pitch,whichis describedinthephrasethatfollows
thesemicolon.Thatphrasetellsofan actor'sstage
voice(thevoiceofthe"aside")that,byconvention,
otheractorsdo nothear;onlytheaudiencehearsit.

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200

A Stogy
Nightwood
ofLoss inDjuna BarnesX
beside(s)
ItseffTheLanguage

Robinis boththereand notthere.Barnesevokes

as needingan audienceto
Robinas performance,
exist,to be heard,but also as double-valenced,
shadowyandpartial,understood
onlyfromoutside
theaction.
Even moreelusiveandmetaphor-laden
thanthe
of Robin'svoice is theintroduction
description
to
thewomanherself:
Sometimesone meetsa womanwhois beastturning
human.Such a person'severymovement
willreduce
to an imageof a forgotten
experience;a mirageofan
external
weddingcaston theracialmemory;
as insupportablea joy as wouldthevisionof an elandcoming
down an aisle of trees,chapletedwithorangeblossomsandbridalveil,a hoofraisedin theeconomyof
fear,steppingin thetrepidation
of fleshthatwillbecome myth;as theunicornis neithermannorbeast
deprived,but humanhungerpressingits breastto
itsprey.
(37)

The lastpartofthisstrange
andenigmatic
description,"as theunicornis neithermannorbeastdeprived,buthumanhungerpressingitsbreastto its
prey,"offersRobinas fantastic
trace,shadowprojectionof desire(whetheritis thecharacters',
the
author's,or thereader's).We aretoldthatRobin's
movements
remindus of forgotten
experience,an
insupportable
joy,so thatshebecomesemblematic
of a plenitudein thepast,a past she returns
to us
our
own
through
memoryand projection.She is
lostbutsimultaneously
remembered
andtherefore
desired,an imagewhoseverymutability
is dangerous. Each description
of Robinis a displacement;
she signals desire in thatshe becomes nothing
morethana seriesof metaphors
and metonymies.
The passagegoes on tocall her"an infected
carrier
ofthepast,"infected
becauseshereminds
othersof
the(dis)ease of loss and desirewhileshe remains
unaffectedby it. Her estrangedhusband,Felix,
laterdescribesheras having"an undefinable
disorder,a sortof 'odourofmemory,'
likea personwho
has come fromsomeplace thatwe haveforgotten
and would give our lifeto recall,"and as having
"in her everymovementa slightdrag,as if the
pastwerea webabouther,as thereis a weboftime
abouta veryold building"(I 18-19).

Robinembodiesa kindofpastthatis notthehisthevoidofthepastthatmust

toricalpastbutrather
Moreproperly,
be filledwithmemory.
then,shebecomes a tropeformemory,
myth,remembrance.
This is why the novel focuses on threecharacters-Felix, Nora,andJenny
Petherbridge
(a rival
forRobin's affections)-whoobsessivelytryto
collectRobin.Dr. O'Connor explainsthecollection process; he (and, indeed,Nightwoodas a
whole)repeatedly
tellsus, in one wayor another,
"The wisemensaythattheremembrance
ofthings
past is all thatwe have fora future"(91). Like
Proust'smadeleine,Robin is thecatalystforrein herselfunimportant
butsignificant
membrance,
in whatsheprovokes.Thisparticular
assuranceof
a future
is figured
through
how,andhow well,we
(re)collectthepast.16
If we begin withthe propositionthatRobin
standsin forthepast,thatwhichis lost,thenwe
mustconsiderhowthecharacters
and in particular
Nora-since thedoctor'smonologuesaremostofatNora-(re)collecther.In "Go Down,
tendirected
Matthew,"the longestchapterin the novel,the
doctoroffers
hismostspecificexplanation
of loss,
love, and memory.The chapterbeginswhenthe
doctorfindsNoraat homeobsessivelywriting
lettersto Robin,who has sailed offto Americawith
Dr. O'ConnoradmonishesNora,"Whynot
Jenny.
putthepen away?Isn'titbitterenoughforRobin
that she is lost somewherewithoutreceiving
mail?"(124). ButNorapersists,"I've gotto write
to her[... .] I've gotto"(126). Dr.O'Connor'sfollowingcommentto Nora is instructive
in thatit
foregroundsher way of recoveringRobin and
pointsto Barnes's methodof recoveringwhatis
"by fate[. . .] unprovidedfor"(53). He tellsher,
"Woulda lostgirlin Dante'stimehavebeena lost
girlstill,and he had turnedhis eyes on her?She
wouldhavebeenremembered,
theremembered
put
on thedressofimmunity"
(148). Dante'sgaze,and
hiswriting,
presumably
"saves"girlswhoare lost
in twosenses: sexuallyfallenand lostto history.
Thiswriting
evengoes so far,itseems,as toimmunize the girl against criticism.Nora replicates
Dante's move here,and herpersistentdesire to
writeilluminates
thenovelas a whole.ForifNora,
likeDante,writes(to andof Robin),Noraremem-

