Collapsing the Structure: Alain Robbe-Grillet and realism in literature

It is impossible to describe objects and appearances in absolute totality; one observer will see a certain quality while another individual will see something different. On one hand, a tomato could be described as a perfect sphere, shining and reflecting a brilliant sunset, resilient to touch, tangy to taste. On the other hand, the same tomato could be exhaustively analysed, as in the following passage by French theorist and author Alain Robbe-Grillet:

The peripheral flesh, compact and homogenous, of a fine chemical redness, is uniformly thick between a band of shiny skin and the semicircular area where the seeds are arranged, yellow, of uniform caliber, held in place by a thin layer of greenish jelly lying alongside the swelling at the heart. The latter, of a diluted and slightly granular pink, begins, near the lower hollow, in a network of white veins, one of which stretches out towards the seeds, in a somewhat uncertain manner (Robbe-Grillet 1953).

As is obvious by this extract from his novel The Erasers (Les Gommes), Robbe-Grillet was an adamant proponent of minute description. He believed that symbolism, plot, and themes are obsolete in ideal works of art. Instead, "it is in their form that their meaning resides" (Robbe-Grillet 1965). According to this theory, realism is accomplished only through accurate description of objects and actions, requiring a total absence of narrative commentary. There should ideally be no deeper meaning; the work should stand alone, naked and pure.

Unfortunately, this theory is not valid. It forces realistic literature to become an impossibility, an ideal which can never be reached when, in truth, realism is undoubtedly possible and prevalent in literature. Realistic literature is by no means an illusion; however, using the main points of Alain Robbe-Grillet's theories, realism is impractical, undesirable and unattainable because of several flaws and assumptions in his theories.

Robbe-Grillet's theories of realism are unacceptable for several reasons. First of all, he tries to change reality into a static and concrete concept. By using obsessive and extreme detail to define realism, Robbe-Grillet attempts to bind reality into a fixed mold. In his collection of essays Towards a New Novel (Pour un Nouveau Roman), he writes that "…it is chiefly in its presence that the world's reality resides" (Robbe-Grillet 1965). If this is the case, then reality should be perceived identically to everyone because the objects perceived do not intrinsically change. Obviously this is not true. Each individual sees his own reality according to age, culture, personality, and numerous other factors. May Brodbeck expressed this well when she wrote "What a substance is and how we know it are two different questions" (Brodbeck 1972, p.3). Robbe-Grillet assumed reality as existing and perceived could ideally be identical. He did acknowledge that "each of us see[s] in the world his own reality" (Robbe-Grillet 1965), however he attempted to describe objects to such an extent as to eliminate individual interpretation about the reality of the object thereby merging existing and perceived. This is impossible because objective, descriptive totality is also impossible.

In addition, Robbe-Grillet's complete objectification of literary realism is unsuccessful because his descriptions are so detailed that they go beyond the reality perceived by the majority of people. By describing objects and scenes to such an extreme, Robbe-Grillet passes realism, borders surreal, and undoubtedly frolics among the avant-garde and experimental. His reality is odd, unique—not bad or incorrect, but definitely not the ideal pattern for realism because it's definition is too limited and unusual. As John Spuling wrote in a review of one of Robbe-Grillet's novels, "Although every detail is drawn with painstaking clarity, the…system…gives an overall impression of confusion, exactly as in a dream or memory" (Fletcher 1983, p.36). Jean Ricardou echoed this truth when he said that "the longer the description, the more precise and detailed, the less real the object seems and the farther away from any normal perspective it moves" (Leki 1983, p.16). This intensity to detail that Robbe-Grillet applies to his novels shows things in a completely different light form that which the average person sees. Since he assumes reality is fixed and concrete, either Robbe-Grillet has a better concept of reality than the average person, or his descriptions are inadequate ideals for realism in literature. The latter is most certainly true.

Another major flaw in Robbe-Grillet's realism theory is his assumption that structure is the only innate characteristic of art. According to him, art should be self-sufficient, appreciated for its existence and not any interpretations: "It expresses nothing but itself" (Robbe-Grillet 1965). However, he only recognizes form as the true essence of art. Here again, he is attempting to define and control reality by binding it solely to the structure of art. He makes an arbitrary judgment by choosing structure as the primary innate quality of literature; theme, symbolism, plot, and characterisation are all assumed to be unnecessary growths. These growths, however, conveniently clash with Robbe-Grillet's attempted delineation of reality as static and concrete. Robbe-Grillet builds his theories off a very insecure and shaky foundation, the assumption that structure is the lone innate characteristic of literature.

