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Third year undergraduate study

This example is taken from an Open University third level course in literary studies. Students working at this level are expected to be able to offer fairly sophisticated analyses of quite 'difficult' set texts. They must also create well articulated arguments which show that they have grasped the purpose of intellectual enquiry and academic discourse. This particular question also requires students to take into consideration an example of literary theory (Pierre Macherey's Marxist notions of ideology in a text), the printed materials of the course itself, and to examine examples from two different genres (prose and poetry). Thus a number of complex demands are being made of the student all at the same time. The suggested length is 1500 words.

Question
According to Pierre Macherey, the ideology of a literary work resides in its incompleteness, in its significant gaps and silences. With reference to two texts from different genres, suggest how Macherey's theory of ideology might yield new insights and meanings in literary criticism.

No text is 'complete' in itself according to Macherey. The words on the page may appear to produce a clear-cut, easily discernible meaning, however if we accept this at face value we are not appreciating the work as a whole, for as well as the explicit meaning of a work, the reader should also be aware of the gaps, silences and contradictions inherent in a text. Only in this way can we understand the full significance of a literary work, and reveal its relation to the circumstances in which it was produced.
Although Macherey argues that the silences are a prior condition of the text, in that without absences the text itself would not exist, the reader must first examine what is given, the explicit ideas and arguments presented, in order to spot the gaps and silences. When we first read 'A Sahib's War' by Rudyard Kipling, for example, we learn about the characters, the events which make up the story, note the use of an unusual narrative technique and also form opinions as to the meaning or intention of the story. From this basis we can then go on to consider elements not present, and judge whether these reinforce or contradict the explicit meaning of the text.
One of the most striking aspects of the story is the narrative technique. Our narrator is Umr Singh, a Sikh, and events are seen through his eyes throughout the discourse of the story. We are told from the start that Singh is 'A Sikh - a trooper of the State'(1), we are also given details of his home, and constant reminders throughout the story that this in an Indian narrator, including often amusing transliterations such as 'Ustrelyahs' and 'terain'.
The striking absence here is that of the Sahib himself, who cannot speak directly to us, and is, throughout the story, only dimly realised as a character. We must then, according to Macherey, question why this is. Macherey does point out that the formal structures of a text are those which are appropriate and useful to both what is said and what is not said. This can be seen to perform a variety of functions.
Firstly, white British readers would not be able to identify with the narrator. This enabled Kipling to voice opinions which would have been considered subversive at the time, using the Indian as a vehicle - thus distancing himself from the ideas portrayed. This seems more of an intentional ploy than an unconscious silence within the text, however the narrative structure also reveals contradictions between the text and what is not said. The fact that Singh speaks no English and requires an interpreter 'Is there any Sahib on this train who will interpret for a trooper of the Gurgaon Rissala...'(p.6) suggests that the intimacy he claims existed between him and the Sahib was not quite the two-way process we are led to believe.
The scant portrayal of the Sahib also stands in marked contrast to the descriptions of the Australians, who are said to be 'Dark, tall men, most excellent horsemen, hot and angry, waging war as war...'(p.13). Although there are no disparaging comments made about Kurban Sahib, we can see that the Australians are more 'real' - men of action, compared to the Sahib.
Macherey also draws our attention to methods used by writers to 'not say' things. One of these is diverting attention, which is illustrated in 'A Sahib's War' by the portrayal of racism. Kipling has often been accused a being a racist, even fascist writer, yet on first reading it appears that the only racism to be found in the story lies with Singh and Khan. Singh, from the opening paragraph is depicted as a racist - he considers himself above 'these black Kaffirs'(p. 6), and later refers to Khan as 'Sag' (dog) (p. 12). He is portrayed as prejudiced and discriminatory, 'What is one Mussulman pig more or less?'(p.10).
The gap or silence which is immediately evident is that despite the fact the this is an Indian servant with a white 'master', there is no mention at any point in the story of a white racist attitude. Singh even stresses the point that the colonial relationship between himself and the Sahib was one of equality 'Oh, we were great friends..'(p.8), 'He was rich, open-handed, just, a friend of poor troopers...'(p.8), 'When we were alone he called me Father, and I called him Son'(p.8) being just a few examples.
It must be stressed that at the time of writing, this was accepted as fact. Kipling's use of an Indian narrator served only to reinforce beliefs already held by the white populous that colonial rule was a two-way process, with Indians benefiting as much as the British. Macherey, however, maintains that prejudice is not to be found in language, but before it. The idea that the text may therefore show prejudice on an unconscious level reveals further contradictions between the text and what it is trying to say.
