The counterfactual: rewritten history in Robert Harris' Fatherland and Simon Mawer's The Gospel of Judas
Professorial Chair Lecture
General Education Professorial Chair Lecture
Place
University of the Philippines Los Banos, College, Laguna
Date
4-2003
Abstract
The counterfactual is a form of historical fiction that reverses historical facts and uses them as the material into which created characters and events are embedded. In this study, two texts have been categorized as counterfactual were analyzed using an eclectic approach, a combination of formalistic, reader-response approaches and genre criticism. Fatherland is a novel set in 1964 in Germany that emerged victorious in WWII while The Gospel of Judas is a novel set in Rome and Jerusalem interweaving the stories of Fr. Leo Newman and the Biblical Judas whose personal account is purportedly found in newly discovered scrolls.
The two novels were also compared in terms of the kind of counterfactual used, the amount of the counterfact used, possibilities and probabilities, and narrative elements. The analysis shows that Fatherland is a true counterfactual novel whereas The Gospel of Judas is more of counterscriptural and uses it as a device to tie up the thematic elements of the novel. Fatherland is entirely counterfactual whereas The Gospel of Judas is only fractionally counterscriptural. Fatherland is easier to follow whereas The Gospel of Judas, because it uses the 'now-then' presentation is more difficult to follow. Both novels present a richness of alternative concepts with The Gospel of Judas delving into a reexamination of widely-held assumptions and beliefs focusing on conflicts of the religious kind. The study also shows that where there are no clear historical facts on events that supposedly happened the interpretations become far-ranging and richer, even controversial and sensational
Location
UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)
College
College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)
Language
English
Recommended citation
Laforteza, Dulcinea R., "The counterfactual: rewritten history in Robert Harris' Fatherland and Simon Mawer's The Gospel of Judas" (2003). Professorial Chair Lecture. 699.
https://www.ukdr.uplb.edu.ph/professorial_lectures/699