St Aubynova románová sága jako ozvěna Powellova Tance na hudbu doby: za téma osobního traumatu | St Aubyn’s novel saga as an echo of Powell’s dance to the music of time: beyond personal trauma

Abstract

Edward St Aubyn’s quintet of novels is very often interpreted in terms of trauma. Such an interpretation, based on the author’s confession that the novels are strongly autobiographical and that he was sexually abused as a child by his own father, is no doubt justified. However, besides that, they also belong to a certain tradition: with Proust and Powell St Aubyn shares the setting of the novel, aristocracy and high society; same as them he unveils snobbery as an integral part of this society and he shows in detail various mechanisms and forces that are active in this society. His novels, however, are remarkable in drawing a link between cruelty/abuse/sadism and snobbish detachment, which he sees as ultimately dehumanizing.

Keywords

• contemporary literature
• personal trauma
• post-war british society