Fictional Names Masquerading as Literary-Historical Monikers: Onomastic Simulacra in A. S. Byatt’s Possession

Abstract

Jean Baudrillard’s theory on the nature of simulation proposes that a shift from reality to representation progresses until the artificial surpasses the authentic. Phase three simulation occurs when distinctions between re­presentation and reality virtually disappear. In Possession, A. S. Byatt erodes boundaries between fictional representation and literary-historical reality to the extent that stage three simulation is achieved in her novel. Most strikingly, this phenomenon occurs through onomastic imitations as the created names of her fictional poets and faux scholars appear as real to the reader as the actual names of literary-historical personages.

Keywords:

• A. S. Byatt
• Possession
• Jean Baudrillard
• Simulacra and Simulation
• literary names
• historical names
• names in poetry
• stage three simulation

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dorothy Dodge Robbins

Dorothy Dodge Robbins, PhD, is Charlotte Lewis Endowed Professor of English at Louisiana Tech University, teaching courses in British Literature, Technical Writing, and Onomastics. She serves as caretaker of the university’s Shakespeare Garden. Her research in literary onomastics focuses on names and naming practices in works by twentieth- and twenty-first-century British authors.

Correspondence to: Dorothy Dodge Robbins, Department of English, Louisiana Tech University, PO Box 3162, G. T. Madison Hall, Room 236, Railroad Avenue, Ruston, LA, 71272, USA. Email: [email protected]