FEAR AND VIOLENCE – MEMORY REPRESSED AND RECONFIGURED IN THE DARK BY JOHN MCGAHERN
FEAR AND VIOLENCE – MEMORY REPRESSED AND RECONFIGURED IN THE DARK BY JOHN MCGAHERN

Summary/Abstract: For John McGahern’s second published novel in 1965, fear and memory work in a framework defined by personal identity and social functions. This article aims at looking at the novel employing the means of social and communicative memory theories, while linking them to the use of narrative means. The journey to the protagonist’s ego is an intricate journey with multi-layered connections and factors, and the incorporation of autobiographical elements resonates with the author’s generation, or recent ones. Although based on a theory widely adopted in literary studies, this approach remains open to further interpretations and links with potentially new trends and views, demonstrating the value of fiction far beyond classical literary criticism.

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