Postmodern History Writing—The Preservations and Alterations of History in The Public Burning

Abstract

Robert Coover’s The Public Burning is a quintessential example of postmodern historiographic metafiction, presenting a bold reinterpretation of the history concerning the Rosenberg case. In this novel, Coover constructed an absurd world that blurs the lines between fictionality and reality, as well as history and text. He tried to tint a sense of historical reality in his fiction, which is a counterpart to the absurdity in real history, showcasing his reflections on social reality. Through this lens, Coover critiques the mechanisms of power and media that shape public perception. Drawing on New Historicism, which emphasizes the interplay between literature and history within broader cultural frameworks, this paper will analyze Coover’s innovative writing techniques in The Public Burning. It will explore his motivations and intentions behind the preservation and alteration of historical narratives, as well as the significance of historiographic metafiction in illuminating the complexities of historical representation and the ultimate impact on societal understanding.