Uncanny Analysis in Stephen King's 'The Shining': A Study on Narratology, Study notes of Literature

Download Uncanny Analysis in Stephen King's 'The Shining': A Study on Narratology and more Study notes Literature in PDF only on Docsity! “This is an Overlook Where No One Can Ever Come” A narratological analysis of the representation of the uncanny in The Shining Author​: Matilda Berggren Supervisor​: Anne Holm Examinator​: Anna Greek Date​: 19-01-04 Subject​: English Literature Level​: G3 Course code​: 2EN20E Abstract This essay is a narratological analysis of Stephen King’s ​The Shining, ​and​ ​employs Mieke Bal’s categorization of focalization, description and discourse with the intent of establishing their function in representing the concept of the uncanny in the narrative. By analyzing these narratological functions and their interplay, several manifestations of the ordinarily elusive uncanny become evident. The novel, through the structuring of the narrative and use of forthright descriptions as well as the insight into the characters’ minds, continually manages to represent the disturbances of the familiar that characterize the uncanny. Keywords Uncanny, Focalization, Description, Free Indirect Discourse, Telepathy, Anthropomorphism 2 (37) frightening and what is specifically uncanny through use of narratological means such as the ones presented in this paper. As such, it could prove useful to further studies of the uncanny’s ties to the structural aspects of literature and might thus aid in tethering the concept and providing a tangible definition of its literariness. The concept of the uncanny, which was initially conceived in the mid 1900’s, is one that quite readily evades definitive definition, and to attempt to define it is to “encounter one of its decisive paradoxes, namely that ‘the uncanny’ has to do with a ​troubling ​of definition, with a fundamental disturbance of what we think and feel” (Bennett and Royle 34). At its core, the uncanny is associated with a sense of disturbance of the familiar, the feeling of the ​unhomely​, and a fear of what transcends our understanding. Fabio Camilletti’s essay “Present Perfect. Time and the Uncanny in American Science and Horror Fiction of the 1970s (Finney, Matheson, King)”​ ​outlines the uncanny nature of the representation of time within three American novels during the 1970’s, with The Shining ​being one of them. The author writes that the Overlook’s “impersonality and anonymity ... makes it the ideal setting for the uncanny experience” (Camilletti 31), and argues that the setting of the novel is itself sufficient for the uncanny to impart its influence. This point can be further strengthened by the application of Bennett and Royle’s notion that the uncanny arises “on those occasions when the homely becomes the unhomely” (38). The haunted house narrative figure is considered the quintessential example of the uncanny (Royle 51), and at its core, ​The Shining, ​despite its psychological foray into a broken family unit, is a story about a sinister house and its effect on its subjects. The unhomely, signifying the opposite of the home and the familiar (Bennett and Royle 34) is thus epitomized in the novel. Thus, there is an established opinion that there 5 (37) exists an inherent affiliation with the uncanny within the narrative of ​The Shining, ​and this is the initial inspiration for the subject matter of this essay. Stephen King ties the uncanny to horror literature by stating that “ The Stranger makes us nervous… but we love to try on his face in secret” (Danse Macabre 10), affirming that, while the unknown and uncanny may provoke apprehension, horror literature offers a way to experience it. King’s comments about horror as an art form (10) mirror the uncanny’s transcendence of limits when he states that “it is looking for something beyond art”. There is therefore, a precedence for an analysis of the uncanny in King’s work. This precedence also stems from his position as a “modern master of horror”; such a title is not attained without creative wit and skill, and yet analyses of King’s structural approach to horror are few, despite the wealth of research dealing with movie adaptations of his works. By analyzing the narratological aspects of one of his most notable works, this essay highlights important aspects of King’s works, and the uncanny’s connection to the literary. The lexical aspects of the uncanny, with its transcending of limits, doubling and repetitive elements, blur the line between reality and fiction, and the uncanny’s existence as a concept of connotation (Cixous 18) renders it only fully available for analysis through fiction. Because of its ties with literature, this essay therefore aims to analyze the representation of the uncanny through the use of narrative techniques employed in ​The Shining​. However, due to the wealth of manifestations of the uncanny, this essay is restricted to analyzing only a few of the most prevalent manifestations