Using this unsound base, Robbe-Grillet denounces the search for the deeper meaning of art. According to him, theme, metaphor, and symbolism detract from the structure and henceforth the lifeblood of art. They are "futile" and "fake descriptions" which accomplish little good (Robbe-Grillet 1965). Ideally realism should stem from individual words, sentences, and structure; deeper meaning should be eliminated. However, by taking such an extremist view, Robbe-Grillet himself can't even reach his ideal. For example, his novel The Voyeur is filled with scenes and descriptions which can be interpreted as allegorical, surreal, and very thematic (Morrissette 1965). The text of a later novel, In the Labyrinth (Dans le labyrinthe), was described by a character within the story as overflowing with "exaggeration, and strangeness" (Robbe-Grillet 1959), definitely a trademark of the surreal. Even the previously mentioned description of the tomato in The Erasers could be interpreted as symbolism. The white vein of the fruit stretches out towards the seeds in an uncertain manner similar to the way the truth of the murder reveals itself in an inexorable, but convoluted way. Even in his own novels, Robbe-Grillet was unable to eliminate a deeper meaning. Therefore, the minute, obsessive description that Robbe-Grillet favours is pointless; it doesn't eliminate thematic devices, but it does distract and annoy the audience.

The most important flaw with Alain Robbe-Grillet's theories about realism is not that he can't eliminate deeper meaning in literature; it's that he wanted to. According to Robbe-Grillet, the sole purpose of art is to exist. In fact he claims that "the very notion of a work created for the expression of social, political, economic, or moral content constitutes a lie" (Robbe-Grillet 1965). In this case, people would read only to get a thrill out of seeing words printed on paper, or forming a vivid picture in their mind. There would be no deeper meaning. Instead of opening a book, people might as well just look out the window to achieve what Robbe-Grillet seems to desire from literature. Literature and art are undeniably prevalent, important, and tremendous in human culture. Something that big must have more of a purpose than simply to exist.

It is human nature to question; literature reflects that nature. Robbe-Grillet's attempt to wrench the two apart is almost horrific. He refuses to see that reality is not just the object:

Reality would no longer be constantly situated elsewhere, but here and now without ambiguity. The world would no longer find its justification in a hidden meaning, whatever it might be, its existence would no longer reside anywhere but in its concrete, solid, material presence; beyond what we…perceive by our senses there would henceforth be nothing (Robbe-Grillet 1965).

This inflated pronouncement of the ideal realistic novel ignores the ramifications if such an ideal were true. Without questioning or searching for hidden meaning, progress would grind to a halt. Originality would stifle. Literature would suffocate under a barrage of words that meant the same in every story to every reader. Robbe-Grillet obviously didn't understand that literature should reflect the reality of people and all the real questions and real ambiguities that exist in everyone's lives and thoughts. Reality is the tomato on the table, the person slicing it, the thoughts of that person, and the possible unique implications all this might have for the reader. It is human nature to try to question and understand the abstract and unknown; realism should embrace this as reality and not ignore it as Robbe-Grillet advocates.

Robbe-Grillet's theory about realism fails because he assumes reality is constant, structure is art's innate worth, and deeper meaning can and should be eliminated from art. Realism is more than measuring words onto a page in a microscopic description. To do only that would stifle and kill the soul of art—that part of art which is individual to each consciousness and therefore interpreted slightly differently each time. Alain Robbe-Grillet is an architect who concentrates only on the perfection, practicality, and placement of each individual brick. As a result, he never sees the beauty and meaning of the entire structure. It is impossible to describe object and appearances in absolute totality, but this does not mean that reality is also impossible to portray in literature. Rather, reality is a changing, abstract concept, subjective to each writer and reader.

WORKS CITED

Brodbeck, May. "Descartes and the Notion of a Criterion of Exernal Reality". Reason and Reality. Vesey, D.M.A., ed. Macmillan Press:London, 1972.

Fletcher, John . Alain Robbe-Grillet. Methuen and Co.: New York, 1983.

Leki, Ilona. Alain Robbe-Grillet. Twayne Publishers: Boston, 1983.

Morrisette, Bruce. Alain Robbe-Grillet. Columbia University Press: New York, 1965.

*Robbe-Grillet, Alain. The Erasers. Grove Press: New York, 1964. (originally published as Les Gommes in 1953)

*Robbe-Grillet, Alain. In the Labyrinth . Grove Press: New York, 1960. (originally published as Dans le labyrinthe in 1959)

*Robbe-Grillet, Alain. For a New Novel: essays on fiction. Grove Press: New York, 1965