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L. Smith
Victoria

bers her,memorializesher,narrativizestheloss
intobeing.The girlis no longerlost.
Movingawayfromthevortexof Robin as lost
andfound,I wouldliketo setsomeoftheconsiderand theimagiationsof loss, indirection,
history,
naryI have outlinedinto the broaderand more
frameofmelancholia.To be sure,crititheoretical
cal assessmentsofNightwoodsuggestits melancholynature.It has beendescribedas possessinga
quality"verynearlyrelatedto thatofElizabethan
as comparable
toworksofHugovonHoftragedy,"
in "tragicidiom,"as a
mannsthal
andJohnWebster
"studyin abjection,"and as reachingits"stylistic
17 The evin theaccentsoflamentation."
fulfillment
idenceprovidedmostfrequently
to supportthese
claimsincludesthegeneralsenseofdoomanddesolationthatpervadesthetext,as wellas theperforin theexcessesoflanguage.I can
manceoftragedy
onlyagree.However,namingwhatNightwoodis
does not explain whyit is melancholic-such a
the significanceof
namingleaves unarticulated
theseaccentsoflamentation,
especiallytheirpolitical andspecifically
feminist
meanings.
One explanationof the Renaissance "tragic
idiom" of Nightwoodlies withinthepsychoanalyticdiscourseof melancholia;an analysisof this
discoursecan tellus aboutthemethod,style,and
purposeofthenovelandalso aboutthedifferential
effectsof genderon and withinthisdiscourse.JulianaSchiesari'sworkon the"gendering
ofmelancholia"offers
a perceptive
analysisofthediscourse
ofmelancholia
byarguingthatthepresentmoment
comesat theendofan epistemic
a great
formation,
age of melancholiathatbeganin theRenaissance.
For Schiesari,Freud's"Mourningand Melancholia" foregrounds,
throughthe figureof Hamlet,
how the "blessed lack or holy curse" of melancholybestowson mena "keenereyeforthetruth."
She arguesthat"thediscourseof melancholiahas
historically
designateda toposofexpressibility
for
men and has accordinglygiventhema meansto
expresstheirsorrowsin a less alienatedway,while
relegating
womento an inexpressive
babble"(15).
Schiesari situatesthis privilegingof male lack
withina systematic
devaluation
offemaleloss: "the
ideologyofmelancholia
appropriates
fromwomen's
their'real' senseofloss" (13). Attensubjectivities
tionto thediscursivenatureof thedisease and to

201

of women'sloss illuminates
men's appropriation
For surelywe can see inthe"torrential
Nightwood.
prolixity"
ofthenovelandofDr. O'Connorin particularwhatFreuddescribesas theobsessiveneed
ofthemelancholic
totalkinsistently
abouthimself
and takepleasurein theconsequentexposureof
himself("Mourning"
247).18
However,thecomplexityof theproseand the
positionsof enunciationin Nightwoodmakethe
farfromclear.The doctor
economyofmelancholia
can be readas a melancholicparexcellenceas he
recountshis miseryand worthlessness:
"I've done
thatI didn'twantto be or do
andbeeneverything
[... ] so I standhere,beatenup and mauledand
I was,a
weeping,knowingI am notwhatI thought
good mandoingwrong,butthewrongmandoing
much"(162). Or,another
nothing
example:
A brokenhearthaveyou!I havefallingarches,flying
a floating
dandruff,
shattered
nervesand a brokidney,
kenheart!Butdo I screamthatan eaglehas mebythe
ballsorhasdroppedhisoyster
onmyheart?
AmI going
forward
ithurts,
thatmymindgoesback,or
screaming
holdingmygutsas iftheywerea coilofknives?(154)

