Intertextual Loops in Modern Drama Christine Kiebuzinska
Book Review
In addition to an extended prefatory quote from Christine Brooke-Rose's Textermination, Kiebuzinska opens with a thought taken from Roland Barthes's S12: "This 'I' which approaches the text is already itself a plurality of other texts, of codes which are infinite or, more precisly, lost" (11). The nature of the intersection of the reader/spectator's multiple frames of reference with the "palimpsestuous" intertexual references of any given writer forms the focus of this examination of nine dramatists and their hypertexts (sources). The author acknowledges her indebtedness to Ingeborg Hoesterey in establishing a conceptual framework for this monograph, particularly the latter's definition of "the intertextual loop": "Intertextual perception not only negates the category of individual production but also that of individual reception," for whatever one is reading at the time of production or reception can color a person's response to any given text (31). Other sources that the author draws on for her theoretical framework include Kristeva, Derrida, Bakhtin, Jauss, and Iser, in addition to an impressive array of sources pertinent to the individual texts she analyses. The monograph is divided into four parts, each containing two chapters devoted to a particular kind of intertextual relationship between drama and textual precursors. These structuring categories include "avant-garde subversions and transgressions" (Witkacy and Jelinek), "conversations, misinterpretations, contestations" (Kundera and Hampton), "intertextual politics and scandals" (Bernhard and Churchill, and "copies, forgeries, and mockeries" (Kafkology and Les Liaisons Dangereuses: Laclos, Hampton, H. Mueller). There are extensive notes, a thorough bibligraphy, and a helpful index. The individual chapters explore layers of intertextuality provided by the hypertext, the additional layers of meaning that accrue during the reception and reworking of such a text, and the use of this hypertext by the contemporary dramatist, and contemporary cultural factors that contribute to the new text's reception (staging, historical context, reputation of a dramatist, advance publicity, or reviews). Kiebuzinska's Intertextual Loops is an analytical and interpretive tour de force that will leave the reader enlightened, challenged, informed, and questioning. The author has the rare gift of introducing the subject matter to the uninititated while stimulating the imagination of the more seasoned scholars. In every chapter--all are characterized by meticulous research in both depth and breadth--the reader will view familiar texts in a new context as s/he follows the train of thought in the elegantly argued prose. For scholars of Austrian literature, the chapters on Jelinek's Nor, Hampton's Tales from Hollywood (Horvāth), and Bernhard (Heldenplatz) will be of particular interest and can be read as separate units (with the introduction), but part of the pleasure of this work is perusing it in its entirety. The author mentions that it has been a labor of love ten years in the making, and this is evident in the text and replicated in the reader. Susan L. Cocalis, Modern Austrian Literature To see a full description of this book, search our online database
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Photograph courtesy of Louise Dell-Bene Stahl Š 2001