Novel as Conversation

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that novels are usually thought of as descriptive mediums that tell stories, either from the perspective of one character or an omniscient third-person narrator. The writer then points out that both the novels, 'A Season of Migration to the North' by Tayeb Salih and 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' by Manuel Puig, are novels that also function as conversations, much like plays, where speech, particularly recollected memory and speech, form the primary focus of the plots. The writer discusses that the title of the 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' is a reference to a recollected and retold film beloved of one of the characters, not one of the actual protagonists. Further the writer notes that Salih's novel takes place primarily in retrospective, in the words of a first-person narrator discussing and comparing his memories with a fellow, sympathetic national.

From the Paper:

"Salih's novel takes place between two men whom are technically free, while Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman evolves as a dialogue between two men in prison. Yet the freedom these men obtain, intellectually, and in terms of shaking off of their previous misconceptions about what constitutes a good life, provide a far more liberating message than the chronicled struggles of Mustafa and his compatriots abroad. This is especially striking given the initially incommensurate perspectives of Puig's prisoners. In Kiss of the Spider Woman of the men, Molina is a homosexual who has been imprisoned for untoward acts towards young men. The other man, Valentin, is a revolutionary imprisoned by the government. But because they are forced, out of loneliness and desperation, to engage in humane dialogue with one another, these differences are broached."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Puig, Manuel. Kiss of the Spider Woman. New York: Vintage, 1991.
• Salih, Tayeb. A Season of Migration to the North. New York Heinemann, 1970.

More papers on Novel as Conversation:

• Comparison Essay # 109770 : "Letters in Two of Jane Austen's Novels"
• Book Review # 67278 : "Conversion and Narrative in "Robinson Crusoe"
• Analytical Essay # 129088 : "Narration in "Jane Eyre"

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