The answer,of course,is thatis exactlywhathe

does. In one sense,then,Dr.O'Connorepitomizes
Freud'smelancholic,
whomFreuddescribesas having "a keenereye forthetruththanotherpeople
who are notmelancholic"and as coming"pretty
nearto understanding
himself."Freudgoes on to
wonder"whya manhas to be ill beforehe can be
accessibletoa truth
ofthiskind"("Mourning"
246).
T. S. EliotwouldseemtoagreethatDr.O'Connoris
set up to knowmoreand suffermorefinelyand
noblythanthegeneralpublic;Eliot refersto the
doctor's"hypersensitive
awareness"of humanbeingsandsays"he is talkingtodrownthestillsmall
wailingand whiningof humanity,
to makemore
itsshameandless ignobleitsmisery"
supportable
(xiii-xiv). The doctor,to borrowfromSchiesari,
convertsthe"feelingof disempowerment
into a
privilegedartifact."His illness makeshim,like
HamletforFreud,accordingto Schiesari,"a possi-

ble speakerof truthand a visionary.[... H]is melan-

cholichumorelevateshimaboveordinary
men"(9).
Barnesplayson theWestern
culturallegitimacy
ofmelancholia,
forsheappropriates
themalevoice

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202

A Stoybeside(s)
ofLoss inDjuna Barnes's
Nightwood
Itse~fTheLanguage

ofthemelancholicin usingthedoctoras a mouthpiece, who in turnhyperverbalizes

whathe has
onlypartialrightsto-Nora's losses. Nightwood
mimesmaleprivilege
ofthe
byandin thecharacter
doctor,who is supposedto haveknowledgeyetis
also disempowered.
Barnesthuseffectively
works
bothsidesofthestreet,
illustrating
multiplelevels
ofdisempowerment
(thoseofNora,thedoctor,homosexualsin general).At thesame time,Nightwood reconfigures
the termsof melancholia,so
thatBarnesspeaksas themelancholicandhertext
reclaimsthepositionof loss forNora,forhomoformarginalized
sexuals,and,byextension,
groups
whoselossesofhistory
areeffaced.
Thisreadingcan onlybe supported,
if
however,
we readthestorybesidesitself,
askingnotwhatthe
plotis butwhatitdoes. One ofBarnes'scontemporaryreviewers
says,"Hercharacters
suffer
lavishly
on theminimumof misfortune.
.
.
[. T]he tragic
idiomhas to someconsiderable
extentbeenstolen
fromtragiccircumstances.
Of thistherecanbe neitherlaw nordemonstration,
butitseffectmaybe
describedas Hamlet withouteveryonebut the
Prince"(qtd.in Marcus,"Mousemeat"202). This
criticseemsto arguethattheostensiblesubjectof
theplot-the loss oflove-is notexactlythestuff
of tragedyor, if so, thatthe tragedyis only recounted,notfullyacted.Hamlettellshis story,
but
the players and eventsare missing.The critic
missestheprofound
sensein whichtheloss oflove
is tragic;he missesthatNightwood'skindof love
does not usuallyexist as a narrativeat all. The
tragiccircumstances
arethere(thewholesaleerasureof actionsand people outsideconventionthoseofthenight);thecriticjustfailsto see them.
Nightwood
is indeedHamletwithoutanybodybut
theprince,but accordingto Schiesari'sreading,
Hamlethas alwaysbeenonlyabouttheprince,insofaras whatis significant
is thenobilityand eloquenceofHamlet'ssuffering,
notthecharacters
or
eventsthatcaused it.Barnesexposes thisidea by
showingthemasculineownershipof melancholia
andthenturning
theprinceintoa princessor,in the
case ofDr.O'Connor,a queen.
Examiningthe discourse of melancholia in
Nightwoodrevealsthewaysin whichBarnesdeploysa culturally
sanctioned
modeforthepurpose
of exploringparticularly
marginalized
narratives,

