Uncovering the Self: Identity and Otherness in Irish Fiction (Barry, Beckett and Banville)

Abstract

"Fiction seems to be bound to the discovery of the self and the other. By engaging in ethical readings, literature can become a fruitful space of interaction in which the reader and text can communicate in order to make an acquaintance with otherness. In this regard, the present paper consists of several analyses on Irish fiction that propose explorations into the quest of self-discovery. As it stands, self-identity is iterated in terms of knowing both the self and the other and therefore discovering alterity. Through the works of Barry, Beckett and Banville, we intend to demonstrate various approaches towards self-identity and analyse how they came into fruition."