Paul Scott’s The Jewel in the Crown: Power, Liminality, and the Moral Continuum
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Authors
Flores-Bradshaw, Stephanie
Issue Date
2011-08-01
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Flores-Bradshaw, Paul Scott, The Jewel in the Crown, Luminality, ethics, Bakhtin, Chronotope, Foucault, humanism, imperial power,
Alternative Title
Abstract
This thesis suggests that ethical behavior is contingent not only on temporal and spatial dimensions, but also on the power relations that inhabit human interactions. This theory emerges within the (post)colonial context of Paul Scott’s The Jewel in the Crown, where the narrative constructs a moral continuum in distinctly liminal spaces. This paper accesses this continuum, drawing on the Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of the chronotope and Michel Foucault’s theory on power. The first chapter surveys the theory that informs the postcolonial narrative and reviews the critical responses to Scott’s text. Chapter 2 discusses authorial intention through Bakhtin’s chronotope of the fool and directly counters the criticisms that label Scott as an imperialist sympathizer; this chapter also highlights the text’s call for ethics and humanism. The third chapter examines the text’s reassessment of power. Particularly, this chapter explores Jewel’s deconstruction of imperial power and illustrates how the chronotope of road functions as both a place of meeting and of transformation. Chapter 4 explores the text’s treatment of hybridity; I propose that the chronotope of the hybrid avidly defines postcoloniality in its move to bridge cultural differences. Underscoring each analysis is Scott’s call for humanism, for within each interaction rests the opportunity for human compassion and dignity. This study emphasizes that ethical considerations, as displayed in Jewel, emerge from the interconnectedness of time, space, and power.