andambiguity
butitalso pointsto thecentrality
of
on whichthenovelis built.
loss as thefoundation
As Freudexplains,one of thedistinguishing
feawithmourning)
turesofmelancholia(as contrasted
is thata loss has beenexperienced
"butone cannot
see clearlywhatitis thathas beenlost"("Mourning" 245). A materialloss-for example,theloss
or at
of Robin-produces a sense of loss greater,
leastother,thantheone causedbytheinitialloss.
Thereis perhapsa concatenation
oflosses.Robin's
loss activates,
andis contiguous
with,largerlosses.
Freudwrites,"[T]he patientcannotconsciously
perceivewhat he has lost either.This, indeed,
mightbe so evenifthepatientis awareof theloss
whichhas givenrisetohismelancholia,
butonlyin
thesense thathe knowswhomhe has lostbutnot
whathe has lostin him"(245). On one level,Nora
and Felix experiencetheloss of Robin withina
contextof melancholia;theyknow whom they
havelost,butitis less clearwhattheyhavelostin
Robinbecauseshe standsin formuchofwhatthey
imagineanddesire.On another
level,Robincan be
seen as a microcosmof whatis lostto thenovel's
marginalizedfigures;Robin represents
a history
and memorythatare notknowablebecause they
arelost(or,moreproperly,
havebeendestroyed).
However,as Freudpointsout,themechanicsof
melancholiaare suchthatan identification
of the
ego withtheabandonedobjectoccursso thatthe
objectis set up insidetheego (as a kindof comThe lostobjectis notinternalized
pensation).
withoutcosts.For thoughtheobjectis keptwithinthe
ego,thereremainsan ambivalence;
feelingsoflove
andhate(hatebecausetheobjectwas takenaway)
are incorporated-hencetheexpressionsof selfdepreciationoftenaccompanyingmelancholia.
Freudexplainsthat"ifthelove fortheobject-a
love whichcannotbe givenup thoughtheobjectitselfis givenup-takes refugein narcissistic
identhenhatecomes intooperationon this
tification,
substitutive
object,abusingit,debasingit,making
it suffer"
(251). So we can readthenovelas internalizingtheobjectsithas lost(or neverhad)-for
instance,
Robin,narratives
ofhistory
andrepresentation-andthencritiquing
anddeforming
thenarrativesithas setup: lovingandhatingthem.
Criticshave overlookedthepositiveaspectsof
themelancholicmechanicsof thetext.For exam-

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203

L. Smith
Victoria

ple, Shari Benstockarguesthatthe "perversion

Nightwoodexposes is [... ] the tragiceffectof
fromherown self" (263).
woman'sestrangement
WhileBenstockacknowledgesthatNightwoodis
of "society'sperversely
rigiddefinian indictment
which"markwomanas object
tionsof sexuality,"
of thepatriarchalfiction[and rob] herof a lanherpassionand
whichto articulate
guagethrough
anger,"she failsto see thewaysin whichNighta self(263, 266). Benstockhears
woodarticulates
onlythemorbidwailingsof themelancholicand
misses the consequences of the speech itself.
Schiesari'sreadingof whatthemelancholicgains
is crucialhere:"The melancholicego [. ... ] is dependent on loss as a means throughwhich it can

noton the
representitself."It "focusesattention
'what'
ofthelost
on
on
the
lostobjectbut theloss,
back
the
to
points
subject
object,whosethingness
of the loss" (42-43; my emphasis).Schiesari's
readingof loss withinmelancholiaempowersthe
ego by showingthatthisprocessingofloss returns
us to thesubjectwhospeaksratherthanto thelost
object.Thisobsessivespeakingabouttheloss calls
whiletheloss oftheobject
attention
tothespeaker,
towhatdesiresthespeaker
is secondin importance
has depositedin theobject.AppliedtoNightwood,
thisanalysisilluminates
whyRobin(as lostobject)
or
is thecenterofthetext,yeta centerthatmirrors
providesa screenfortheothercharacters.It also
thatmoreis lostthanRobin;
helpsus understand
theloss ofherallowsotherlossesto surface.
The powerof loss has been at thecenterof my
concerns.Thisessayhas notattempted
torepresent
the missinghistoryin Nightwoodor those who
populate the novel as photographicnegatives.
I havetriedto outlinea methodin Barnes's
Rather,
mad melancholictextand to pay attention
to the
painfullosses andthevoicesthatwitnessandindirectlydescribethem.I havebeen concernedwith
how one mightbeginparadoxicallyto represent
loss, withthepsychicand rhetoricaldevicesthat
Theyrangefromthememightenablethiseffort.
chanicsofmelancholia,
one createsa text
whereby
andselfthrough
a melancholic
remembering
ofthe
lostobject,to Barnes'sinsistencethatsignificant
histories,losses, and desiresresidein thespaces
besidetheseenandtheheard.She conveysthisnotionthroughherrefusalto allow hernovel to be

