EXPLORING GENDER DYNAMICS IN JULIAN BARNES' THE SENSE OF AN ENDING
M.
Poornima
Assistant Professor of English
Sona College of Arts and Science
Salem- 5
Abstract:
Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending intricately explores themes of
memory, time, and personal responsibility, with gender dynamics playing a
crucial yet understated role in shaping the protagonist’s self-perception and
interactions. The novel presents a male-centered narrative through Tony
Webster, whose recollections are deeply influenced by his gendered perspective,
often revealing unconscious biases and a limited understanding of the women in
his life. The portrayal of Veronica Ford, in particular, highlights the
complexities of female agency and male misinterpretation, raising questions
about emotional labor, societal expectations, and the asymmetry of power in
relationships. By examining how Barnes constructs gendered perspectives through
narrative unreliability and selective memory, this paper delves into the ways
the novel critiques traditional gender roles and the limitations of male
introspection. Through an analysis of character interactions and thematic
undercurrents, this study aims to unravel how The Sense of an Ending offers a nuanced commentary on
gendered experiences and the subjectivity of personal history.
Keywords: Gender dynamics, Memory, Narrative unreliability, Male
introspection, Female agency
Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending (2011), is a
novel that is situated within feminist literary theory, postmodern critiques of
historiography, and comparative analyses of contemporary British literature. By
interrogating protagonist Tony Webster’s unreliable recollections through
frameworks such as Hélène Cixous’ écritureféminine, Luce Irigaray’sSpeculum
of the Other Woman, and Rita Felski’sBeyond Feminist Aesthetics, the
study reveals how female characters like Veronica Ford destabilize patriarchal
narrative control. Comparisons with Ian McEwan’s Atonement (2001), Kazuo
Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day (1989), and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs.
Dalloway (1925) contextualize Barnes’ work as part of a broader literary
interrogation of gendered memory. Close readings, critical theory, and
interdisciplinary references to psychology (Freud, Lacan) and historiography
(Hayden White) further enrich the analysis.
Julian Barnes’ Booker Prize-winning novel The Sense of
an Ending interrogates the fragility of memory through the myopic lens of
its male protagonist, Tony Webster. His retrospective account of his youth,
friendships, and relationships with women like Veronica Ford and her mother,
Sarah, reveals a narrative steeped in patriarchal assumptions. This paper argues
that Barnes critiques masculine narrative authority by exposing Tony’s
inability to reconcile his biased recollections with the agency of female
characters, whose voices disrupt his solipsistic reconstruction of the past.
Through feminist theory, narratology, and comparative literary analysis, this
study positions the novel as a subversive text that challenges gendered
hierarchies of storytelling.
In The Sense of an Ending, gender roles and power
dynamics are subtly woven into the narrative, particularly through the
protagonist, Tony Webster’s, relationships with women. Tony’s perspective is
shaped by traditional gender expectations, as he often fails to fully
understand or appreciate the agency of the women in his life, notably Veronica
Ford. His interactions with Veronica reveal a power imbalance—he views her as
enigmatic and controlling, yet his frustration stems from his own inability to
interpret emotions and complexities beyond his narrow, self-serving
recollections. Similarly, the novel highlights how male privilege influences
memory and perception, as Tony reconstructs the past in a way that absolves him
of responsibility, overlooking how his actions may have impacted others.
Through these dynamics, Barnes critiques the limitations of a male-centered
worldview, exposing how power operates subtly in relationships and how societal
gender norms shape personal histories.
The novel's portrayal of gender roles is central to its
exploration of power dynamics. Tony Webster, the narrator, embodies a
traditional, patriarchal perspective, often dismissing Veronica's agency and
reducing her to a series of stereotypes. His descriptions of Veronica are
frequently tinged with condescension and resentment, as seen when he refers to
her as "damaged goods" (Barnes, 2011, p. 45). This language reflects
Tony's inability to see Veronica as a fully realized individual, instead
viewing her through the lens of his own insecurities and societal expectations.
Veronica, on the other hand, challenges traditional
gender roles through her independence and refusal to conform to Tony's
expectations. Her enigmatic behavior and resistance to Tony's attempts to
control her narrative highlight the power imbalances in their relationship.
Simone de Beauvoir’s in The Second Sex (1949)
asserts that “woman is the Other” which underpins Tony’s relegation of Veronica
to a mysterious, unknowable figure. His narrative reduces her to an object of
male curiosity rather than a subject with autonomy. Judith Butler’s theory of
gender performativity illuminates how Tony’s identity is constructed through
repetitive, socially sanctioned masculine behaviors (e.g., intellectual
posturing, emotional repression).
Cixous’ concept of écritureféminine—a fluid, non-linear mode of
writing—contrasts with Tony’s rigid, linear narrative, suggesting Veronica’s
fragmented presence resists his attempts at containment. Irigaray’s critique of phallocentric
discourse mirrors Veronica’s marginalization; Tony’s narrative “speculum” reflects
his own psyche, erasing her subjectivity.
