"I had to surpress just a few words in one sentence, and was surprised ... at my accuracy": intertextuality as a tool to reconstruct the past in "Levels of Life", by Julian Barnes

Authors

  • Mirna del Carmen Martínez Gómez Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_tropelias/tropelias.20254310712

Keywords:

grief, Julian Barnes, intertextuality, reconstruction of the past

Abstract

In this article, the main focus is the intertextual references the narrator uses as a means to reconstruct his past while, at the same time, tries to communicate and understand his loss, brought about by the sudden death of his wife. I analyze the quotes and explore the effects the texts read by the narrator have on his understanding and the process with which those texts are resignified. Due to the text's nature and the way in which the narrator handles the quoted fragments, it is possible to question the traditional separation between author and narrator.

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Published

2025-02-14

Issue

Section

Papers

How to Cite

Martínez Gómez, M. del C. (2025). "I had to surpress just a few words in one sentence, and was surprised ... at my accuracy": intertextuality as a tool to reconstruct the past in "Levels of Life", by Julian Barnes. Tropelías: Review of Literary Theory and Comparative Literature, 43, 237-250. https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_tropelias/tropelias.20254310712
Received 2024-06-11
Accepted 2024-12-14
Published 2025-02-14