We can see these contradictions at work in the explicit message that the white Sahib was by no means a racist, compared to the characterisation of Singh and Khan. Singh is hardly a likeable character, often but subtly ridiculed, Khan is said to have 'stole[n] some swine's flesh'(p. 12), along with a horse. The scene at the Boer-log house shows them to be violent and malicious - it is only the appearance of the Sahib, 3 times, which makes then stop. This is hardly sympathetic characterisation, and reflects the 'lived ideology' of the white readership. Without actually saying so, the concept of colonial rule is shown as necessary it requires the 'civilising' input of the Sahib to prevent the Indians committing atrocities. Deference is assumed, the Sahib need only say 'No. It is a Sahib's war(p.21)'.
By applying Macherey's theory, we can see that Kipling has, by use of narrative technique, managed to 'hide' his message, although on an unconscious level the gaps in the text point to an historical reality which is inescapable.
In the same way that Kipling could not explicitly state his contempt for the 'Sahib' ethos during the Boer war, Fugard, Kani and Ntshona were constrained by the dominant ideology of South Africa when writing The Island. Nonetheless, it seems clear on reading the play what the subject is, but this needs to be tested against Macherey's theory.
If we assume the play was written as an attack on the apartheid system, there seems nothing explicit in the text to suggest otherwise, however if we also look at it as a more universal comment on the resilience of the individual in the face of oppression , then gaps begin to appear in the text both to support and deny these arguments.
We are first introduced to Antigone as the 'play within the play' when John tells us 'This Antigone is just right for us'(2), but we are not explicitly told why. We do know however that Cell 42 are 'practising the Zulu War Dance' (p.245), a traditional African ritual often staged for the benefit of white tourists etc. Given the contrast, and lack of explanation, one may infer that whilst Cell 42 are using traditional African Dance as entertainment, John and Winston's Antigone is using traditional white European culture for education.
If Antigone serves to educate, we must then ask who is being educated. The play is put on for 'Captain Prinsloo, Hodoshe, Warders.... and Gentlemen'(p.267), ie. the prison population, but we must remember that in the theatre the stage direction 'addresses the audience' would also involve the main audience of The Island. We are given no details of the actual prison audience, and may therefore assume that the message of Antigone is intended for us too.
Macherey's argument that the silence comes first, and the text is born from the silence can be seen at work here. If the play is an attack on apartheid, no overt political condemnation of the system can be found within the text, however the idea of 'natural justice' - that the laws of the state may be contravened when the perpetrator is morally right, is the clear message of Antigone. Lines such as 'Even as there are laws made by men, so too there are others that come from God'(p.269) are the 'speech' which is missing from the main text, the reality of John and Winston's situation.
If we consider the actual story of Antigone, this goes some way to addressing the 'gap' of why the play is so apt. In the original text, Antigone commits suicide, thus gaining her freedom, however at the end of our version of the play, the men remain 'as in the beginning'(p.271), shackled together. If we imagine the authors expect the main audience to appreciate this, then as Macherey suggests we can construct our own idea of the meaning of both the main and sub-play.
Returning to our two ideas as to the explicit meaning of the play, we have assistance from Macherey by considering the contradictions between both what is said and what is not. If the implicit intention is an attack on apartheid, then this is to some extent contradicted by the text itself. A notable absence here is that of the prison governor, Prinsloo. His position surely embodies the apartheid system, yet we know nothing about him. Prinsloo and the warder Hodoshe have no voice, yet we can see that their authority is assumed, and never challenged. They seem to be accepted as part of the system. This lies in stark contrast to the threat by John if Winston will not co-operate 'I'm going to report you to the old men tomorrow. And remember, broer, those old men will make Hodoshe and his tricks look like a little boy' (p.246).
In fact the text is shown to reinforce the system it seeks to decry. In the men's pretend telephone conversation we hear John say 'Winston says she must carry on ... nothing has happened' (p.251). The sense that their experience is normal, even something to be expected in commented on. 'Others will come in here John, count, go ... still more will come ... then one day, it will all be over'(p.266), suggesting that death is the only real escape from the 'system'. Even when John is told of his impending release, the men do not talk about the future but immediately revert to the past, with John recalling 'Three years ago I stood in front of that Magistrate...'(p.259). There is a marked silence here - no mention of the wider future or hope that things will improve, and definitely nothing to suggest any rebellion against the system which condemned them.
It should be noted that in both texts discussed, the authors were not able to explicitly state their intentions. Macherey's theory does show however that these can be exposed, along with the unconscious of the works. In some instances the gaps and silences may contradict the more overt message, but Macherey points out that neither are the 'true' meaning. It is the relationship between the silences and the text which enrich meaning, and both must be considered to fully appreciate any literary work.

NOTES
(1) Rudyard Kipling 'A Sahib's War', Prose Anthology, P.6. All subsequent quotations are from this edition
(2) Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona The Island, Drama Anthology, P.244. All subsequent quotations are from this edition
BIBLIOGRAPHY
From the Course Reader: Pierre Macherey, 'The Text Says What it Does Not Say'
From the Prose Anthology: Rudyard Kipling, 'A Sahib's War'
From the Drama Anthology : Fugard, Kani and Ntshona, The Island

Tutor Comment
I like the way you make your understanding of Macherey's concept clear at the outset here, Andrea, and you examination of the two texts is intelligent and well-balanced. There's every reason therefore for you to enjoy the first-class grade of 88 per cent on this assignment.