Essay Questions

What is one example of the ways in which the author blurs the distinction between fiction and history?

Very few novels feature footnotes. That is an aspect of professional authorship generally left to the domain of non-fiction. The author takes advantage of reader familiarity with this divergence by introducing footnotes into the narrative scheme which creates an unconscious link in the reader to non-fiction. Further blurring the line between fact and fiction is the introduction of actual historical figures into the narrative. For instance, the initial description of the fictional Dr. Braithwaite courtesy of the writer of the notebooks comes when discussing a TV special on which he was featured which aired on August 15., 1965. An asterisk leads readers to a footnote mentioning several people supposedly involved (including R.D. Laing) before adding “There is, unfortunately, no surviving footage of the programme, but Joan Bakewell later wrote that Braithwaite was ‘one of the most arrogant and unpleasant individuals’ she had ever had the misfortune to meet.’” The inclusion of this footnote not only enhances the sense of the novel being “real” but may also be an example of the author anticipating that some readers would try to confirm that this fictional character actually existed by hitting the internet in search of footage of this 1965 broadcast. The rest of the footnote does an excellent job explaining why such readers are bound for disappointment while also highlighting why readers might be convinced of the authenticity of Braithwaite in the first place. R.D. Laing was one of the actual leaders at the vanguard of the anti-psychiatrist movement to which Braithwaite lays claim. Joan Bakewell is also a real person. In addition to attaining fame as a writer and TV host, she is somewhat infamous for an affair with playwright Harold Pinter which he later “fictionalized” into his play, Betrayal. One can see how easy it might be to confuse those parts of this book that are historical facts and which are pure fiction.

What is the link between this novel and Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel Rebecca?

Daphne du Maurier is only mentioned by name once when the author of the notebooks within the narrative explains the source of her pseudonym. The specter of Rebecca hangs over the entire narrative, however, and not just because that is the name the writer of the notebooks. Although is it common even for readers of du Maurier’s gothic murder story to initially identify the title character as the narrator of that tale, Rebecca is, in fact, the first wife of Max de Winter, a brooding Braithwaite-esque type who is soon facing trial for her murder. The actual narrator of Rebecca is Max’s second wife who never identifies herself by name and so is commonly referred to simply as “I” de Winter. At the center of the plot is the fact that “I” is everything that Rebecca was not: a little mousy, meek, faithful, honest, and, yes, on the boring side. In this novel, the writer of the notebook also never identifies herself and instead is known as Rebecca. In this novel, the real identity of the author of the notebooks is everything that “Rebecca” is not: a little mousy, meek, and boring. Over the course of the novel, the meek writer actually begins to adopt the false persona of “Rebecca” and begins to consume her actual personality. The link here is that the writer of the notebooks in this novel begins like the second Mrs. de Winter but eventually transforms into someone more like Rebecca de Winter.

Why is Dirk Bogarde an especially appropriate choice for a major inclusion of a real-life character into the fictional world of Braithwaite?

Braithwaite’s entire claim to fame is his theory that essentially suggests that everyone suffers from multiple identity disorders because everyone has multiple identities. A description of him asserts that “Braithwaite loved actors. They were the living embodiment of his ideas.” The book itself is also an embodiment of Braithwaite’s theories with its postmodern meta-fiction structure in which parts of the book are fictional creations and parts are steeped in factual history. Both aspects are represented in the relationship the fictional psychiatrist strikes with the real-life actor, Dirk Bogarde. The actor part is obviously related to the idea of multiple personalities, but Bogarde was also a closeted homosexual who lived openly among his close friends but was forced to put on a heterosexual charade in his public life. Obviously, the author could have chosen from any number of famous actors of the period who lived similar lives--Montgomery Clift comes immediately to mind as an American counterpart—but he specifically needed a British actor who was a very big star at the time who has not only literally died since then, but whose stardom has diminished considerably as well. Bogarde becomes an almost ideal choice because is representative of Braithwaite’s theories as both an actor and human, but also hits the sweet spot in that enough time has passed since his heyday that many readers may not realize he actually existed. To some readers, Bogarde may seem every bit as fictional as Braithwaite just as Braithwaite may feel every bit as real as Bogarde.