<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Analysing Julian Barnes’s postmodernist novel, <italic>Flaubert’s Parrot</italic>, this essay shows that the past is exposed as a story and a palimpsest. We demonstrate that in Julian Barnes’s novel, the past is rewritten as a story with various truths about Flaubert’s identity and biography. The past is presented through a series of symbols, being a palimpsestic construct open to our analysis and understanding. The concepts of historical truth, the past, the present, the writer’s voice are approached in a postmodernist manner and are nothing but a palimpsest.</p>
</abstract>

Analysing Julian Barnes’s postmodernist novel, Flaubert’s Parrot, this essay shows that the past is exposed as a story and a palimpsest. We demonstrate that in Julian Barnes’s novel, the past is rewritten as a story with various truths about Flaubert’s identity and biography. The past is presented through a series of symbols, being a palimpsestic construct open to our analysis and understanding. The concepts of historical truth, the past, the present, the writer’s voice are approached in a postmodernist manner and are nothing but a palimpsest.

The Past as Story and Palimpsest in Julian Barnes’s <italic>Flaubert’s Parrot</italic>. Rewriting the Past as Fiction and Biography

Romanian Journal of English Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Past as Story and Palimpsest in Julian Barnes’s . Rewriting the Past as Fiction and Biography

Analysing Julian Barnes’s postmodernist novel, Flaubert’s Parrot, this essay shows that the past is exposed as a story and a palimpsest. We demonstrate that in...

The Past as Story and Palimpsest in Julian Barnes’s Flaubert’s Parrot. Rewriting the Past as Fiction and Biography

Published Online: Dec 26, 2023

Page range: 44 - 51

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjes-2023-0005

Keywords
biography, palimpsest, parrot, past, story, symbols

© 2023 Elisabeta Simona Catană, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Past as Story and Palimpsest in Julian Barnes’s Flaubert’s Parrot. Rewriting the Past as Fiction and Biography

Published Online: Dec 26, 2023

Page range: 44 - 51

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjes-2023-0005

Keywordsbiography, palimpsest, parrot, past, story, symbols

© 2023 Elisabeta Simona Catană, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
biography, palimpsest, parrot, past, story, symbols