in the novel, pertaining to the representation of the Overlook hotel, as well as Danny and Jack Torrance. The narrative techniques that are to be analyzed are description, focalization and discourse, with the intention of establishing these techniques’ function in the creation of the sense of uncanniness within the novel. As Wolfrey states: “all forms of narrative are, in one way or 6 (37) another, haunted” (3), and the aspiration of the essay is to analyze, through narratological means, how this sense of haunting, of the experience of the uncanny, permeates the novel the way it does. It will, additionally, bring together a selection of central concepts of the uncanny with the outlined narratological concepts in the analysis section. The analysis of the uncanny within a narrative that, according to Ruuskanen makes use of many realist conventions instead of overtly conventional uncanny themes (12), can be further supported if one considers Royle’s notion that “the uncanny, then, is not merely an ‘aesthetic’ or ‘psychological’ matter . . . its critical elaboration is necessarily bound up with analysing, questioning and even transforming what is called ‘everyday life’” (23). The genre of ​The Shining ​will be a prevalent theme during the course of the essay, but it will only be delved into on a superficial level, so as to establish the genre conventions of the haunted house and how the descriptions of the Overlook tie into them, but yet ultimately keep the focus on the narratological aspect. The application of a narratological method of analysis arises from the general convention of more thematic approaches to the analysis of the concept of the uncanny, and allows for a more delimited examination of it without venturing into markedly psychoanalytical territory, which is outside of the scope of this essay. The uncanny is haunted by literature (Royle 52) in that it is the medium used to express the experience of the uncanny, and analyzing narrative techniques allows for a tentative explanation of its aesthetical representation within a certain narrative such as this one. Furthermore, this essay will not only lend itself to an analysis of the representation of the uncanny through narratological means, it will also analyze the way in which the interplay between these narratological functions - such as the ways in which descriptive passages work to add effect 7 (37) which it denotes (Masschelein 116). In the ambivalence created in the space between the two, the uncanny resides. The uncanny’s relation to literature is evident in that literature itself can be defined as “the discourse of the uncanny: literature is the kind of writing which most persistently and most provocatively engages with the uncanny aspects of experience, thought and feeling” (Bennett and Royle 35). The defamiliarizing power of literature lies in its capacity to alienate the reader as it is also inviting the reader to identify with and categorize the experiences of the text (36). Julian Wolfreys writes that what is uncanny about narrative is the act of telling (5), and that the textual traces of a text’s continuous retelling are an uncanny phenomenon of literature. The uncanny’s literary nature can be further gleaned by harking to Cixous when she states that the uncanny as a concept is built on connotations to other concepts, and therefore does not exist in reality (Masschelein 114). It can only be comprehensively rendered in fiction. Because fiction deals with limits, paradoxes and the representation of the unpresentable (120), it fills much the same function as the uncanny. Even Freud deigns to employ literature as a means to categorize the uncanny (226) in his analysis of ​The Sand-Man​. The uncanniness of this story is by Freud ultimately attributed to the castration complex, as well as the double acting as a fundamental destruction of the ego (231, 243), both of which are psychoanalytical concepts. Thus, the uncanny is, as mentioned previously, tied up with fiction and literature, and as such the application of an analysis of the representation of it within a narrative is justified by even Freud himself. Despite its resistance to definition, there are certain forms that the uncanny may take, which is especially evident in literature. Freud introduces two central forms of the uncanny in his essay; the concept of the automata and the double (226, 233) The automata is evident when what appears human is perceived as being mechanical, such as 10 (37) sleepwalking or trancelike states (Bennett and Royle 36), both of which are prevalent states in ​The Shining​. The concept of automatism can be further related to the concepts of animism and anthropomorphism; animism referring to the inanimate being given lifelike attributes or qualities, and anthropomorphism referring to the attribution of specifically human characteristics to an inanimate object (36), akin to those attributed to the Overlook hotel in the novel. The concept of the double “narrates