Synchornic and diachronic readings of the contemporary text: Angela Carter’s and Eowyn Ivey Snow Children

Abstract

The present paper situates its concerns at the crossroads between the synchronic and the diachronic approaches to the literary text, as it attempts at demonstrating that the latter becomes mandatory for a full experience with contemporary texts. In this sense, the paper focuses on the intertextual mechanism which triggers a diachronic interpretation of the text and which can take the extreme form of literary vampirism, as is the case of Angela Carter’s texts, or more subtle disguises, as illustrated by Eowyn Ivey’s eponymous debut novel. The study also discusses the problematic relationship of contemporary literature to literary tradition, a relationship whose dynamics puts the reader in the uncomfortable but eventually rewarding position of constantly looking elsewhere for meaning. Fantasy is seen as the perfect excuse for intertextuality and for providing an alternative not only to reality but also to the literary tradition, as these texts rewrite important parts of the consecrated literary canon.