The Image of Napoleon in Jeanette Winterson’s Novel <i>The Passion</i>
The article examines the image of Napoleon in Jeanette Winterson’s novel “The Passion”. As researchers have previously stated, Winterson uses history as an invented space, as a background rather than a realistic setting. One of her most important novels is set in the period of Napoleonic wars. Our article aims to define the artistic function of historical elements and their incorporation into the novel. Napoleon is one of the pivotal characters which drive the novel’s plot. Winterson places her hero into the biblical context, comparing him with Christ and thus ranking him as one of literature’s ‘eternal’ characters. At the same time, her attitude to Napoleon is ambiguous. Writing with a good deal of irony, she endows Napoleon with some comic features. This double view of the figure idolized by many a generation helps Winterson set up her own historical paradigm, wherein Napoleon is not a Messiah, but an Antichrist. Napoleon’s cruelty and willingness to sacrifice everything to achieve his goal is universally observed in his treatment of both his soldiers and all other characters. The author also compares Napoleon with the Bogeyman when she describes his passion for chickens. The mythologized image of Napoleon the Ogre, originally created by the 19th century British press, is re-actualized in the novel. We also analyze other key characters in the novel, which are interconnected with the imagery of carnival and play. This background helps get a better understanding of Napoleon as a character, as he both plays a role himself and makes others puppets in his hands. We conclude that Winterson portrays Napoleon’s life as an act of theomachy. He had challenged his fate and achieved a lot, but was left alone, stranded on an island which symbolizes his spiritual emptiness.