Banville’s Anti-Ageing Narrative in The Sea and Ancient Light

Abstract

The theme of ageing has drawn constant attention in literary studies since the 1990s. As a resistance to the traditional declining narrative for older adults, accomplished writers have developed various anti-ageing narratives in their works. In his most well-known novels, The Sea and Ancient Light, John Banville adopts effective narrative strategies to exhibit the vitality, insight, and wisdom of the elder males. The reminiscent first-person narrative leads the narrator to re-experience his youth, and the vivid recollection of the exciting details revives the elder protagonists’ passionate sensitivity. The leaping anachrony that juxtaposes present and past reveals the narrators’ complicated mental activities and brings about a more thorough understanding of life. The recurrent pauses break the flow of the time in the narration and indicate the narrators’ self-reflection and growing wisdom.