In Search Of Truth: A New Understanding Of The Postmodern Unknowability In A. S. Byatt’s The Biographer’s Tale

A. S. Byatt s works are always seen as sites of controversy, riddling withconflicts between fact and fictionality, past and present, narration and criticism. TheBiographer’s Tale, termed as biographic metafiction, concentrates on the experienceof the protagonist Phineas Nanson s pursuit of truth in the process of writing abiography of a biographer. Byatt innovatively delves into the epistemological andontological questions of the accessibility and possibility to know historical realitiesfrom the perspective of biography. The present thesis focuses on the transformation ofthe protagonist at different phases of the biographic exploration, trying to probe intothe profound implications of Byatt lurking behind the arrangement.Discussions centering on the accessibility of truth has witnessed an upsurge since1970s. Postmodern theorists claim that there is nothing outside the text and viewhistory as literary artifacts with no reference to reality. History, under the postmodernsphere, has become nothing but a dishonest refuge from truth. As a response to thepostmodern views on history, Byatt accepts the inaccessibility of solid facts of history,yet she insists her stance as self-conscious realist, trying to prove the order betweenwords and things despite the self-referring characteristic of language (Histories4). InThe Biographer’s Tale, her dilemmatic view is revealed by the three stages oftransformation of the character: obsession disillusionment metamorphosis. Thediscussion for truth can be dated back to the Platonic times. The author of this thesisrefers to Plato s theory of idea, not only to acknowledge the inaccessibility of the truth,but more importantly to point out the desire to envisage and quest for a solid reality isa human instinct. Though the protagonist s pursuit of biographic truth ends up in vain,he gets the instinct gratification by approaching the natural truth in the real world.This thesis approaches The Biographer’s Tale from a comparatively innovativeperspective. It is expected to arouse more attention to both Byatt and her works.