Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 3. Eger Journal of English Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 29)

Tibor Tóth: Fiction as the 'River Between': Daniel Martin

FICTION AS THE 'RIVER BETWEEN': DANIEL MARTIN 67 delities could be pardoned. The call from England is the call of a long forgotten past dream, a dream he could not even articulate as the two women are calling at Anthony's request, to ask Dan to visit his former friend, who is dying of cancer. Daniel Martin reacts favourably to his former friend's request and when he flies to England he reveals that his ignorance of his former infidelity was a pretence as the fact that he 'repents' and goes to Oxford to meet with Anthony, now an Oxford philosopher, demonstrates that he knows that he must face the 'heart of darkness' of his own creation and this revelation enables him to use the chances to recover his lost past. The novel creates a sense of a new beginning, of rebirth as Daniel Martin visits Anthony and the two confess their infidelities to each other. Daniel Martin is faced with his own earlier dreams is able to articulate his ambitions and understands that art and life are more important than his 'official' status. 'Long-distance. From home. They transferred the call.' Who is it?' 'The operator didn't say.' [...] 'I shouldn't get excited. A hundred to one it's just some moronic Fleet-Street tattle-monger short of a paragraph.' 'Or my Highland great-grandmother.' [...] In his ear, distances. The voice; and unbelievably, as in a fiction, the door in the wall opens. (D. M. 24) Daniel Martin discovers that he is not flying to New York and home but into an 'empty space.' Anthony dies but not before making Dan promise to help Jane regain her status as a free woman. Anthony's argument actually charts Daniel Martin's journey back home. 'What she needs is someone who both knows her and doesn't. Who can remember what she once was? She's become very withdrawn, Dan. [...] One reason I can't talk with her about all these matters is that our marriage has become the standing proof that my case has no validity. I preach in an empty church, which proves my sermons are worthless.' (D. M. 203) Dan is left no time to change his mind after agreeing, for Anthony commits suicide moments after Dan leaves the hospital. In large part