The Miscasting of Annabel Christopher: Agency, Archetype, and Reproduction in The Public Image

The Miscasting of Annabel Christopher: Agency, Archetype, and Reproduction in The Public Image

Presenter(s)

Tess Poe-Slade

Comments

Presentation: 1:20-1:40 p.m., Kennedy Union 310

Description

Muriel Spark’s 1968 novella, The Public Image, follows celebrity Annabel Christopher as she tries to save her reputation from post-humous sabotage designed by her husband Frederick. The novella has been regarded by feminists, literary scholars, and critics as an exploration of a shallow actress motivated by vapidity. However, I argue that such a reading of Annabel and The Public Image ignores the ways in which Spark plays with the idea of archetype in order to emphasize the social imperative of breaking sexist scripts. Further, I will explore the ways in which The Public Image is one of many examples of Spark both following and breaking generic conventions as a means of social commentary. Spark is regarded for her sharp style and dark humor, often taking common tropes to their darkest extremes. In following these deeply ordinary conventions in such a manner, Spark is able to demonstrate the disturbing implications of these conventions. My research examines Spark’s The Public Image, The Driver’s Seat and its film adaptation in conversation with Spark’s speech “The Desegregation of Art,” focusing specifically on Spark’s use of generic conventions to provoke social change through a reclamation of agency.

Publication Date

4-19-2023

Project Designation

Honors Thesis

Primary Advisor

David Fine

Primary Advisor's Department

English

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

The Miscasting of Annabel Christopher: Agency, Archetype, and Reproduction in The Public Image

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