The Music and (dis)harmony of (anti)utopia in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon
Unlike architecture, music is mostly a marginal or infrequent aspect of utopian literature, though usually invested with solely positive connotations. It is however particularly prominent in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon but it is only described negatively, as unpleasant, discordant and even cacophonous....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/5492 |
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| author | Françoise Dupeyron-Lafay |
| author_facet | Françoise Dupeyron-Lafay |
| author_sort | Françoise Dupeyron-Lafay |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Unlike architecture, music is mostly a marginal or infrequent aspect of utopian literature, though usually invested with solely positive connotations. It is however particularly prominent in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon but it is only described negatively, as unpleasant, discordant and even cacophonous. This is where Butler’s radical originality lies: firstly in this diversion of the laudatory, spiritualized conception of music and of its utopian associations; and secondly in the (re)appropriation of music for satiric and anti-utopian purposes. After a brief survey of the usual role and connotations of music in utopias, this paper will focus on its value and symbolism before the narrator’s stay in Erewhon. It will then address its representation in the unknown land that collapses the literal (acoustic) and social meanings of discordance with unpleasant or cacophonous music as the index to a dysfunctional world and its ethical flaws. Lastly, the article will deal with the narrator’s unstable stance and views, which, together with the generic and tonal hybridity of the text and its ironic logic, alternating between satire and (anti)utopia, make the novel go through a series of perplexing ideological fluctuations. Like the cacophonous music of Erewhon, the message conveyed is ultimately ambiguous and at times discordant. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4ee91d53772d4c5b8aa70e0fa6924b58 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| spelling | doaj-art-4ee91d53772d4c5b8aa70e0fa6924b582025-01-30T10:22:22ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492019-06-018910.4000/cve.5492The Music and (dis)harmony of (anti)utopia in Samuel Butler’s ErewhonFrançoise Dupeyron-LafayUnlike architecture, music is mostly a marginal or infrequent aspect of utopian literature, though usually invested with solely positive connotations. It is however particularly prominent in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon but it is only described negatively, as unpleasant, discordant and even cacophonous. This is where Butler’s radical originality lies: firstly in this diversion of the laudatory, spiritualized conception of music and of its utopian associations; and secondly in the (re)appropriation of music for satiric and anti-utopian purposes. After a brief survey of the usual role and connotations of music in utopias, this paper will focus on its value and symbolism before the narrator’s stay in Erewhon. It will then address its representation in the unknown land that collapses the literal (acoustic) and social meanings of discordance with unpleasant or cacophonous music as the index to a dysfunctional world and its ethical flaws. Lastly, the article will deal with the narrator’s unstable stance and views, which, together with the generic and tonal hybridity of the text and its ironic logic, alternating between satire and (anti)utopia, make the novel go through a series of perplexing ideological fluctuations. Like the cacophonous music of Erewhon, the message conveyed is ultimately ambiguous and at times discordant.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/5492ironymusicambiguitysatiregeneric hybridity (dis)harmony |
| spellingShingle | Françoise Dupeyron-Lafay The Music and (dis)harmony of (anti)utopia in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens irony music ambiguity satire generic hybridity (dis)harmony |
| title | The Music and (dis)harmony of (anti)utopia in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon |
| title_full | The Music and (dis)harmony of (anti)utopia in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon |
| title_fullStr | The Music and (dis)harmony of (anti)utopia in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Music and (dis)harmony of (anti)utopia in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon |
| title_short | The Music and (dis)harmony of (anti)utopia in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon |
| title_sort | music and dis harmony of anti utopia in samuel butler s erewhon |
| topic | irony music ambiguity satire generic hybridity (dis)harmony |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/5492 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT francoisedupeyronlafay themusicanddisharmonyofantiutopiainsamuelbutlerserewhon AT francoisedupeyronlafay musicanddisharmonyofantiutopiainsamuelbutlerserewhon |