Mnemofictions: Rewriting the Past in Ghost Light by Joseph O’Connor

Abstract

Abstract. John Millington Synge's contributions to the development of modern Irish drama and to the Gaelic Revival (and, thereby, to Irish memory culture at large) are undeniable. Little is known, however, of his relationship with Miss Molly Allgood, who was an actress at the Abbey Theatre and his fiancee. In this essay I read Joseph O'Connor's 2010 novel, Ghost Light, as a specimen of posthumous ventriloquism--a work of fiction which seeks to give voice to an elderly, forgotten woman who, in 1952 and thenceforth, after her death, was shamefully deprived of her right to keep Synge company in the collective memory of her nation. O'Connor creates prosthetic memories (which I call mnemofictions) for Molly Allgood so that she may eventually claim her due place in Irish memory culture. Consequently, O'Connor's work of fiction effectively redeems a past whose records were originally censored and tampered with. Key Words. Historical Fiction, History, John Millington Synge, Molly Allgood, Memory Culture, Narrative Resumen. Es bien conocida la notable contribucion de John Millington Synge al desarrollo del teatro moderno en Irlanda, asi como su papel fundamental en el Renacimiento Celtico (y por tanto, en la memoria cultural irlandesa en general). Poco se sabe, sin embargo, de su relacion con Molly Allgood, su prometida, que era actriz en el Abbey Theatre. En este articulo se interpreta la novela de Joseph O'Connor (2010) Ghost Light como un caso de ventriloquia postuma, es decir, como una obra de ficcion que pretende dar voz a una anciana olvidada a quien, en 1952, y posteriormente despues de su muerte, se le privo del derecho de estar al lado de Synge en la memoria colectiva de su pais. En su novela, O'Connor crea recuerdos prosteticos (que llamare mnemoficciones) para Molly Allgood, de forma que asi pueda ocupar el lugar que le corresponde en la memoria cultural irlandesa. Desde este punto de vista, la ficcion de O'Connor recupera un pasado cuyos recuerdos fueron en su dia censurados y manipulados. Palabras clave. Ficcion historica, historia, John Millington Synge, Molly Allgood, cultura de la memoria, narrativa When he was still alive, John Millington Synge may have defied his family and acted against their wishes by consorting with a certain young actress, but Miss Molly Allgood (the actress in question) was not meant to be remembered as the great Irish playwright's official fiancee in the annals of literary history. Following Synge's premature death in 1909 his family made her return all his love letters, and, even though they had been formally engaged, Miss Allgood was not permitted to attend Synge's funeral. The poor Catholic girl, who solicit remuneration by exhibiting herself publicly (O'Connor 2011: 57) at the Abbey Theatre, lost the only tangible reminder of the writer's genuine affection. History would remember her as Synge's mistress at best, a girl who provided a brief diversion in his suffering, rather than as his muse and the love of his life. Fortunately, Synge's letters to Molly had been preserved and were eventually published in the 1980s. At least one side of the story was disclosed. Still, in the absence of Molly's testimony, history is powerless to tell us the whole truth about their relationship. We are left with fiction and the truth(s) it has to offer. Molly Allgood, also known as Maire O'Neill, did not leave behind any record of her relationship with John Millington Synge. This is why, by focusing almost exclusively on her memories, dreams, imaginings, reveries and reflections, Ghost Light, the 2010 novel by Joseph O'Connor, leaves us with no choice but to identify it as fiction. And yet it is also a historical novel in the sense that O'Connor brings back to life actual historical figures, well known Irish artists and the entire cultural milieu of early 20th-century Dublin. At the same time, Ghost Light explores what history programmatically ignores: the personal, the emotional, the hypothetical, the imaginable. …