Notions of Truth in Talking It over and "The Ring and the Book

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Notions of Truth in Talking It Over and “The Ring and the Book” Introduction Julian Barnes' 1991 novel Talking It Over and Robert Browning's 1868 narrative poem (perhaps better described as a verse novel) “The Ring and the Book,” might not initially seem, prima facie, to have anything of any significance in common. Indeed, Barnes' postmodern novel, which follows a trio of thirtysomething Londoners involved in a complex love triangle, and Browning's poem, which relates, from a number of viewpoints, a murder trial in seventeenth-century Rome, might be plausibly said to be on polar opposite ends of the literary spectrum. In terms of superficial thematic content, setting, character types, and even the method of presentation, these two works appear to be engaging the reader on entirely distinct levels. However, it will be the project of this paper to make the case that this initial reading of the two texts is actually incorrect. Rather, I will argue that there is actually a substantial thematic link that can be drawn between the two works, though they be separated by over one hundred and twenty years. Specifically, I will make the case that both Talking It Over and “The Ring and the Book” both exhibit a certain type of affinity for, or at least an interest in, the philosophical idea of relativism about truth. Relativism about truth is, simply, the idea that the truth about the world is not something that can be determined objectively or without reference to subjective states and the beliefs of actors. Truth, we might say, changes with, or is relative to, perspective. It is this view that I believe is evident in both of these works. Firstly, I will briefly present outlines of the plots and relevant characters in each of the two works. Finally, I will present the case that the two works do indeed instantiate this position to a significant degree. Talking It Over

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