A. S. Byatt’s Possession and Historiographic Metafiction

Abstract

This paper aims at studying historiographic metafiction as a new literary phenomenon in the contemporary world through the application of its theories pointed out by Linda Hutcheon to A. S. Byatt’s Possession. Possession is generally regarded as an emblematic postmodern novel in which texts, authors, literary movements of the past are transformed and reflected. They are presented in the form of metafictional narrative, of rewriting, of parody and pastiche, giving them a reinterpretation and recoding in a totally different cultural and literary context.