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Genres in the Novel
“For the dead do not die in that tormented country, that heartbroken island of incestuous hatreds; so abused down the centuries by the powerful of the neighbouring island, as much by the powerful of its native own” (O’Connor 377)
A common element of postmodern literature is the deliberate use of different genres to incorporate various elements and blur the distinctions. Postmodern writing “blurs genres, transgresses them, or unfixes boundaries that conceal domination or authority, and that ‘genre’ is an anachronistic term and concept” (Cohen 11). Defining a work as one genre limits its capabilities; therefore, postmodernism incorporates and mixes genres to further express different aspects and purposes of the writing.
Star of the Sea, a novel about the journey from a famine- and injustice-ridden Ireland to America, tells the tales of the characters on this voyage; showing how the past never truly lets go. Through the use of various genres, the novel is able to tell the stories of these characters and portray the Irish Famine experience. The Irish Famine “is a historical event that because of political developments in Ireland in the twentieth century, has been deprived of an adequate forum for its speaking” (Beville 32). Star of the Sea branches the gap between history and fiction to tell the story of the Famine.
The novel is a work of historical fiction, Gothic fiction, and mystery. The three genres work together to tell the story, emphasize the setting and the mood, and entertain the audience. The story is completely fictional, but based on a historical event. The Irish Famine, the injustice in Ireland, and the famine ships were all real occurrences during the nineteenth century, and the novel uses a fictional story to recount these events. The fiction in the novel is supported by the historiographic metafiction that provide real evidence for support. The Gothic elements in the novel focus on depicting the individuals and portraying the setting to convey the gloomy atmosphere in the novel. The settings in the novel represent the decay and isolation that the characters are experiencing both physically and psychologically. The Gothicism expresses the seriousness and bleakness of the Irish Famine. The historical fiction and Gothic fiction also collaborate to intensify the mystery in the novel. From the beginning the story reveals that Merridith is a murder victim, but does not reveal why or who murders him. As the journey on the ship progresses the story reveals past events of the characters’ lives, divulging secrets, events, and connections between people. It is the work of these genres that make this novel successfully tell the story of the Irish Famine experience.
Works Cited:
Beville, Maria. “Delimiting the Unspeakable: Gothic Preoccupations in Joseph O’Connor’s Star of the Sea.” Aeternum: The Journal of Contemporary Gothic Studies 1.1 (2014): 30-41. Print.
Cohen Ralph. “Do Postmodern Genres Exist?” Postmodern Genres. Ed. Marjorie Perloff. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989. 11-27. Print.
