Estudios Irlandeses (Mar 2007)
William Trevor’s Felicia’s Journey: Inherited Dissent or Fresh Departure from Tradition?
Abstract
The purpose of this essay is to refute the fairly usual critical pronouncement that William Trevor’s view of Ireland as reflected in his Irish fictions is static, ahistorical and outdated. While acknowledging that at first glance this may be so and that other aspects of his work, such as his style, narrative techniques or literary influences, may appear to support the view of Trevor’s status as a conventional writer and as a perfect candidate to the phenomenon of “inherited dissent” discussed by Augustine Martin (1965), it is my intention to show that a close examination of one of his novels, Felicia’s Journey (1994), contrasting it with the tradition that Trevor is supposed to be uncritically repeating –in this case Joyce’s short story “Eveline” (1914)– will reveal the extent to which his fiction clearly responds to a contemporary social and artistic sensibility. In my opinion, and as I hope will come through, Trevor is not a writer weighed down by tradition but rather one still capable of puzzling the reader by offering unexpected solutions for the plights of his characters.
