Analyzing the “internal other” in english literature: Welsh characters in j. Fowles’ a maggot and a. Burgess’ any old iron

Abstract

© AesthetixMS 2018. The paper is devoted to the problem of depicting the “internal other” in English literature in the second half of the 20th century. For a long time the significance of Welsh characters as the Others was not as essential for English literature as for Irish or Scottish; however, in the second half of the 20th century the attitude to them changes, which, as we suppose, is connected with the establishment of the European Union and foregrounding of the Arthurian myth. This brings about the discussions of English works of literature of the 1980s like A Maggot (1986) by John Fowles and Any Old Iron (1988) by Anthony Burgess. In these novels one can trace particular similarities in the depiction of Welsh characters. For example, the characters have a widespread family name Jones, and also the authors depict such stereotypes of Welsh behavior as craving for alcohol and garrulousness. The narrations of both novels have certain similarities: the main characters participate in a “quest”, the consequences of which must play a significant role in the history of their nation and the world in general. All above mentioned facts argue for the specific status of Welsh characters in the English novel of the end of the 20th century and for a particular place literature allots to them not only in the national but also in the world history.