The structural continuum of Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria quartet

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet, a “space-time continuum the structure and style of which are based on certain ideas arising from Einstein’s relativity proposition: in particular, the indivisibility of space and time, and the unity of subject and object. Durrell believes that Einstein’s ideas have had a profound effect upon contemporary literatures. The Quartet is his exposition of these ideas. -- The first half of the thesis examines certain stylistic features, for example, symbol and image, tone, and presentation of character, since Durrell uses them all as means of achieving structural unity. The second half examines certain features which are predominantly structural, for example, overall organization, point of view, and use of time; and attempts to assess the ultimate importance to the Quartet of Einstein’s theory. -- Throughout the thesis, as throughout the Quartet, we see how the philosophical implications of the relativity proposition lead Darley, the Quartet’s narrator, away from seeking for truth in facts. Eventually he realizes that the type of truth relevant to the artist is not factual but intuitive, the truth found in what Durrell calls the world of “heraldic reality,” the world of myth and symbol.