the disturbing loss of the familiar ground of the self” (Lydenberg 1080); that is, the fundamental loss of one’s selfhood. The double as a concept is linked inexorably to another uncanny occurrence: telepathy, by way of mental processes being transferred between these ‘doubles’. Telepathy, in the uncanny sense, implies that your thoughts are not only your own, or perhaps yours at all (Bennett and Royle 38). Telepathy is further connected to another uncanny manifestation; predestination. Predestination includes odd repetitions, and the sense that some instances are fated to take place (36). Freud states that the double is created by identifying with someone else to the point where the self’s existence and agency comes into doubt (233), or where one possesses feeling, thought or experiences that are not their own. Furthermore, an aspect of the double that applies most readily to ​The Shining, ​is the concept of the immortal soul as the first double of the body (Freud 234). The double is, at once, both the promise of immortality, as well as the omen of the death of the self (Bennett and Royle 39). 2.2 Focalization Focalization is, in Genette’s words, a “narrative perspective … [A] restrictive point of view” (185). Genette initially distinguished between three types of focalization: internal focalization, external focalization and zero focalization (189-191). However, Genette 11 (37) notes, the application of a strict internal focalization, which is the relaying of the focalized character’s thoughts and perceptions, is rarely ever realized. Focalization is, in his words, a restriction. Therefore, internal focalization is usually correlated with aspects of external components. Internal focalization in its purest state is only realized in the narrative of the interior monologue (Genette 193). Genette further characterizes focalization as a “focus of narration” (189), a notion that can be seen to be further expanded by Bal’s division of the vision through which elements are presented, and whose voice is articulating it (Bal 143). The events of a narrative are invariably told through the perception of a narrator and are, despite at times claiming objectivity, perceived in a subjective manner (Bal 145). Focalization is the relationship between the events unfolding and the vision of the focalizor (143). Bal makes a further distinction when she stresses the distinction between what is actually perceived and who is narrating it (146). The act of narrating what is perceived, remembered or thought is disconnected from that which is being told. It is therefore futile to assume objectivity of the focalization, since the act of focalizing and perceiving is inherently a subjective process (Bal 145). As such, focalization exists in the layer between the fabula, a series of chronological events experienced by actors (Bal 5), and the linguistic text, because it belongs in the story but is perceived outside of it. This distinction of focalization as a subjective process is especially useful in analyzing ​The Shining​, due to the novel’s general theme of questioning reality and perceptions. Bal identifies two types of focalization; character-bound focalization and external focalization (151-152). Character-bound focalization makes clear the distinction between narrator and focalizor, as the focalization can travel between characters while the narrator may remain constant. The perspective regarding the events perceived are focalized through the eyes of certain characters. This technique, though neutral towards the 12 (37) is especially central in realist novels, or novels employing realist conventions, such as ​The Shining. ​Motivation is predicated on the notion of the three forms of narrative agency defined by Bal: looking, speaking and acting. These three forms facilitate the integration of not only motivation, but description as well, into the narrative and thus add to the realistic representation of the imagined world of the fabula. (41-43) Motivation as such is therefore an element of focalization, and functions as a way to make the relationships between different elements of the fabula evident. Description’s ties to the constraints of the focalizor is made evident by Genette when he states that “[t]he demands of exposition constrain us to this unavoidable violence simply by the fact that critical discourse, like any other discourse, cannot say everything at once” (215). To mask the arbitrary nature of motivation in regards to description, the writer turns to rhetoric (Bal 42). Description constitutes an overarching theme, with the components consisting of predicates that either denote a feature of the object, or its function. The relation between the theme of the descriptor and its components can be differentiated into six different types of description (Bal 42). However, due to the constraints of this essay, the relevant subsection of description for this essay is ​The Referential, Encyclopaedic Description, ​due to its nature of describing elements in an effort to convey knowledge (42), and ​The Metaphoric Metonymy​, which deals with the metaphoric elements of what is described (42).