hercharacters'discontinuous
through
plot-driven,
speech,heruse of crypticanalogiesand metonyherrelentlessmetaphors
miesto evokecharacter,
and similesthatare so thicklywrappedaround
eachotherthatwe lose sightoftheobjectbutbegin
orlost.
longforgotten
to see shadowsofsomething
in
Andwhilethesetoolsareavailableto anywriter,
viBarnes'shandstheyenablea kindofflickering
I have soughtto
sionof losses sustained.Further,
andelusivetextoffers
showthatBarnes'sbeautiful
a wayto see itsmelancholiaas a giftandnotsimfor
plya curse.The awfulfateofbeingunprovided
in history,
culture,
andlanguage-ofbeingandlivingan obviousabsence-propels Barnes'ssearch
fornewuses of language.WhatBarnesdiscovers
loss
a speechforloss converts
suggeststhatfinding
intogain.
Justas Barnesforcesus to considerthesignificanceofRobinas lostobject,shealso calls ourattentionmoregenerallyto thosewhohavelostand
oftheirlosses.PerhapsI can makeconthecontent
cretewhatis atstakeherevis-a-viswomen,history,
and loss witha finalpeculiarand vividimagethe
offersearlyin thenovelwhendescribing
narrator
Nora's experienceof Robin's nightlyrambles:
"Robin'sabsence,as thenightdrewon,becamea
and irreparable.
physicalremoval,insupportable
handcannotbe disowned[... .] so
As an amputated
Robinwas an amputation
thatNoracould notrenounce"(59). This imagepointsto thebodythat
lost the hand ratherthanto the hand itself;the
thehandis lost,it
imagealso impliesthatalthough
cannotbe givenup andcontinues
tomakeitselffelt
Thisnotionoflostobjectas
as a kindofphantom.
reminding
us ofitgonebutnotgone-continually
self-foregroundsthreeideas. First,theloss of a
cannotbe disavowed
andmemory,
lover,ofhistory
and is sometimesa violentremoval.Second,this
phantomlimbsuggeststhatloss is partoftheself
(and of history).Finally,theinsistenttinglings,
thosefeelingsofloss,demandattention
andarticulation;theyderive,afterall,fromlossesthatcannot
be renounced.
Barnes'stextarticulates
suchlosses
circuitousor eccentricmethodsofreprethrough
throughstories,tropes,and metaphors
sentation,
ofindirection.