Paul Ricoeur’s distinction between “memory” (subjective)
and “history” (objective) underscores Tony’s conflation of personal guilt with
historical truth. Hayden White’s
argument that history is a literary artifact shaped by narrative tropes parallels
Tony’s use of “emplotment” to cast himself as a blameless protagonist. Freudian repression explains Tony’s selective
forgetting of his cruelty toward Adrian and Veronica.
Tony's narrative is heavily influenced by the male gaze,
which objectifies Veronica and reduces her to a passive object of desire. His
recollections of their relationship are often focused on her physical
appearance and his own sexual frustrations, rather than her thoughts or
feelings. For example, Tony describes Veronica as "a girl who was out of
my league" (Barnes, 2011, p. 23), emphasizing his perception of her as an
unattainable prize rather than a person with her own agency.
Tony’s narrative is marked by self-justification and
omission. His description of Veronica as “damaged, and consequently damaging”
(Barnes 15) reveals his tendency to pathologize women who defy his
expectations. His assertion that “women are meant to be mysterious, aren’t
they?” (Barnes 42) echoes Beauvoir’s “Othering,” reducing Veronica to an enigma
rather than engaging with her complexity. Tony’s letter to Adrian and
Veronica—which he later dismisses as “overheated” (Barnes 49)—exemplifies his
violent rhetoric when masculinity is threatened. His wish that they experience
a “day-to-day life of tedious fucking” (Barnes 49) reflects Lacanian méconnaissance
(misrecognition), where Veronica becomes a scapegoat for his insecurities.
Veronica subverts Tony’s attempts to define her. Her
withholding of Adrian’s diary—a symbolic act of retaining narrative
control—culminates in her damning critique: “You still don’t get it. You never
did, and you never will” (Barnes 150). This line, as Vanessa Guignery notes,
“ruptures Tony’s epistemological certainty” (The Fiction of Julian Barnes,
2006), positioning Veronica as the novel’s ethical center. Veronica’s silence aligns with Irigaray’s
concept of “mimicry,” where women strategically adopt patriarchal discourse to
undermine it. By refusing to explain herself to Tony, she rejects his narrative
authority.
Sarah’s affair with Adrian destabilizes Tony’s
assumptions about maternal purity. Her manipulation of Tony, “Don’t let
Veronica have the last word,” (Barnes 103) and Adrian’s suicide note, “So much
is possible if it is not compelled to make sense,” (Barnes 155) critique
patriarchal logic. Sarah embodies Cixous’ “feminine textual body,” disrupting
linearity and reason.
Like Tony, McEwan’s Briony Tallis in Atonement
manipulates narrative to assuage guilt. However, Briony’s female perspective
introduces gendered accountability; her atonement hinges on acknowledging her
role in Cecilia and Robbie’s tragedy. Both novels critique unreliable
narration, but Atonement implicates institutional patriarchy (e.g.,
class hierarchies), whereas Barnes focuses on individual male failings.
Stevens’ repressed memories of Miss Kenton from The
Remains of the Day mirror Tony’s relationship with Veronica. Both male
narrators privilege duty over emotion, but Ishiguro links Stevens’ stoicism to
post-war British conservatism, whereas Tony’s myopia stems from postmodern
fragmentation. Miss Kenton’s assertive letters contrast with Veronica’s
silence, offering divergent feminist strategies.
Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness technique, which grants
equal narrative weight to female and male perspectives (e.g., Clarissa Dalloway
and Septimus Smith), contrasts with Tony’s monolithic voice. Woolf’s interplay
of memory and trauma—particularly female trauma—prefigures Veronica’s
fragmented presence.
Peter Childs argues that Barnes “deconstructs masculine
subjectivity” by exposing Tony’s “narrative narcissism” Rita Felski critiques
novels that “aestheticize female suffering,” but Veronica’s resilience counters
this trend. Laura Marcus links Tony’s
memoir-like narration to the gendered biases of autobiography as a genre. Some critics, like James Wooddismiss Veronica
as “underwritten,” but this critique ironically replicates Tony’s erasure.
Toril Moi reminds us that female characters need not be “fully realized” to
serve as critiques of patriarchy.
The Sense of an Ending
dismantles patriarchal narrative structures by foregrounding the tension
between Tony’s flawed recollections and Veronica’s resistant opacity. Through
intertextual dialogue with works like AtonementandMrs. Dalloway,
Barnes exposes the gendered politics of memory, urging readers to question who
controls the stories we tell. The novel’s enduring relevance lies in its
insistence that “history is that certainty produced at the point where the
imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation” (Barnes 17)—a
maxim that underscores the urgency of feminist historiography.
Works Cited
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Random House, 2011.
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Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble.
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1976.
Felski, Rita. Literature After Feminism.
University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Freud, Sigmund. Screen Memories.
1899.
Guignery, Vanessa. The Fiction of Julian
Barnes. Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
Irigaray, Luce. Speculum of the Other
Woman. Cornell University Press, 1985.
Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Remains of the Day.
Faber & Faber, 1989.
McEwan, Ian. Atonement. Jonathan Cape,
2001.
Ricoeur, Paul. Memory, History, Forgetting.
University of Chicago Press, 2004.
White, Hayden. Metahistory. Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1973.
Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway.
Hogarth Press, 1925.