​ ​The descriptions affiliated with ​The Referential, Encyclopaedic Description ​are of particular interest in the analysis of ​The Shining, ​due to its realist conventions and representation of what is frightful using familiar and forthright language. 15 (37) 2.4 Discourse The representation of speech in narrative is a troublesome subject, at times. Genette writes that the narrative of words can be deemed only to be an imitation, or a reduplication of events in the world (169). Discourse does not entail only the reporting of a character’s speech, but also the narration of it. In narratized discourse, the act of speaking becomes an action, indistinguishable from the events surrounding the act (170). The intermediary between these two poles of discourse is, by Genette, dubbed transposed speech. Genette distinguishes three aspects of characters’ speech in relation to narrative distance: reported speech, narratized speech, and transposed speech (171-173) Reported speech, which is pure relaying of the character’s act of speaking, is not narrative in nature, as it is simply a recopying of what has been said (169). Narratized speech is the intertwining of speech and thought with the events presented, and is the most reduced form of discourse, reproducing not the speech of the character but instead presenting their thoughts as part of the narrative. Transposed speech allows for a little less distance from the actual utterance of a character by use of a declarative verb, yet still does not provide the reader with a sense of fidelity to what was “really” uttered; Genette states that “the narrator's presence is still too per​ceptible in the very syntax of the sentence for the speech to impose itself with the documentary autonomy of a quotation” (171). Bal coins her categorizations of discourse direct discourse, free indirect discourse, and indirect discourse, respectively (Bal 48-49). Bal’s definition of direct discourse follows the same classification as Genette’s reported speech, although she shifts the weight of its inclusion in the narrative by discussing how the emotive function of omitting the customary declarative verb at times gives voice to the narrator (50). Indirect and free indirect discourse exist at the level of the narrative, whereas direct discourse is, much the same as Genette’s 16 (37) reported speech, not narrative in nature. In the instances of indirect and free indirect discourse, Bal writes that ​“​the two narrative situations are to be distinguished on the basis of references in the text to personal or impersonal language situations” (52), and further introduces the function of the narrator in the discourse. Indirect discourse is the instance of the narrator adopting the discourse of the character who supposedly uttered something. This merging of narrative levels still retains ties to the fidelity of the original utterance, but stresses the interpretative act of it (52-54) The further the accuracy of reporting the thoughts or utterances of a certain character is from the actual reported speech, the closer it moves towards indirect, and later free indirect, discourse. The distinction between pure narrator’s text and free indirect discourse is at times difficult to determine, but the only distinction between the two is when there is a definitive indication that there exists a representation of the words of a character; highly emotive and personal language, most likely attributable to a character, and the extension of information that is not necessary for the progression of the narrative (Bal 54-55) Bal’s categorization of the different discourses are the definitions that are to be employed in the analysis due to their specific focus on the relationship between the narrator’s words and the actors’. Her categorization of free indirect discourse in particular is of interest because of its connection to emotive language, as much of the discourse of ​The Shining​ and the subsequent representation of the uncanny​ ​relies on the insight into the actors’ thought processes and their feelings. 17 (37) 3.1.2 Animism and anthropomorphism Through the focalizors there arise several forms of the uncanny, represented by the employment of description. The analysis of these descriptive elements adds further substance to the aforementioned focalization as it delves even deeper into the characters’ perceptions of the events and their effect. Description, as Bal mentions, is a “privileged form of focalization” (35) and is dependant on the characters’ perceptions. It is through the descriptions of events, and more importantly, the Overlook as a haunted house, and its effect on its inhabitants, that the uncanny influence becomes evident. Because of the internally character-bound focalization, each character perceives the events of the fabula differently, and as such the