Andreea Teliban, La vie en prose
La vie en prose
The study embodies an investigation of James Joyce’s epistolary relationship with his soon-to-be wife, Nora Barnacle. The various interpretations of this wide spread subject matter tend to suffer (notably in the anglo-saxon territory) from a certain speech hyperspecialization (especially from a biographical stance). However, in the unseasoned eyes of the populace, they paradoxically had the exact opposite effect, of trivialization. Even Pat Murphy’s Nora, a 2000 film, proves it. Contrary to this array of expectations, the correspondence between Joyce and Nora draws attention to a series of stylistic particularities (oftentimes neglected by commentators for their so-called non-narrative quality): firstly, it pertains to the writer’s reconstruction of his beloved one’s past by trying to follow it in an almost museographic way (unforeseen visits to some of her old dwellings etc.). Another interesting note to make is that, in spite of Nora’s precarious schooling (cynically accentuated by experts), the beginning of their love is marked by one of the most elitist of literary genres, poetry (diligently pursued by young Joyce). Last but not least, in this essay, the embellishment of the lewd phrases that Joyce employs in his letters is subjected to a long-deserved relativization.
Keywords: modern british literature, literary correspondence, biography, James Joyce, Nora Barnacle, Richard Ellmann, love letters
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