Drawing Conclusions: Visual Literacy in Fiction
Item
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Title
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Drawing Conclusions: Visual Literacy in Fiction
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:dd0f4512351d:10821
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identifier
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10684
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Creator
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Lauer, Emily,
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Contributor
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David Greetham
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Date
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2010
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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English literature | Art history | Austen | heritage | illustrated novel | illustration | illustrator | Victorian
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Abstract
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In "Drawing Conclusions," I engage in an interdisciplinary examination of the words and pictures in four Victorian masterpieces of the illustrated novel, arguing that the unique publishing situation of each of these texts and the very different interactions between the authors and illustrators of each have resulted in four distinct examples of the functions illustrations in fiction can fulfill.;The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, written by Dickens and illustrated by Browne, among others, was published in 1836. Once Browne became involved in the project, Dickens established a working relationship between them in which he provided lengthy descriptions of scenes to be illustrated---sometimes of scenes not yet written---and it became Browne's job to interpret these descriptions. I posit that in Pickwick Papers, which became paradigmatic for later illustrated serial novels, the illustrations function as a sort of running commentary on the written text, complicating the idea of a division of labor between words and pictures even as the illustrations played up some of the same visual thematic elements in Dickens' written text.;In Vanity Fair, written and illustrated by Thackeray a decade after Pickwick Papers was published, I find that Thackeray's full-page captioned plates and smaller vignettes both reinforce and add nuance to the written text, by creating tone and allegory. Thackeray also begins each chapter with a historiated initial---an illustrated capital that combines the functions of letter and picture in a way requiring readerly participation. Here, the many illustrations by the author are integral to an understanding of the novel. The reader must collaborate with the text in order to process both the word and picture at the same time.;Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll, contains 42 illustrations by John Tenniel. Because their intended audience was children, and because Carroll acknowledged Tenniel's greater experience in publishing matters, the author and illustrator of Wonderland were very mindful of the effect of their collaboration. I argue that the result is a combination of word and picture in which the pictorial representation of the protagonist melds with her written representation to form two views on one solid and realistic subject, reinforcing Alice's normality as she explores a strange dreamworld.;Finally, I discuss an edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813), published with illustrations by Hugh Thomson in 1894. The hundreds of line drawings in this edition draw attention to those aspects of the novel's plot most interesting to Thomson's late Victorian readership. The subtle gloss provided by these illustrations affected the way Austen entered the literary canon as well as the way Thomson's audience thought about Austen's own priorities.;Ultimately, the four different scenarios I address---Dickens instructing his illustrator in an imperious manner, Thackeray illustrating his own written text, Carroll and Tenniel collaborating closely, and Hugh Thomson modifying Austen to suit his contemporary readership---each result in a different role for the illustrations in the narrative. In "Drawing Conclusions," I draw the conclusion that pictures can comment on, complicate, reinforce or update a written text based on the situation in which the written text and illustrations are combined.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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English