forms of the uncanny are reiterated and presented differently, particularly in regards to the evolution of the Overlook’s malicious presentation. Bal’s notion of motivation in regards to description is worthy to note in ​The Shining, ​as well​. ​The function of motivation is generally facilitated by looking, speaking or acting (Bal 41), and while these are all obviously present in the novel, there is also the notion of the unreality connected to the characters’ perceptions and actions by virtue of the supernatural influence from the Overlook. Thus, despite the motivation for the descriptions being present, one can not be certain that they are objective, or even truthful, due to the Overlook’s uncanny influence over the characters’ perceptions of the events. The forms of the uncanny that are represented in relation to the sinister hotel are mostly related to the notions of animism and anthropomorphism, as outlined in the theory section 2.1, as well as the general uncanny sense of unhomeliness. This unhomely feeling becomes evident to Jack the very first time he enters the hotel, when the rooms are described as “stretch[ing] for miles” (King 28). The disturbance of the familiar continues as Jack considers the Overlook and its previous caretaker’s fate as he “looked back over his 20 (37) shoulder once into the impenetrable, musty darkness” of his surroundings (King 35). The Overlook, even in the initial stages of the novel, symbolizes the unfamiliarity of the uncanny, as it never quite manages to present itself as the average hotel, and is as such the very manifestation of the unhomely, which according to Freud is characterized by the dissonance between the familiar and the unfamiliar (Freud 218). This is further established when Danny, who at this point has yet to enter the Overlook, has a vision of it: “[a]nother shape, looming, rearing. Huge and rectangular. A sloping roof. Whiteness that was blurred in the stormy darkness. Many windows. A long building with a shingled roof …” (King 45). Although this passage is described using Referential, Encyclopaedic Description (Bal 46), and ostensibly does not belie any supernatural aspects of the Overlook, the context of Danny having a vision provides ample opportunity for the disturbance of familiarity, as it defamiliarizes what ought at this point be homely, and alienates the reader despite the forthright description. The Overlook’s uncanny transcendence of the limits of the familiar is made the more evident by the description of it towards the end of the novel: It wasn’t a perception of sight or sound, although it was very near to those things, separated from those senses by the flimsiest of perceptual curtains. It was as if another Overlook now lay scant inches beyond this one, separated from the real world … but gradually coming into balance with it. (King 503) This description alone manages to represent the base characteristics of the uncanny’s depiction in literature, which according to Royle are the image of the new home disturbing the homely, the existence of liminality and the indissociable bond to the familiar (Royle 136). Once again, the familiarity of the language employed in the description is central in the representation of the uncanny, and it is made all the more profound because of the description of the literal movement of the two hotels into one another. 21 (37) As the novel progresses, the instances of animism and anthropomorphism become more and more prominent in the descriptions of the Overlook. The descriptions of the hotel’s animism and anthropomorphism almost exclusively employ Referential, Encyclopaedic Description​, ​and this in turn may display the interplay between the textuality of the uncanny and description’s function as its representation. Because the uncanny exists as a connotation to other concepts (Masschelein 114), forthright and ordinary descriptions of uncanny events create a delimited zone where the fearful exists within the ordinary, and thus heightens the uncanny sense of uncertainty and unfamiliarity. As such, Bal’s categorization of description is decidedly useful for analysing the manifestation of the uncanny, as it highlights the utilization of common wording to convey knowledge (Bal 46). In fact, as Bennett and Royle state, “the more ​familiar ​a word, the more uncanny it can become” (40; emphasis original). As the Torrance family inspects the rooms of the hotel, Danny notes that the wallpaper of the Presidential Suite is littered with “[g]reat splashes of dried blood, flecked with tiny bits of grayish-white tissue … It was like a crazy picture drawn in blood, a surrealistic etching of a man’s face drawn back in pain and terror” (King 134). This description distinctly follows the rhetoric of anthropomorphism (Bennett and Royle 36), and is the incipient description heralding the following descriptions that illustrate the uncannily human characteristics of the hotel. The description of a face created from splatters of blood is