Abstract

Many have attempted to define such terms as postmodern literature and postmodern criticism, but not many seem to have found a valid explanation for the obvious interaction between the two. Reacting against the tradition that separates each concept from the others, the postmodern literary tendencies defy boundaries and blend genres. Defying and blending make it possible for postmodernists to rely on the neutral word text, which is similar to my own term paranarrative. Paranarrative is a text that blurs boundaries and celebrates interactions, especially between literature and critical theories. ;The notion of paranarrative produces another term of my own, the Cordelia Complex, which treats Cordelia as a postmodernist and the other two daughters of King Lear as traditionalists . In relation to the idea of the Cordelia Complex, I formulate my own definition of postmodernity by analyzing the film Basic Instinct. The basic instinct of a postmodern writer, which may well be interpreted as the Cordelia Complex, is examined in detail through treatment of the literary works of Thomas Pynchon, D. M. Thomas, and Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. Finally, I suggest various possibilities that would be likely to lead the consciousness of future generations. ;This study examines the interaction between postmodern literature and critical theories , which fosters the new term paranarrative, whose basic instinct is called the Cordelia Complex