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204

A Story
TheLangnage
ofLos inDjnnaBarnes'Nightwood
beside(s)
Itseff1

scapes havein largepartbeenpaintedbymelancholia.Thatis,

theego cannotexistwithout
theretrospective
glancingbackthat
occursin melancholia.Loss, then,is preciselythatwhichpro'The legaltestofa book'sobscenity
in Englandderivedfrom
a mechanism
ducestheselfandinstitutes
forcreating
themisstheObscenePublications
Actof 1857,whichstatesthata book
ingobject.
is obsceneif it is likelyto "depraveand corruptthosewhose
7Othercriticshavelinkedmelancholiaandtheproduction
of
mindsare open to such immoralinfluencesand intowhose
the (woman's) ego, especially in feministrevisionsof key
hands"itis likelytofall(Gilmore606). See Gilmorefora fasciFreudianandLacanianpsychoanalytic
concepts.See, forexamnatingdiscussionof obscenityas constitutive
of modernism. ple, Sprengnether;
Irigaray;Silverman.Revisingthenotionof
Her discussionof Nightwoodarguesthatthe novel escaped
Lacanian castration,Schiesari stressesthatsome lacks and
beingfoundobscenebecauseitspoeticismmadeitunreadable
losses arephilosophically
andculturally
overothers.
privileged
withinconventional
paradigmseitherof themedicaldiscourse
She remindsus thatsubjectsare hierarchically
differentiated
ofhomosexuality
orofnarrative
realism.Barnes'sextravagance (by gender,race,
and language)accordingto
class, ethnicity,
oflanguageendedup defining
as indefinable,
Nightwood
so that
the symbolicorderunderwhichtheylive. Hence, different
thenovelbecame"a probleminthelaw ofgenre,rather
thanthe
kindsof lack are revealedonce we speakaboutdifferent
sublaw ofobscenity"
(623).
jects andno longerabouttheone lack (castration)
thatsubtends
2Ina letterto EmilyColeman,Barnesuses thephrase"hilariall theotherlacks.
ous sorrow"to describethespeechof Dan Mahoney,theman
80n a manifestand biographicallevel,we can read NightDr.O'Connoris patterned
after(Herring
213).
wood as Barnes's memorialto the loss of her loverThelma
3SomeearlycriticsofNightwood
includeFrank;Singer;KanWood.Barnes'srelationship
withWoodwas complex;forbacknenstine;
Burke;Pochoda;andBaxter.Morerecentcriticsattensee O'Neal; Herring;
ground,
Field;andMichel,"'I."' Suffice
it
tiveto thefeminist
contentof Barnes'stext,as well as to her
to say,theexcesses of thetextindicatethatBarnes (unconexperimental
style,areMarcus,"Laughing";Abraham;Scott;
aboutsomething
sciouslyor not)was writing
in additionto the
Michel,"Displacing";Lee; and Allen,"'Dressing."' See also
loss of Wood,a kindof worldpainbelongingto thoseBarnes
workon theeffects
Gerstenberger's
ofthenovel'sradicalnarracalled"disqualified"
(Plumbxviii).
tiveandBenstock'streatment
oftheauthorandnovelinthecon9Severalrecentcriticalstudiesbeginto exploreideas about
textofexpatriate
Paris.Fordiscussionsofthetext'sinfluence
on
context.
In additiontoCaruth'sUnclaimed
Exlesbianwriting,
see B. Harris;Wittig;Meese; and,in particular, loss in a feminist
perience,see theanthology
Trauma:Explorationsin Memory,
Allen'sreadingofNightwood
as a foundational
textfortheproBrown'scontribution
to it.
ductionofa lesbianliterary
genealogy(Following).Nightwood whichCaruthedited-in particular,
Focusing less on narrativeand moreon performativity
and
has beendiscussedin otherwaysas well-for example,as litPhelan'sevocativeMourningSex: Performing
mimicry,
Public
eratureof (literal)intoxication
(Crowley;Perry)and as a text
Memoriesdrawson psychoanalytic
theoryandforegrounds
the
treating
Jewsand"others"(Kaivola;Altman).Fortwoexcellent
idea thattheexperienceandperformance
of loss area "central
collectionsoffeminist
criticism,
see Broe;LevineandUrquilla.
repetition
of subjectivity"
(5). Working
in thecontextsof film,
Also of significanceis Nightwood:The OriginalVersionand
and otherarenasmoreovertly
theater,
performative
thanliteraRelatedDrafts,fullofinvaluablecommentary
byPlumb.
ture,Phelanseemsmoreconcernedwithbodilyloss-loss ofa
4Allen's"Writing"discussesseveralstoriesbyBarnesthat,
limb,death-thanwiththefigurative
andpartially
fictionalized
Allensuggests,areprecursors
toNightwood
and,I wouldadd,
losses Barnespresents.However,Phelansuggests,as I do, that
also standbesidethemselves.
or mimicking,
performing,
loss mightprovidea routetorecov5Fora thoroughexaminationof Barnes's stylein termsof
eryand to overcoming
trauma.In FollowingDjuna, Allencondestabilizedtropesand a "rhetoric
formedupona principleof
centrates
less on loss thanon doingthevitalworkoftracinga
see Singer(49).
discontinuity,"
tradition
based on Barnes.UsingNightwood
as
6InGenderTrouble,
Butlerviewsmelancholiaas constituting lesbianliterary
thetouchstonetext,Allen is interested
in how "retrospective
notsimplytheselfbutalso gender.Butlersees melancholiaas
narratives
ofdesire,"occasionedbytheloss of a lover,"rewrite
"theconsequenceof a disavowedgriefas itappliesto
primarily
'sameness'and 'boundary
loss"' andprovideinterventions
the incesttaboo whichfoundssexual positionsand gender
into
psychoanalytic
fictions
ofnarcissism
andidentification
(18).
through
certainformsofdisavowedlosses"(160 nl9;
instituting
l'For an incisivereadingoftheuses ofhistory
fulldiscussionon 48-78). See also Bodies ThatMatter,where
inthetext,see
she concentrates
Abraham.
on theiconic figureof themelancholicdrag
1"Marcussuggeststhatthefirst
queen and suggeststhatif melancholiais theeffectof an unchapterwas designed"todisgrievedloss,thengenderperformance
guise[thetext's]existenceas a lesbiannovel."In herimpressive
becomesan actingoutof
loss (234-35). HermorerecentworkThePsyunacknowledged
reading,Marcusfindsthefirst
chapteranything
butirrelevant,
chicLifeofPoweris significant
foritsdiscussionof melanchohowever,notingthatitcontinuesthenovel's"politicalunconlia as a "variableboundary"
betweenthepsychicandthesocial.
scious"("Laughing"231). Barnesseemsto havehad a practical
Butler'sastutereadingsignalsthe centrality
of melancholia
andan ideologicalreasonfortheopeningchapter.
She writesto
whensherightly
recognizesthat"representation
itselfis impliEmilyColeman,"Robin'smarriageto Felix is necessaryto the
catedin melancholia"
(177). She suggeststhatourpsychiclandbookforthisreason(whichyoucan notknow,nothavinglived