an overt example of the attribution of human features to the nonhuman, as it does not just hint at humanity, but even creates an imitation of it. The hotel’s lifelike attributes are described again when the family are the only people left at its site, as it gives them the curious feeling that it has “doubled in size and become sinister, dwarfing them with sullen, inanimate power” (King 145). Worthy to note is the “inanimate power” that 22 (37) narrator (Genette 105), Bal’s categorization of description places it within the perspectives of the characters (35). Because of this, the uncanniness of the sequence just described becomes all the more prominent, due to the description falling outside the characters’ perspectives and thus heightening the effect of the uncanny nature of the Overlook’s lifelikeness. 3.1.3 Automatism Description is further a central instrument in the representation of automatism, outlined in section 2.1, in the novel. The novel is ripe with instances of automatism, particularly in regards to Danny’s trancelike states he enters as he shines​, ​and Jack’s deteriorating mental state. As Danny enters his first trance in the Overlook he is described as: [s]itting on the rim of the bathtub across the room, his toothbrush clasped limply in his left hand, a thin foam of toothpaste around his mouth. He was staring, trancelike, into the mirror on the front of the medicine cabinet above the washbasin. The expression on his face was one of drugged horror, and her first thought was that he was having some sort of epileptic seizure, that he might have swallowed his tongue. (King 180) This instance undoubtedly mirrors Freud’s characterization of automatism, as it even illustrates the trancelike nature that is so closely associated with automata. Danny’s automatic behavior is not restricted to pure trancelike states, however. Perhaps more uncanny are his actions that seem to be compelled from some outside force while he still retains some awareness of his actions; this inbetween state is described in detail when Danny is forced to enter room 217 against his wishes. Entering the room, Danny walks towards the bathroom “. . . dreamily, as if propelled from outside himself, as if this whole 25 (37) thing were one of the dreams Tony had brought him . . .” (King 319). While this passage does not portray the uncertainty regarding whether he is human or not that is customarily necessary to represent the manifestation of automatism (Freud 226), the preceding passage describes the otherworldly, uncertain nature of Danny’s compulsions. As he stands outside the room, Danny remarks that “[h]e hadn’t wanted to come here … He ​had ​wanted to come here. Curiosity (killed the cat; satisfaction brought him back) was like a constant fishhook in his brain, a kind of nagging siren song that would not be appeased” (King 315; emphasis original). This employment of Metaphoric Metonymy​ ​(Bal 42) gives the description of his curiosity an unreal aspect because of its metaphorical nature, and adds to the uncertainty of whether Danny’s compulsion is automatic or his own. As such, the description of Danny’s automatic behavior is uncanny not only by virtue of its representation, but also by its movement between certainty and uncertainty. The deviation from the prevailing ​Referential, Encyclopaedic Description into a more metaphorical approach creates a representation of the uncanny that mirrors the ambivalence of automatism itself; as Cixous states, the power of the uncanny’s influence resides in its connotation to other concepts and the subsequent ambiguity that is created as a result (Masschelein 114). Jack also falls victim to automatism, as is represented by the descriptions of his escalating madness. The progression of his automatic behavior is evident in the way the descriptive nature of the descriptions evolve from implying automatic behaviors to depicting his fully fledged madness, as well as his evolved monstrous appearance. The representation of automatism in regards to Jack is initially more aligned towards the state of madness and loss of agency rather than the ambiguity of whether he is human or not, as is made evident when Jack is continually compelled to go down into the basement to pour over the records of the old hotel, and is described as being “possessed by a frantic feeling 26 (37) that time was getting short and he would have to hurry” (King 483). These descriptions of compelled actions quickly make way for descriptions pertaining to the uncanny manifestation of his madness, such as when Wendy remarks towards the end that the Jack chasing them down the corridors of the Overlook is “. . . Jack and yet not Jack. His eyes were lit with a vacant, murderous glow; his familiar mouth now wore a quivering, joyless grin” (King 586). Thus, Jack’s progression from uncanny automatic behavior to a monstrous being embodies the successive feeling of unfamiliarity that pervades the novel; what was once familiar is now no longer. The progression of Jack’s madness puts the novel’s portrayal of selfhood and reality into focus, as Jack’s descent into insanity brings to light the uncertain nature of the reality of what is experienced and perceived. 