The Wild Animal’s Story: Nonhuman Protagonists in Twentieth-Century Canadian Literature through the Lens of Practical Zoocriticism
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Allmark-KentC
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Animal Heroes
(1905), and Roberts’ Kindred of the Wild (1902), Watchers of the Trails (1904), and The Haunters of the Silences (1907). Where appropriate, I also draw distinctions between what I perceive as the differing styles of Seton and Roberts. In the second section, I re-evaluate the events and debates of the Nature Fakers controversy in light of the previous chapter. In particular, I deconstruct the arguments of Burroughs and Roosevelt in the two articles that opened and closed the debate respec tively: “Real and Sham Natural History” (1903) and “Nature Fakers” (1907). The chapter “Realistic Representations: Return to the River, Last of the Curlews, and The White Puma ” will contain close readings of three novels, the authors of which were all prolific writers of fiction and nonfiction about Canadian wildlife. Moreover, as all three authors were also involved in the study or protection of animals, each text conveys an overt conservation message on behalf of a particular species: Pacific salmon, Eskimo curlew, and the North American puma (or cougar). Their style of realistic representation makes the influence of Seton ’s and Roberts’ work quite clear, but in their cautious (sometimes awkward) writing, we can also detect the legacy of the Nature Fakers controversy. These texts all attempt to balance depictions of cognitive, emotional, and social complexity in their protagonists whilst avoiding any claims that may attract accusations of anthropomorphism. Thus, I will note that these novels provide a useful gauge for tracing the influence of behaviourism. In Last Allmark-Kent 31 of the Curlews (1965), for instance, Bodsworth repeatedly comments on the “curlew’s instinct-dominated brain” (Bodsworth 9), whereas in The White Puma (1990), there are almost no references to instinct. Given this cautious negotiation of animal psychology discourses, their authors resist any temptation to ‘translate’ or interpret nonhuman communication, and remain relatively detached from their protagonists, seeming to observe and narrate from a slight distance. Thus, I suggest that they share more in common with Roberts’ careful detachment than Seton’s tendency to push the boundaries of his representations by imagining the perspectives of his protagonists more intimately or ‘translating’ the language of their species. “Speculative Representations: Consider Her Ways, The White Bone, and White as the Waves ” will focus on three novels frequently classified as anthropomorphic fantasy, but each demonstrates sustained, scientifically- informed, imaginative exploration of nonhuman experience. These somewhat problematic texts may seem to have a tenuous relationship with the wild animal story, but I have selected the six twentieth-century texts (whether realistic or speculative) because they express all of the genre’s characteristics, as defined by my framework. The three speculative novels all utilize innovative literary techniques to create complex, zoocentric perspectives that offer defamiliarizing representations of the violent or exploitative activities of humans. I contend that their classification as ‘fantasy’ is due, in part, to the strategies employed for avoiding the issues of fact and accuracy that were so contentious during the Nature Fakers controversy. Instead, these texts engage with scientific research in highly imaginative ways by pushing the boundaries of what is known about each species (leafcutter ant, African elephant, and sperm whale) and speculating on the upper limits of their intelligence. I believe that each author’s Allmark-Kent 32 choice of species is significant, here, as each text imagines the possibilities of nonhuman language and culture. The use of animals known to have high levels of co-operation and social complexity indicates the speculative rather than fantastical function of these texts. (Lik ewise, it is worth noting that these speculations resemble Seton’s attempts to use ‘translation’ to demonstrate the complexity of nonhuman communication.) Although the potential for scientific engagement may seem unlikely in the less realistic texts, their potential contributions for the study of animal minds has already been noted. In Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean (2003), biologist Hal Whitehead (another Canadian, incidentally) describes “two remarkable novels” published in the late 1990s, which are in fact White as the Waves and The White Bone (370). He perceives their significant potential for fostering collaboration between science and storytelling: Both novels use what is known of the biology and social lives of their subject species to build pictures of elaborate societies, cultures, and cognitive abilities. […] A reductionist might class these portraits with Winnie-the-Pooh as fantasies on the lives of animals. But for me they ring true, and may well come closer to the natures of these animals than the coarse numerical abstractions that come from my own scientific observations […] These books are built on what we have found out about sperm whale society and similar, but more detailed, work by elephant scientists. […] I think the communication should be reciprocal. We need to take these constructions, note the large parts that are consistent with what we now know, and use them as hypotheses to guide our work. Sperm whale culture may be restricted to coda types and movement patterns. But it could also include whole suites of techniques for making a living from an unpredictable ocean and relating to other sperms. (370- 1) In the concluding chapter of this thesis, I will consider the possibilities of this reciprocal communication as part of my final re-evaluation of the wild animal story. |
