Abstract

In the last two decades Leonora Carrington‟s novel The Hearing Trumpet has received more attention within academic circles than it ever did at the time of its publication in 1974. Natalya Lusty, Susan Suleiman, and Gloria Feman Orenstein have discussed in much detail the novel‟s strong feminist ethos, as well as its subversion of Surrealist tropes. There is a tendency within scholarship and criticism of THT toward classifying Carrington‟s text as “Surrealist” 1 ; in most cases it is referred to as a novel that is subversive of Surrealist tenets, but one that remains nonetheless an instance of Surrealist literature. The influence that the Surrealist movement had on Carrington‟s work is undeniable and, in the case of THT, a prominent, most interesting feature of the novel. But by classifying THT solely as a Surrealist work, it is easy to disregard a number of equally important metaphysical, psychoanalytical and philosophical influences present in Carrington‟s novel. Therefore, here I would like to take a different approach and argue that THT can be considered an early example of feminist magical realism. By adopting this nomenclature, I intend to acknowledge the presence in Carrington‟s text of hitherto unexplored elements of what would contemporarily be referred to as magic realist literature, but without ignoring the strong influence of Surrealism in the novel. Regarding the latter, I will draw attention to the ways in which Carrington adapts important elements of Surrealist thought to express her strong feminist ethos, in particular the Surrealist tradition of female objectification, and the archetypal figure of the femme enfant. I will also trace the origins of magic realism in relation to the Surrealist movement, examining how the Surrealist marvellous is adapted in Carrington‟s novel, and how this adaptation resembles Alejo Carpentier‟s own. Moreover, using Wendy Faris‟s research on the constituent features of magic realist literature, I shall identify such magic realist elements in THT. To finalise, I will discuss elements of Jungian psychology in THT, in particular allusions to the alchemical imagery employed by Jung in two of his works – Alchemical Studies and Psychology and Alchemy – with the intention of further evidencing some of the multiple influences that permeate Carrington‟s work. The analysis of Jung‟s alchemical imagery in Carrington‟s novel will be of particular importance for it will draw attention to an element of THT that has until now remained unexplored, as well as demonstrating how Carrington‟s use of Jungian psychology further strengthens the magical realist inclinations of her text. It is in this manner that I will argue that THT can be considered an early example of feminist magical realism