3.2 Discourse 3.2.1 Telepathy, predestination and the double The Shining ​is a narrative heavily dependant on the utilization of discourse - particularly free indirect discourse - for its representation of the manifestation of the uncanny, particularly the double and the instance of telepathy and predestination, outlined in section 2.1. Camilletti harkens to the concept of predestination in his analysis of the disjointed flow of time in the novel. He states that the flow of time “is primarily felt, rather than seen” (33), which is made evident especially through Danny’s autohypnosis and shining.​ The free indirect discourse employed in regards to Danny’s predestination makes this feeling of experiencing time obvious, but through the previously mentioned descriptions of Danny’s trances, it can be argued that it is just as much seen as it is felt. Thus, the effect of Danny’s feelings of predestination in this section is supplemented by the previously analyzed descriptive passages of Danny’s hypnotic trances. 27 (37) of the uncanny, but also manages to add aspects of the double into it. As the concept of the double “narrates the disturbing loss of the familiar ground of the self” (Lydenberg 1080), this sequence illustrates how the aspect of telepathy is entwined with the double, and how these aspects may interact and amplify the manifestation of the uncanny. Predestination also continues to be represented by Danny’s words, both explicitly expressed and indirectly. Through direct discourse, Danny touches upon the fated aspect of the events of the narrative, saying that “. . . It wants all of us. It’s tricking Daddy, it’s fooling him, trying to make him think it wants him the most. It wants me the most, but it will take all of us” (King 479). Furthermore, Danny continues to predict the possible events of the novel as he ponders the unnamed voice that enters his mind time and again: “What then, when they were shut in and at the mercy of whatever might have only been toying with them before? (​Come out here and take your medicine!​) What then? REDRUM” (King 291; emphasis original). What Danny predicts, that is, murder at the hands of his crazed father, does not actually come to pass, but the sense that this murder is fated to happen is a foundational aspect of predestination (Bennett and Royle 36). Additionally, the ambivalence of Danny’s ability to predict possible future events only serves to reinforce the overarching uncanny sense of uncertainty permeating the novel. The narrative becomes haunted, in a sense, by the textual anxiety brought upon by the intrusion of unknown voices through use of free indirect discourse, and its own subversion of the realist thematic properties of its own genre. The discursive representation of Jack’s connection to the uncanny ties in closer to the instances of the double and automatism. As with Danny, these representations also sometimes transition and meld with other manifestations of the uncanny; Jack’s doubling identity also highlights the disturbingly telepathic nature of the Overlook’s influence over 30 (37) him. A startling first instance of Jack’s budding awareness of his double identity happens when he witnesses the topiary animals roving the hotel grounds, and is represented by free indirect discourse. “What did you call it when you were cold sober? The question was meant to be rhetorical but his mind answered it (you call it insanity)” (King 306). Jack’s doubling is represented not only by the Overlook entering his mind, but through the words of his late father and mother entering unbidden into his mind as well. Thus, the representation of the double within Jack corresponds with what Freud called “a doubling, dividing and interchanging of the self” (234) as a means of identifying with someone else to the point of the loss of oneself. This is made especially evident through Jack’s interior monologue as he is sleepwalking: “(​Things keep getting in the way, dear Tommy…​) (​Medoc, are you here? I’ve been sleepwalking again, my dear. It’s the inhuman monsters that I fear…​)” (King 334; emphasis original). This sequence of free indirect discourse initially represents automatism, as the words seem to happen automatically and without Jack’s conscious thought, but is followed immediately by direct discourse that encapsulates Jack’s continual loss of self. The voice of his father enters his mind through the radio, telling him to “- kill him. You have to kill him, Jacky, and her too. Because a real artist must suffer … Have a drink, Jacky, my boy … (King 335). While not representing the double on its own, this sequence portrays the splitting of Jack’s self in tandem with his reply that states “​No! ​… You’re ​dead​, you’re in your ​grave​, you’re not in me at all!” (King 