The Limits of Autobiography: Trauma and Testimony 9781501724343

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THE LIMITS OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Also by Leigh Gilmore

Autobiographies: A Feminist Theory of Women's Self-Representation Autobiography and Postmodernism, co-editor

The Limits of Autobiography TRAUMA AND TESTIMONY

Leigh Gilmore

CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON

Permissions may be found on the last page of this book. Copyright© 2001 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must .not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2001 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2001 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging7in-Publication Data Gilmore, Leigh. The limits of autobiography : trauma and testimony I Leigh Gilmore. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents: Represent yourself- Bastard testimony : incest and illegitimacy in Dorothy Allison's Bastard out of Carolina- There will always be a father : transference and the auto/biographical demand in Mikal Gilmore's Shot in the heart- There will always be a mother : serial autobiography and Jamaica Kincaid -Without names : an anatomy of absence in Jeanette Winterson's Written on the body. ISBN 978--o-8014-8674-6 (pbk. :acid-free paper) ·1. American prose literature--2oth century-History and criticism. 2. Autobiography. 3· English prose literature--2oth century-History and criticism. 4· Winterson, Jeanette, 1959- . Written on the body. 5· Autobiographical fiction-History and criticism. 6. Kincaid, Jamaica-Criticism and interpretation. 7· Allison, Dorothy. Bastard out of Carolina. 8. Gilmore, Mikal. Shot in the heart. 9· First-person narrative. 10. Self in literature. I. Title. PS366.A88 G55 2ooo 818'.50809492-dc21 00-010238 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. Books that bear the logo of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) use paper taken from forests that have been inspected and certified as meeting the highest standards for environmental and social responsibility. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu. Paperback printing

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9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

for Tom, Finn, and William

Contents

Acknowledgments

ix

Introduction The Limits of Autobiography

1

1

Represent Yourself

16

2

Bastard Testimony: Illegitimacy and Incest in Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina

45

3

There Will Always Be a Father: Transference and the Auto/biographical Demand in Mikal Gilmore's Shot in the Heart

4

There Will Always Be a Mother: Jamaica Kincaid's Serial Autobiography

5

Without Names: An Anatomy of Absence in Jeanette Winterson' s Written on the Body

Conclusion

The Knowing Subject and an Alternative Jurisprudence of Trauma

g6 120

143

Bibliography

149

Index

1 57

vii

Acknowledgments

T

his project developed through conversations with Chris Castiglia, whose intellect, compassion, and humor inform my thinking at every turn. I thank Evan Watkins for his generous reading of the manuscript. The final form of the manuscript owes much to Tom Pounds, and I am grateful to him for all the ways he helped me to realize this project. I have benefited from the comments of extraordinary readers: I thank Melanie Rae Than, Sandra Macpherson, Marcia Aldrich, Jennifer Terry, and David Hoddeson for their generosity and helpfulness. Alison Booth, Paul John Eakin, Fran