Notes

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205

L. Smith
Victoria

in publicwith
witha womanhavinglovedherandyetcirculated
thatpublicawareofit)thatpeoplesay,'Wellofcoursethosetwo
womenwouldhave neverbeen in love witheach otherifthey
had been normal,ifanymanhad sleptwiththem,iftheyhad
andhad borna child.'Whichis ignoranceand
beenwellf
utterly
false,I marriedRobinto provethispoint,shehad married,hada childyetwas still'incurable"'(Plumbxvii-xviii).
neither
noranalogyvisionsone thingin
12Obviously,
history
termsofanother
neutrally.
UsingtheJewish
people'sloss ofhistoryas a metaphor
forhomosexuals'loss risks(re)erasingthe
Jews'specifichistory
in favorofthatofanother,
thoughhardly
dominant,
group.Frank'sreading,forexample,arguesforthe
Jewas everyman
inmodernism.
wandering
Frankemptiesoutthe
oftheJewwithout
thatthespecificity
and
specificity
remarking
structural
ofthecategory
"Jew"mustbe retained.
positionings
'3For an in-depthdiscussionof Dr. O'Connor's theorizing
andgenderambiguity,
see A. Harris.
14Allen readsthesepassages as an assertionof a "doubled
of resemblance"("Erotics" 178). For a nuanced
subjectivity
readingoftheplaybetweendifference
andsamenesswithinlesbiandesire,see her"Erotics."
'5One of Barnes'sinitialtitlesforthenovelwas Anatomy
of
theNight,a play on thetitleof RobertBurton'sAnatomyof
Melancholy,
one ofherfavorite
books(Herring
204).
16Foranother
use ofRobin,see Allen'sassertion
that"Nora's
ofherrelationship
retelling
withRobinis a narrative
oflesbian
desireandpower,a narrative
'found'as Norarecountsherloss
ofRobin"("Erotics"181).
17Eliotxvi; A. DesmondHawkins,qtd.in Marcus,"Mousemeat"201; Marcus,"Laughing"221; Burke241.
181 takethephrase"torrential
prolixity"
fromSteiner17.

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