335). Because of the mix of direct and free indirect discourse, thus allowing for both full fidelity to the original utterance (Genette 169) as well as illustrating the emotive, subjective function of Jack’s interior monologue, the representation of Jack’s doubling can be seen as to be solidified as real; it exists both outside of him, in the events of the fabula, and within him. Jack’s doubling and loss of self to the hotel is illustrated, and can thus be further 31 (37) augmented by harking to Reuber​, ​who states that “[t]his loss of the internal object - me - implies the loss of the subject - one’s self - to the object” (Reuben 113). As Reuben argues, Jack’s loss of self becomes transposed onto the Overlook hotel, and as such, this can then be seen to illustrate the fascinating nature of Jack’s double. His double is at its core an inanimate being, but through him it is brought to life and becomes at once the promise of immortality as well as the death knell of himself. As Jack loses more of himself to the hotel, the discourse presenting his thoughts transitions from being presented as interruptions in his mind, to being integrated into his person. He remarks that: Maybe he was part of it now. Perhaps the Overlook, large and rambling Samuel Johnson that it was, had picked him to be its Boswell. You say the new caretaker writes? Very good, sign him on. Time we told our side. Let’s get rid of the woman and his snot-nosed kid first, however. We don’t want him to be distracted. We don’t - (King 415-416) By integrating the collective “we” into the free indirect discourse, Jack’s double is cemented, and it is established that the loss of his self to his double is finalized. The integration of the hotel into Jack’s mind and this representation also works to depict another facet of the double; the immortal body (Freud 234). This aspect is represented by direct discourse, as Jack converses with a ghostly Grady, the previous caretaker of the hotel. Grady remarks that “​You’re ​the caretaker, sir … You’ve ​always ​been the caretaker. I should know, sir. I’ve always been here” (King 517). Thus, the double becomes the immortal body through Jack, seeing as he has lost himself to the hotel’s eternal soul, and it will continue to live on through him. As such, the representation of the double becomes, simultaneously, the representation of the immortal body and the omen of death, as Bennett and Royle 32 (37) and whether these are represented in a likewise manner or not, to establish the ties between his works and the concept. Summarily, this essay’s aim to establish the association between the uncanny and its narratological representation in ​The Shining ​has been supported by the findings in the analysis. The narratological techniques and their applications were definitive in the incorporation, as well as the representation, of the uncanny in the novel. Thus, as is customary in matters dealing with the unhomely, this analysis of this literary work is finished and yet not; its culmination denotes the prospect of the expansion of the analysis of its subject. 35 (37) 5. Works cited Primary source King, Stephen. ​The Shining​. Anchor Books, 2012. Secondary sources Bal, Mieke. ​Narratology : Introduction to the Theory of Narrative​. 3. ed., University of Toronto Press, 2009. Bennett, Andrew and Royle, Nicholas. ​An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory​. 3. ed., Pearson Longman, 2004. Camilletti, Fabio. “Present Perfect. Time and the Uncanny in American Science and Horror Fiction of the 1970s (Finney, Matheson, King).” ​Image and Narrative : Online Magazine of the Visual Narrative​, vol. 11, no. 3, 2010, pp. 25–41. Cixous, Hélène. “Fiction and Its Phantoms: A Reading of Freud’s Das Unheimliche (The ‘Uncanny’)” ​Volleys of Humanity: Essays, ​edited by Eric Prenowitz. Edinburgh University Press, 2011, pp. 15-40 Freud, Sigmund​. “​The ‘Uncanny’”. ​The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XVII (1917-1919): An Infantile Neurosis and Other Works​, vol. 17, 1955, pp. 217-256. Genette, Gerard. ​Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method. ​Cornell University Press, 1980 36 (37) King, Stephen. ​Danse Macabre. ​Berkley Publishing, 1987 Lydenberg, Robin. ​“​Freud's Uncanny Narratives​.”​ ​PMLA​, vol. 112, no. 5, 1997, pp. 1072–1086. Reuben, Alexandra. “In Search of the Lost Object in a Bad Place” ​Stephen King's Contemporary Classics : Reflections on the Modern Master of Horror, ​edited by Philip L. Simpson, and Patrick McAleer. Rowman and Littlefield, 2015, pp. 108-121 Royle, Nicholas.​ The Uncanny.​ Manchester University Press, 2003. Ruuskanen, Pekka. ​The Appeal of Stephen King’s The Shining. ​University of Eastern Finland, 2018. Svenaeus, Fredrik. “Freud's Philosophy of the Uncanny.” ​The Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review​, vol. 22, no. 2, 1999, pp. 239–254. Wolfreys, Julian. ​Victorian Hauntings : Spectrality, Gothic, the Uncanny and Literature. Palgrave, 2002. 37 (37)