COLLECTIVE MEMORY AS A RESPONSE TO THE PRESENT

A third important feature of memory, posited by Halbwachs (1992: 25), is that it is based on the demands of the present.63 If this view is taken, then memory is almost entirely subjective, developing in response to present social demands. Accordingly the same events can be remembered by different societies in entirely different ways, based on the needs of each.64 This is a contentious issue; Halbwachs himself notes Barry Schwartz’s objection to this idea, noting his claim that there has to be continuity of the past to prevent it becoming merely a ‘series of snapshots taken at various times and from various perspectives’ (Halbwachs1992: 26). The historian Marc Bloch, however, writes that collective memory preserves the past inaccurately; it ‘is found or reconstructed continuously, starting from the present’ (Bloch 1925: 77).65 This makes the present the starting point for the development of memory and emphasises the importance of current concerns in its creation. The philosopher Paul Ricœur (2004: 101) agrees, calling memory ‘the present of the past’, while Assmann (2006: 179) claims that ‘memory history’, in contrast with ‘history’, can be fictional in the eyes of historians.66 Assmann (2006: 182) goes on to write that a society will adjust its memory in response to changes as time goes on, again emphasising the variable nature of memory even within a single group. Furthermore, the celebration of the centenary of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ in Dublin shows that memories do not even need to be based in actual events (see

63

Halbwachs (1992: 50-51) further suggests that, in the present, one is constricted by reality, whereas memories of the past are not; they can develop more freely.

64

Agulhon (2001: 58) notes that even concrete history can be experienced entirely differently by different groups. In his discussion is of the French state and periphery, he suggests that variance in memory is one explanation for the development of regionalism.

65

He writes, ‘la mémoire collective, comme la mémoire individuelle, ne conserve pas précisément le passé; elle le retrouve ou le reconstruit sans cesse, en partant du présent’ (see also Boutry (2009: 53)).

66

He writes, further, that groups have a tendency to distort the past when they reconstruct it (Assmann 2006: 182), although he fails to explain how and why this might happen. He does note (2006: 179), however, that these memories are still facts to the extent that they ‘have defined the memory horizon of a culture’.

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Rigny (2010: 351)).67 This emphasises the fact that members of the community do not necessarily have to believe in the historical accuracy of their collective memory for it to be powerful; the events of ‘Ulysses’ were fictional, but this did not lessen the importance of the commemoration.

The opportunity for societies, or their leaders, to alter collective memory to suit a specific agenda must also be recognised. Ricœur (2004: 83) pays particular attention the manipulation of memory, emphasising the role of ideology which, he suggests, aims to ‘legitimize ... the authority of order or power’;68

this emphasises the interplay of memory and authority. Zerubavel’s claim that the ‘power of collective memory’ lies ‘in establishing basic images that articulate and reinforce a particular ideological stance’ (Zerubavel 1995: 8) underscores the potential for memory to be used as a political and social tool by representing the views of those who control it, regardless of historical accuracy.69 Assmann (2006: 91) writes, in support of this, that ‘memory is a system that is imposed from outside and can only be

sustained by state power’. This takes the idea of memory as a controlling factor a step further, suggesting that it is imposed from outside society rather than being developed within it.70 Von

67

Dublin put on large-scale celebrations in 2004 to commemorate the centenary of the events of the novel despite the fact that the events were entirely fictional. As such, the city constructed a collective memory based around a fictional narrative, a fact that was freely acknowledged.

68

Lipinska (1967), for example, discusses this in relation to Thutmose III’s manipulation of the memory of Hatshepsut in the monuments of Deir el-Bahri.

69

Zerubavel (1995: 179-182) discusses the example of Yehoshafat Harkabi’s critique of the commemoration of the Bar Kokhba revolt to further examine the power of memory in shaping current political attitudes; Harkabi believed in the power of commemoration to affect current thinking, and argued the relevance of the

commemorated events for current Jewish ideas. The high amount of debate over this issue demonstrates the power that past events can have over thinking in the present, even in political forums; it also demonstrates the power that conflicting memories of the same event may hold. Wyke’s study of the iconography of Mussolini further emphasises the potential for memory to be used in political propaganda; he notes Mussolini’s use of ancient Roman symbols and personalities to legitimise his own rule as the new Caesar (Wyke 1999). One example of this was the development of the play ‘Cesare’, which drew clear parallels between Mussolini and Caesar (Wyke 1999: 173-174).

70

He writes that this viewpoint echoes those of Nietzsche (see, for example, Ansell-Pearson 2011: 168) and Warburg (see Assmann (2006: 91-95)). Assmann notes, however, that writing can act as a liberating factor; by learning to write, the Egyptians ‘acquired not just a cultural tool, but also cultural knowledge’ (Assmann 2006:

20

Lieven (2010: 3), however, writes that early Egyptian memorial cults were ‘a grassroots movement with no higher central authority’;71 this suggests that cults relating to deceased individuals which, as this study will show, were a part of cultural memory, were not always instigated by the state for political purposes but could be developed at a local level. This does not, however, prevent their being manipulated and used for political gain at a later point.

1.4.4. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL