Modern Language Studies

Chaos Theory, Control Theory, and Literary Theory or: A Story of Three Butterflies
Author(s): Patrick Brady
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Modern Language Studies, Vol. 20, No. 4, Literature and Science (Autumn, 1990), pp.
65-79
Published by: Modern Language Studies
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ChaosTheory,
Control
andLiterary
Theory,
Theory
or:A Story
ofThreeButterflies
PatrickBrady
"Thetruerevolutionaries
arethose
researchers
whoareengaged
infields
wherethemathematical
modelsdo notworkso well,ormaybedo not
existatall,andwhoareusingtheideasofchaostoexplain
that
things
standard
sciencecannot."
-RobertPool,inScience,
vol.245(7 July
1989)
Chaos theoryis about (dis-)order,
a mode or degreeof (dis-)
it is about how or how muchthingsare, or are not,
organization:
organized-notaboutwhatis thusorganized(letalonewhy).Control
theoryis aboutwhy-aboutthedriveto order,to organize.Centralto
boththeories
istheissueofpredictability.
Chaostheory
seekstomeasure
anddescribe;control
seekstoderiveandexplain.In otherwords,
theory
chaostheory
is phenotypical,
whilecontrol
is genotypical.
Chaos
theory
isa modeofformalism,'
less
then,likestructuralism,
theory,
dealing with
content
thanwithformalarrangement;
as a result,
itlendsitself
naturally
toinvestigation
ina variety
ofdifferent
as structuralism
did.
disciplines,
Likestructuralism,
itholdsouttheprospectofrenewing
andradicalizing
a wholespectrum
offieldsofresearch.
Controltheory
likewisesuggests
and movingbeyondcertainpositionsadoptedby
ways of correcting
Freud,Derrida,and others.
The aimofthepresentessayis toindicatethebasicprinciples
of
chaostheory
andcontrol
andthentoverify
theirapplicability
and
theory
usefulness
to thehumanities,
particularly
literary
theoryand criticism,2
which have been languishing
since structuralism
degeneratedinto
and thehistory
and philosophy
ofculture.3
deconstructionism,
In theearly1960s,severalmencarriedoutinnovative
research
that
led tochaostheory.
One was Ren6Thom,whodevelopeda newbranch
of topologyhe called"catastrophe
whichwas devotedto the
theory,"
and analysis,and ultimately
the prediction,
of processes
description
whichare abruptor discontinuous.
"The behaviourof continuous
processescan be understood
by usingcalculus,invented
by Isaac Newton
andGottfried
Leibnizthreehundred
yearsago. Buttherehasneverbeen
an equallyeffective
formofmathematics
forexplaining
and predicting
theoccurrence
ofdiscontinuous
was
phenomena."4
Catastrophe
theory
hailedas "an'intellectual
inmathematics-the
revolution'
mostimportant
sincecalculus."5
development
A majorfeatureof catastrophy
theoryis theuse of "pictures":
"WhatReneThomhasdoneis toprovethat,despitethealmostlimitless
numberof discontinuous
phenomenathatcan existin all branchesof
science,thereare only a certainnumberof different
'pictures'or
thatactuallyoccur."6
elementary
catastrophes
In 1977I adumbrated
theapplication
ofThom'snewperspective
to theproblemof reconciling
MichelFoucault'sepistemes,
whichare
whichis dynamic.Thom'sworksuggested
static,withhistory,
thatthe
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orcoupurespostulated
cultural-historical
byFoucaultwerenot
ruptures
but
complex.'
really"arbitrary" merelyextremely
Otherscholarsworkingalong similarlinesin the early1960s
and
EdwardLorenz,BenoitMandelbrot,
includedthemathematicians
isreferred
tonotas "catastrophe
theory"
StephenSmale,whoseresearch
but as "chaostheory"--widely
publicizedby JamesGleick'svolume
Thisvolumemakesno mention
Chaos:Makinga New Science.8
entitled
norof ReneThomnorhisdisciplesChristopher
ofcatastrophe
theory,
Zeemanand AlexanderWoodcock.Nor does it mentionany of the
on"disorder
intheStanford
theory"
symposium
participants
(1981)--not
is a
this
Prizewinnerin chemistry
Nobel
evenIlyaPrigogine,
although
if
not
one
of
the
aforementioned
even
chaos
contributor
to
theory,
leading
pioneers.9
where
a wayofseeingorderandpattern
Forsome,chaos"offers
the
theunpredictable-in
short,
formerly
onlytherandom,theerratic,
as in theorderedpattern
chaotic-hadbeen observed,""'
producedby
thatbehindhidden
itemphasizes
ofa die;" forothers,
randomthrowing
orderliness
as in thepathological
orderthereexistsa stateof disorder,
disturbedfamilies.'2
of certainemotionally
Joe Ford espousesthe
inwhichchanceis
of"chaos,"as "a stateofthings
definition
dictionary
like
this
looks
"unconstrained
randomness,"
suspiciously
supreme";'3
If both
whatchaosis notforotherchaosspecialists.
whichis precisely
themessageseemsto be thatappearancesof orderor
viewsare right,
as DouglasHofstadter
disorderoftenconcealtheircontrary;
putsit,"it
turnsoutthatan eerietypeof chaoscan lurkjustbehinda facadeof
order-and yet,deep insidethe chaos lurksan even eeriertypeof
reminiscent
is formally
order."'4Sucha spiralof order/disorder/order
within
(especiallyifitis conceivedof as open-ended)of thestructures
Chaostheorists'
andPiaget.15
structures
apparent
positedbyLevi-Strauss
contradictions
(hiddenorderversushiddendisorder;predictability
ondifferent
versusunpredictability)
mayresultfromtheirconcentrating
different
feeling
phasesoraspectsofthetopic-likeseveralblindscholars
partsofan elephant.
we maysometimes
A further
problemarisesfromthefollowing:
but
thatwe perceiverealityas totallydisordered,
havetheimpression
are suchthattheyimposeorderon
of perception
actuallyourfaculties
of
an impression
in thecourseof perceiving
it.16Consequently,
reality
of
somesortofoverloadofthosefaculties
disordermaymerelyreflect
of
and thedegreeof orderactuallypresentindependently
perception;
unknowable.
remains
ourperception
problematic,
most
was hailedas revolutionary--the
theory
Justas catastrophe
is claimedtobe as
sincecalculus-chaostheory
development
important
all
and quantummechanics,
as relativity
radicala break-through
theory
the
eliminated
of Newtonianphysics:"Relativity
threebeingrevisions
Newtonianillusionof absolutespace and time;quantumtheoryelimimeasurement
dreamofa controllable
natedtheNewtonian
process;and
ofdeterministic
theLaplacianfantasy
chaoseliminates
predictability."'7
but also such
Chaos theoryhas affectednotonlymathematics
and chemistry,
sciencesas physics,meteorology,
plusdisastronomy,
ciplineslikemedicineand economics.'8
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I ChaosTheoryand theSciences,"Hard"and "Soft"

ofchaos
thepossibility
HenriPoincar6
tounderstand
"wasthefirst
noted
the
intermittent
character
of
He
(G1.46).
[and] unpredictability"
wouldnow be
theenergypictureof a shakenfluid;thisintermittence
termed"fractal"(G1.123).Poincar6also enunciatedin Science and
"It mayhappen
ofprofound
Methodan earlyformulation
significance:
in theinitialconditions
thatsmalldifferences
produceverygreatones
.. ." (G1.321).
inthefinalphenomena.
... Prediction
becomesimpossible
hasnowbecome
conditions
This(hyper-)sensitive
dependenceoninitial
knownas theButterfly
Effect.
at
had amonghis students
Poincare'sdiscipleGeorgeBirkhoff
in
onweather
M.I.T.a certain
EdwardLorenz.Working
prediction 1961,
theButterfly
rediscovered
Lorenzaccidentally
Effect;and because a
in theweatherpattern
couldproducea greatdistortion
slightvariation
was
chaos), he concludedthatlong-range
forecasting
(non-linearity,
It
does
notis
that
the
Effect
Butterfly
impossible. arguable,however,
is doomed,merelythatit
forecasting
cannot-provethatlong-range
andtherefore
stateofourtechnology,
cannotbe carriedoutinthepresent
In anycase,
itis,forall practicalpurposes,(as good as) "impossible."'9
in his weathermodel,ratherthanmere
Lorenz thenwent further:
he saw "a finegeometrical
ordermasquerading
randomness
structure,
a
Lorenz
water-wheel
whoserotations,
as randomness"
devised
(G1.22).
whenmapped,"traceda strange,
distinctive
shape,a kindofdoublespiral
inthreedimensions,
withitstwowings.Theshapesignaled
likea butterfly
of pointseverrecurred.
Yetit
sinceno pointor pattern
puredisorder,
alsosignaleda newkindoforder"(G1.30).Thistypeofgraphic
represents
an "attractor,"
and thisparticular
one,whichwe maycall theButterfly
is representative
of a new categoryof attractor
knownas
Attractor,
whichis specifically
associatedwithchaostheory.
attractors,"
"strange
BenoitMandelbrotstudiedseveralyearsof cottonpricedata,
whichhad been presumedto movein a mannerthatwas randomand
in thelongterm.However,he
in theshortterm,orderly
unpredictable
thatpricemovements
fordailychangesandthoseformonthly
discovered
theyproducedcurvesthatweresymmetrical
changesmatchedperfectly:
fromscale to scale. As Gleickreports,"thedegreeof variationhas
remainedconstantover a tumultuous
sixty-year
periodthatsaw two
Within
WorldWarsanda depression.
themostdisorderly
reamsofdata
lived an unexpectedkind of order" (G1.86). Such an irregular
phenomenonor datumthatremainedconstantfromscale to scale
innatural
His studiesofirregular
Mandelbrot
calleda "fractal."
patterns
processes(cottonprices,riverfloods)revealeda fractalor self-similar
quality.
Poincarein1892disproved
ofthe
Newton'sclockwork
conception
with
based
on
knowable
and
universe,
calculus,
everything
predictable,
and openedtheway to chaos-complexity,
uncertainty,
non-linearity
(last-straw
(i.e.,notpredictableby Newton's
effect),unpredictability
buildson hisintuitions.
Thusmany
calculus).Contemporary
astronomy
bodies of the solar systemhave chaoticorbits,accordingto M.I.T.
astronomer
JackWisdom.A moreparticular
applicationof chaos in
GreatRed Spotdefiedanalysis
andcomprehension
Jupiter's
astronomy:
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until,in the early1980s,PhilipMarcuscreateda model based on

computer-generated
images,whichhe assembledinto an animated
outtoproducetheappearanceofan ovalvery
movie.Thismovieturned
inthemidst
similar
totheGreatRed Spot-an islandofrelative
stability
In chemistry,
chaostheoryis represented
of chaoticturmoil.
by such
oftheBelousov-Zhabotinski
as theoscillations
reaction20
and
phenomena
ofIlyaPrigogine.21
structures
bythedissipative
Froma structuralist
pointof view,the humanbrainand that
oftheir
of
its
that
projection functioning we termthemindareprisoners
is
so thatrandomactivity
ownstructure
(orphysiological
organization),
a significant
betweensciences
distinction
impossible.This introduces
suchas thosewe havejustglancedat (physics,
astronomy,
meteorology,
and disciplines
whoseobjectis thehumanbody(medicine)
chemistry)
and humanbehavioreitherin general(psychology)or in particular
theartsbeingof coursealliedto thelatter.
circumstances
(economics),
In thehumanbody,specialists
have lookedat severalorgans:
1. thelungs:orderis normal,disorderis pathological(e.g. causedby
cocaine);2. thebrain:orderis abnormal,
pathological
(e.g. causedby
cocaine or epilepsy); 3. the pituitarygland: order is abnormal,
cells);4. theheart:here
pathological
(e.g. causedby cancerin pituitary
we haveopinionsthatappearto contradict
eachother.
A groupat Cedar SinaiMedicalCenterasserts(as repeatedin
is
Nova) thatin theheartorderis normal,disorder(e.g. fibrillation)
(e.g. causedby cocaine),and chaoscan be fatalbecause
pathological
theheartis a rhythmic,
periodicorgan.On theotherhand,AryGoldthatthehealthy
heart
bergerdeclaresthat,despitecommonassumptions
as a metronome,
beats as regularly
carefulstudyshowsthatthereis
in
variationin the timethatpasses betweenheartbeats
considerable
heartrhythm
oftenbecomesextremely
healthypeople. By contrast,
periodicorregularjustbeforecertaintypesofheartattack:"Theroute
to suddencardiacarrestis markedin manyinstances
by ... thelossof
and
chaos.
fractal
behavior
healthy
Bylookingat thesebeat-tohealthy
suddendeathbefore
beatfluctuations
... onemaybe able toanticipate
it occurs." In other words, chaos resultsfromthe loss of that
of motor
(apparent[i.e.,constrained]
randomness)
desynchronization
unitsthathelpsavoidtremors.22
Perhapswe may concludethatchaos theorylooks beyond
superficial,
apparentorder(Paul Rapp) to hidden,realdisorder(Ary
Goldberger),but then attemptsto determinethe principlesof
behindthatdisorder.
organization
Inthedomainofpsychology,
we findFreudianandneo-Freudian
withitsconcentration
on theindividual
and neglectof
psychoanalysis,
between individuals,less immediatelyrelevantthan
relationships
transactional
analysis(EricBerne)and groupbehaviortheory(Murray
withinterpersonal
which
deal primarily
dynamics.Apparent
Bowen),
and concealemotional
disorder
behavioralordermaybe pathological,
Such pathologically
orderlybehaviormay
(disturbance,
instability).
a hiddenagenda,or-at an evendeeperlevel-be unconsciously
reflect
thesearemodesof"constrained
randomness."
scripted;
workin psychological
Paul Watzlawick's
therapyis relatedto
thatare
and transactional
behaviortheory
analysis-movements
family
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withunhealthily
concerned
symbiotic
(e.g.betweenmother
relationships
and psychological
and child)thatinhibit
thedevelopment
ofemotional
Both
behavior
and
transactional
family
theory
analysishave
autonomy.
been used in literary
criticism
overthelasttento fifteen
and
years,23
hasmadea psychological
Watzlawick
himself
text,
analysisofa literary
Woolf?"24
namelytheAlbeeplay,"Who'sAfraidofVirginia
of order(whenthelatteris genuine,
healthy,
happy,
Disruption
an inabiltiy
tocope withan
serene)mayalsobe pathological,
reflecting
highblisslevel:whentheblisstolerancelevel (BTL) is
"excessively"
theblissful
state.Moral
drivesus todisrupt
reached,ourlow self-esteem
thelimitsofpermissibility,"
licensemaywellbe an exampleof"testing
as children
who
and certaintelevision
do, and serialkillers,
evangelists,
almostseemto wantto be caught.In all suchcases,thosebehavingthis
to provokea punishment
thatwillsetlimitsto
waymaywellbe trying
manifestations
of
theirfreedom,because such limitsare reassuring
fororder.
order-andwe all havea thirst
Chaos theorymayprovidea keyto suddenthoughts
and intuiArtists
tions,andtosynthesis
activities).
speakoftheir
(right-hemisphere
of "confusion,
as risingfroma mentalchurning
disorderand
creativity
impurity"
(sculptorGeorgeSegal) and of their"obsessivedesirefor
reducingchaos and for findingbeauty"(cellistJanosStarker)(my
as a means
bothmaleandfemale,
usewriting
emphasis).""Manywriters,
ofputting
orderintoa disorderly
a distortion,
issuch"creation"
world";26
ordeception?
dissimulation,
Accordingto MarilynYalom, women writersare subjectto
motherhood
and its
psychosistriggered
by "thetraumaof childbirth,
in
stirs
of
which
to
memories
and
ways
entrapment
ability procreate
Suchwomen
deathsorcreatesfearofdeathofone'sownchild."27
parents'
as rivalsorsubstitutes
forchildren.
"Thecore
tendtoviewtheirwritings
and motherhood,
concernsofmaternity
theexistential
realities
ofaging
ofmothers
anddeath,thecrucialinfluence
andfathers,
andtheperennial
conflict
betweencreation
andprocreation
constitute
thedominant
chords
in thefugueto madness.""28
The resultis pathological
chaos.
emotional
Frompsychology,
whichdealswithhumanbehaviorin general,
we can move quitelogicallyto economics,whichdeals withhuman
A leading chaos specialistin
conductin specificcircumstances.29
isWilliamBrock,whodeclares:"Efficient
economics
market
theory
says
returns
are totally
unforecastable.
Butmyteamhas invented
a testthat
showstherearepatterns."'3
Anotherhuman(or social) scienceworthmentioning
here is
The constrained
randomness
anthropology.
plottedby Lorenzin his
withina
"strangeattractor"(the Butterfly
Attractor)--randomness
limited(becausefixed)space-is analogous
totheterritorial
randomness
ofnomadsliketheAustralian
theaborigines
don't
Moreover,
aborigines.
believeinchanceorrandomevents:
isalwayscauseddeliberately
sickness
by an enemy;weatherchangesonlyinresponseto rituals(mancontrols
as inNew Agethinking).
nature,
II Chaos Theory:Definitions
and Principles
"Chaos"is, first,
discontinuous
turbulence,
complexity,
process;
and non-linearity;
second,it is disunity,
third,chaosis
fragmentation,
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or relativeuncertainty,
constrained
and centrally
randomness,
engages
the parameters
of predictability
and unpredictability.
Chaos maybe
deterministic
definedas low-level31
non-linear
Chaostheory
dynamics.
castsdoubton (undermines)
realrandomness
on
(totalunpredictability)
theonehandandexactpredictability
ontheother;
itdeniesthepossibility
ofunifiedorder.32
Chaostheory
manifests
itselfinthefollowing
features:
the
effect-chaotic
can
(a)
processes produceorderly
carpet
patterns;
(b) fractals--irregular
shapes or number sequences that repeat
themselves
scales(e.g.tree/branch/twig);
onvarying
factthatsmallcausescanhavegreateffects:
effect-the
(c) thebutterfly
these exponentialrepercussions
are based on (hyper-)sensitive
initial
on
conditions;33
dependence
(d) strange
attractors-[computer
graphics
of]randombehaviorwithin
set(i.e.system)
boundaries.
III ChaosTheoryand theArtsand Humanities
A. literary
someanalogies
analysis.Whenit comesto literature,
withthesearchforhiddenorderare of courseobvious-perhapstoo
obvious.One exampleofthisshouldsuffice.
In 1966 I analysedDiderot'sdialogue novel Le Neveu de
workthatwasgenerally
toend
considered
Rameau-a robust,
disorderly
in a stalemateor stand-off
betweenthetwo speakersof thedialogue.
I discoveredthat
WhenI brokethetextdownintolevelsof discourse,
inlength
oneoftheselevelscontained
andtone,
justfourpassages,similar
thatrevealeda definite
theworkand gaveit,in spite
through
progress
ofthesuperbly
chaoticstyle,a clearandsolidstructure
anda conclusion
inwhichonesidecomesoutas dominant
This
andtherefore
successful.34
thetexthadbeenconcealedbya surface
orderthatgoverned
appearance
ofchaos.
isobvious,I knew
However,whiletheanalogywithchaosanalysis
aboutchaostheory
at thetime,so theanalysisowed nothing
to
nothing
thattheory,
an application
ofit.
anddoes notrepresent
The non-linearcharacterof chaotic phenomenarecallsthe
distinction
betweentragedy,
whichis linear,and comedy,whichisnonlinear.The "non-linearity"
of comedyis takento be cyclicalin essence,
butafterall,comedy,likehistory,
neverrepeatsitselfexactly.Does this
itsassimilation
meanthatthenon-teleological
qualityofcomedyjustifies
I think
not.The reasonhasto
to EdwardLorenz'sButterfly
Attractor?35
betweentheButterfly
Attractor
do withthedifference
(whatGleickcalls
the"LorenzAttractor")
Attractor
andtheButterfly
Effect.The Butterfly
linewithin
a theoretically
infinite
(unpredictable)
represents
irregular
withinconfiniteset boundaries:in otherwords,randommovement
of the
straints-adefinition
of chaos.This,however,is nota definition
hasto do withthe
thatcharacterizes
chaos:"non-linearity"
non-linearity
knownas the
otherwise
"sensitive
dependenceon initialconditions,"
Effect.
Butterfly
betweenthe Butterfly
Effect
What,then,is the relationship
betweencause and effect)and theButterfly
Attractor
(disproportion
(randommovementwithinset boundaries)?Whilethetwo are quite
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theunpredistinct,
theybothseemto deal withmodesoftheirregular,
dictable,therandom.However,theAttractor
emphasizeslimitsto the
thatis virtually
while the Effectstressesproliferation
proliferation,
unlimitedand therefore
revirtually
They represent,
unpredictable.
twooppositefacesofchaostheory:
theoptimistic
(Butterfly
spectively,
and thepessimistic
Attractor)
Effect).
(Butterfly
of ourtitleis one of whichEugeneChen
The "thirdbutterfly"
It is thebutterfly
Perceiver.
me;I callittheButterfly
Eoyangreminded
a Chinesephilosopher
dreamedhe was; whenhe awakened,he didn't
knowwhether
hewasa philosopher
whohaddreamedhewasa butterfly
nowdreaming
Thiscrucialproblem
ora butterfly
he was a philosopher.
of perception(see above) cannotcontinueto be ignoredby chaos
specialists.
The"chaosgame"mentioned
involves
the
byGleick(pp.236-240)
chaotic (i.e. superficially
random) qualityusuallyassociatedwith
dice or shuffling
cards.Suchprocesseshavedirectly
throwing
inspired
certainliterary
works,whether
(as ina poembyMallarme)
thematically
orstructurally
setthehistorical
(as ina novelbyMarcSaporta).Letusfirst
to theseworks.
background
In French literature,
a traditionaldeterminism-sometimes
sometimes
not(Diderot,Hugo,Zola)-was
(Racine,Pr6vost),
Jansenist
rejectedat the outsetof the twentieth
century.Emile Zola, who
dominated
theliterary
sceneinthelatenineteench
had stressed
century,
thedetermining
roleofheredity,
variednotbyindividual
(let
uniqueness
aloneby freewill)butonlyby diverseenvironmental
Howconditions.
in
thrust
intothelimelight
ever,hiscontemporary,
St6phaneMallarm6,
theeighteen-eighties
by Verlaine(Pontesmaudits)and Huysmans(A
in1897withhispoemUnCoup
foreshadowed
thenewcentury
rebours),
de d&sjamaisn'abolirale hasard.Thisthemeoftherelationship
between
and chancewillbe exploredeightyyearslaterby chaos
dice-throwing
theory
(see below).
Somethirty
thanMallarme,
Andr6GideandMarcel
yearsyounger
Proustvirtually
dismantled
thetraditional
idealmodelofpsychological
Gide preachedmoraland experiential
or availconsistency.
flexibility
andspontaneity
he alsoshowed
ability(disponibilitd)
(unpredictability);
a character
notonlyindependent
ofFate,Providence,
actingina manner
and heredity
butevenindependent
of anymotivation
on hisownpart:
thiswas thefamousacte gratuit
perpetrated
by Lafcadioin Les Caves
froma
du Vatican,in whichhe pushedan unknownfellow-passenger
actionsareimpossible
ifwe follow
movingtrain.Ofcourse,unmotivated
thereasoning
ofstructuralism,
sinceManisnotfree:freedom
isanillusion.
en abymeillustrated
Finally,thefamousstructure
by GideinLes FauxinwhichGidewritesa novelcalledLes FauxMonnayeurs
Monnayeurs,
in whichthe novelistEdouard is writinga novel called Les Fauxisa goodliterary
oftheconceptoffractal,
illustration
which
Monnayeurs,
as we haveseenis an irregular
shapethatrepeatsitselfonvariousscales.
inhisvastnovelA la recherche
Proust,
du tempsperdu,provides
severalvariationson variousaspectsof chaos theory.The opening
or chaos.36Not total,pure
confusion,
passage reflectspsychological
becausewithinorbehindthischaosthereis a principle
of
randomness,
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order(unityinmultiplicity,
as MichelSerresputsit),namelythesingle
Thelatter,
likeallfirsthowever,
unifying
pointofviewofthenarrator."7
isa tissueofstatements
thatareallundecidable
because
personnarration,
The principleof untheyare stuckin the web of self-referentiality.
is also embodiedin thefather,
who deliberately
makes
predictability
decisions
toinurehissontotheunreliability
oflife(particularly
arbitrary
in associationwithhis obsessionwiththeweather,which
interesting
EdwardLorenz,as we haveseen,viewsas archetypally
unpredictable).
to lifeand reality,
Proust
Moreover,in thenameof a greaterfidelity
portrayedcharactersinconsistently-appearing
very differentin
tothepointthattheyhardlyappearedtobe the
circumstances,
differing
samecharacters
at all (aftercarrying
outthisbewildering
manoeuvre,
narrator
it
and
Proust's
Effect,
explains justifies indetail).The Butterfly
withitstremendous
effectproducedby a relatively
cause,
insignificant
is illustrated
by thetrivialbut crucialincidentof tastingthattea-cake
(madeleine)soakedin tea whichproducesfromhissimplecup of tea
thewholetownofCombraywithitsgardens,
and ultimately
theentire
novel.
huge
Ata laterdate,in an effort
to go beyondeventhe"constrained
randomness"
ofJulioCortizar'snovelHopscotch,
MarcSaportacreated
No 1 thatis printedentirely
a novelentitled
on separate
Composition
cardswhichthereadershuffles
tocreatehisown"chaotic"novel.
Any confidencein human freedomwas underminedby
and thisreturn
to scepticism
was reinforced
whenchaos
structuralism,
The televisionspecial on chaos
dice-throwing.
theoryre-examined
1987)beganwitha discussionof thisapparently
(Nova, 31stJanuary
randomactivity-anda ratherdauntingdiscoveryconcerningit.
Statistical
are not
analysishas shownthattheresultsof dice-throwing
randombutmerely
aremicro-indeterminate
but
genuinely
chaotic-they
macro-determinate.
That is, thereappearsto be no pattern,
but this
ofscale:thereis actuallya highly
ordered
appearanceis false-a matter
to
of
which
the
results
conform
when
casting
sufficiently
pattern
multiplied.
B. music,painting,
of theImpresarchitecture.
The spontaneity
who revolutionized
sionists,
ago and so
paintingand musica century
to
as
the
door
modem
was
viewed
their
art,
by
opened
contemporaries
and chaotic.38
This Impressionism
was thematizedas a
anarchistic
forthesisterartsinVerlaine's
Artpo6tique.
program
Inmodernarchitecture
criticism
torelate
we finda similar
attempt
todeconstructivist
chaostheory
architecture
andtosuchpost-modernist
as deconstructionism.
Thuswe findThomasFisherasserting
phenomena
the existenceof tiesbetween"thedeconstruction
theoriesof literary
ofphysicists,
thechaosresearch
andtheworkofpost-structuralist
critics,
He does thisby stressing
thatdeconstructivism
reflects
philosophers."39
and thatdeconstruction
fragmentation
espousesthe"idea thatunityis
andthatorderisalwaysundercut
bythatwhichitrepresses."40
impossible
Chaos is thenseenas a similarundermining
of order,by therepressed
to thehiddenagendaor
text.Sucha repressedtextmightcorrespond
as in transactional
scriptstudiedby contemporary
psychotherapists,
on theotherhand,divorcesdeconanalysis(see above).KurtAndersen,
tiredtoto "architecture's
structivism
frompost-modernism,
referring
72

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and-fro
betweencaricature
modernism
Rubik'sCubes of
(theneurotic
thedeconstructivists)
andcaricature
classicism
confections
of
(thepretty
thepostmodernists)."41
C. period style.While it is temptingto see as "historicallythetwentieth-century
conditioned"
betweenmodemartand
conjunction
literature
andchaostheory,
thetruth
ismorecomplex.Manyofthecentral
tendenciesof modernism,
which was born fromlate-19th-century
to
in therococoartand literature
are
be
found
of the
Impressionism,
earlyeighteenth
century.In the domainof rococo art (architecture,
we findfairly
clearexamplesoftheindeterminacy,
decoration,
painting),
fractals
withchaos.
andstrange
andbutterfly
associated
effects
attractors,
effect.
The
rococo
(a) carpet
representsapparentdisorder
withClassicalorder,as
(atheism,
etcetera)bycomparison
atechtonicity,
reflectedin the rococo'sdispensingwiththe ordersof columnson
Classical facades. Indeterminacyis well illustratedby rocaille
intheanalysisofitprovidedby NicholasPevsner:"The
ornamentation,
indetailseemtobe incessantly
forms
changing,
splashing
up andsinking
back.Whatarethey?Do theyrepresent
Sometimes
anything?
theylook
likeshells,sometimes
likefroth,
sometimes
likegristle,
sometimes
like
flames."42
of strange
Compare withthisDavid Ruelle'sdescription
attractors:
"Thesesystems
ofcurves,
thesecloudsofpointssuggest
sometimesfireworks
or galaxies,sometimes
strangeand disquieting
vegetal
closerinspection
However,as withstrangeattractors,
proliferations."43
ofrocailleandrococoissimplya more
revealsthattheapparent
disorder
inits
butconstrained
complexmodeoforder-non-linear,
unpredictable
its
in
studied
Further
this
still,
negligence.
spontaneity,
highly
organized
disorder
maybe viewedas paperingoverthefundamentally
disorderly
Inpainting,
a swirling,
"chaotic"
societythatledtotheFrenchRevolution.
is one of Boucher'smostcharacteristic
movement
to the
contributions
rococo.
The rocailleconstitutes,
infact,a fractal,
inMandel(b) fractals.
brot'ssense,to theextentthatitis an irregular
itselfon
shaperepeating
scales.The analogyisobvious.Butisitmeaningful
orisitmerely
varying
Thisis a problemthattormented
"metaphorical?"
people a greatdeal
in thehey-dayof structuralism,
whentherewas similarconcernabout
thevalidity
ofextrapolation
fromonefieldtoanother.
The rocailledoes
signifybeyondwhat it "represents"
(e.g. in the way it is used-to
dissimulate
forexample),but nowherenearas muchas
techtonicity,
fractals
because
fractals
are merelygraphicsof flowsthatanimate
do,
otherphenomena.
Of course,whatwouldbe reallynew and intriguing
would be to view the rocailleas a graphicrepresentation
of the
socialand psychological
movements
thatcharacterized
the
amorphous
rococoperiodand are reflected
in itsaesthetic.
We shouldthenturna
problemintoa challengeandan opportunity.
effect.The butterfly
effectis represented
in the
(c) butterfly
rococoby suchthings
as thetremendous
roleplayed(accordingto the
FiskeKimball)bya meremarginal
notation
from
greatrococospecialist
LouisXIV to Mansart
thedecoration
oftheapartments
ofthe
regarding
youngDuchessede Bourbon:"de l'enfance
r6panduepartout."
Whatofrococoliterature?
non(a) carpet effect.We find indeterminacy
(unfinished,
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of comedyin the
teleological
narratives),
non-linearity
(predominance
andunpredictability
theatre),
(thekiss-a whimorcapricespontaneity
in Goethe'sDie Launedes Verliebten44).
The "constrained
randomness
in
ofa chaoticsystem
seen
be
the
of
"studied
may
negligence" therococo.
The "repressedtext"of deconstructionism
findsits
(post-modernism)
in the existential
counterpart
anguishconcealedbeneaththe rococo
hedonismofVoltaire's
Le Mondain:this"maskofpleasure"hasas goal
the"muting
ofpain."In playslikeLe Jeude ramouretdu hasard(again
thethemeofchance)andSheStoopstoConquer,we seetheexperimental
introduction
of a perturbance
of thesocialorder(theAncienRegime)
thatis pathologically
rigid-as in Watzlawick's
proceduresproducing
or
rapid therapeutic
change ("cure") of scripts.The inconsistency
in
incoherence
a
de
novel
like
La
Vie
de
Marianne
provide
(mdlange tons)
further
ofchaos.
illustrations
One exampleof a fractalis a chaoticor "strange"
(b) fractals.
whichis a statetowardswhicha systemtends.A strangeatattractor,
is stable,low-dimensional,
tractor
and characterized
non-periodic,
by
chaotic
andapparent
movement,
complicated
geometry,
unpredictable,
internal
randomness.
Sinceithasaninfinitely
a finite
area,
longlinewithin
itstruedimension
is fractional-hence
a strange
is fractal.
attractor
One
is thetoyingwiththeabsurdity
of class
exampleof strangeattractor
inMarivaux:
distinctions
thewriter
allowshimself
at
completefreedom,
leastin appearance,but thisis onlypossiblebecause he acceptsthe
boundariessetby thecomicconvention
and therococosocialsystem.
effect.
effect
(c) butterfly
Examplesofbutterfly
maybe seenin
Marivaux's
unruban(inLa Vie de Marianne)
passageonrartde mettre
and inPope's The Rape oftheLock,wherea trivial
incident
a
inspires
thewholeofEuropeanpoetry.
This
which,inturn,
masterpiece
inspires
treatment
of a trivialtopicis directly
to theneomagnificent
contrary
Classicismofa writer
likeMontesquieu,
forwhomitis "commede l'or
surl'habitd'unmendiant."45
que vousmettriez
IV FromChaosto Control
Whenwe perceiveorderor disorder,
we cannotknowwhether
whatwe perceiveisreal,"outthere,"
as ReneGirardapparently
believes,
orexistsonlyinthemind,as L6vi-Strauss
tendsto suggest.
Do we need
tointroduce
orderintoa genuinely
external
ormerely
disorderly
reality,
todevelopandprojecta perception,
a conviction,
oforder?
isthethirst
forordera biologicalorphysiological
Moreover,
given,
from
the
ofourinstrument
ofperception
structure
(namestemming
very
oris ita psychological
asserts,
ly,thebrain),as structuralism
acquisition,
imposedonusbythetraumaofbirthandreinforced
bythehelplessness
ofthehumaninfant?
I am goingto followthelatterlineof reasoning,
and arguethat
we feelthreatened
at birthof thechaoticcharacter
by ourperception
whichleavesus witha sortof "disorder
of ourenvironment,
neurosis"
thatleadstoa compulsion
tocontrol
(notunlikeAdler'slibidodominandi,
exceptthatthesourceis notlibidobutanxiety).
ofthebirthtraumastemsfromtheviolent
Thedetermining
effect
of theinfant
it outfrom
rejection
by themother's
body,whichthrusts
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thewarm,dark,silent,liquidpassivity
of thenurturing
wombthrough
a passageoflife-threatening
and
out
into
the
cold,blinding,
compression
noisy,dry air and the necessityto breathe-suchis the child'sfirst
ofrejection,
ofOtherness,
andoftheenvironment
outsidethe
experience
isalien,hostile,
womb.In a word,thisexternal
reality
incomprehensible,
uncontrollable.
unpredictable,
AsFreudarguesveryplausibly,
theinfant
feelsthreatened
bythe
and uncontrollable
oftheMother,
whocomes
unpredictable
autonomy
and goes at will,abandoninghimat herdiscretion
to thethreatening
Otherness
of hisenvironment.
The childattempts
to inureitselfto the
ritualoffort/da,
painofthisabandonment
by meansofthetherapeutic
or"hideand seek."
However,Freudclaimsthatthechildviewsitsfecesas a substitute
forthepenis,a detachable"part"ofhisownbodythathe/shecan give
as a giftina kindofsurrogate
autocastration.
I suggest,
on thecontrary,
thatthefecesrepresent
notthepenis
excretion,
sex) butan Other(symbolizing
alienation):
(symbolizing
by
showingthechildthathe or she can createan Other,has a twofold
function
associatedwiththe driveto control.Excretion
therapeutic
involvesbothcontrolof Self(through
a mastery
ofthebodilyfunction
thathelpsus to diminish
thethreatening
of life)and
unpredictability
controlof Otherness
theproduction
or "creation"
ofa visible,
(through
concrete
becomespartofthechild'senvironment,
but
Other).Thislatter
is non-threatening
becausecreatedby thechildhim/herself.
In fact,the
of congestion/expulsion/relief
makesexcretion
an analogue
experience
of thebirththeinfant
has experienced,
onlynow he/sheis in control;
and thefeces,as productoftheactivity,
thenew-born
infant.
represent
Allofthiscontributes
to thetamingofthechild'senvironment.
The idea of a CreatorGod is one which crystallizes
in a
transcendental
the
reassurance
of
a
nonsymbol therapeutic
producing
external
threatening
reality.For humans,of course,God is partof the
thatis external
to them;butthisis compensated
reality
bythe"controllofGod. God is controlled
ofGod. Ifwe define
ability"
byourdefinition
Himas terrible
andvengeful,
as intheHebrewOld Testament,
thenHe
is predictable;
ifwe defineGod as lovingand forgiving,
as in theNew
thenagainGod ispredictable.
God maybe omnipotent,
but
Testament,
he is notfree;ourdefinitions
tieHishands.Consequently,
God doesnot
functionas unknowableand hence frighteningly
uncontrollable,
unpredictable.
The creativegestureof God is imitatedby thecreativeartist,
whether
orwriter.
Unliketheliterary
criticortheorist,
painter,
composer,
thecreativewriteris God-likein thearbitrary,
character
of
gratuitous
hisactivity:
likeGod,he imagines
andcreatessomething
outofnothing.
The notionofa CreatorGod maywellhavebeeninspired
bythe
of thereproductive
perception
powersof Woman-and hereit is well
to recallthatGod was once a Woman.How deeplyprimitive
people,
who did notlinktheirownrolein intercourse
to Woman'ssolitary
role
in childbirth
later,was impressed
manymonths
by Woman'sabilityto
is,inhiseyes,tocreateOtherSelves-hasbeendemonreproduce-that
stratedby BrunoBettelheim,
who tracesthesymbolicwoundsof male
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initiation
ritesbacktowomb-envy.46
creation
Artistic
providedManwith
in the case of
an activityanalogousto Woman'sreproduction-but
itbecameanalogousonlywhentheoraltradition
was replced
literature
whichcreatedan external
literature,
objectthatwas partof
by written
a non-threatening
environment.
fabricated)
(becausepersonally
and therefore
The conceptionof ecritureas alienating
suspect
is takenevenfurther
(Rousseau,Levi-Strauss)
by Derrida,whoin 1972
However,whilethepen,like
appearsto compareitwithmasturbation.
thisassimilation
thepenis,maybe seenas similarly
instrumental,
scarcely
ofkcriture,
foritemphasizes
thepen'sneed
thedown-grading
supports
fora partner
vagina,
paperis likepeniswithout
(paper):ifpenwithout
a morefavorablelight(in
thatmaysurelybe interpreted
as throwing
thanon mereparole.Ifsuchbiological
Derrida'sownterms)on dcriture
onescanbe found;one
analogiesaredesirable,
surelymoreappropriate
is tempted,indeed,to proposea revalorizing
conceptionof &criture,
and
whichunlikeparoleproducesan externalized
objectthatis concrete
Otherness
to
thus
a
of
visible,
feeling
relating the
creating satisfying
creationof theuniverse
by theSelf.(Thistamesthefeelingof menace
aroundus.) This
oftheuniverse
associatedwiththeOtherness
normally
productionof a visibleobject relatesecritureto certainbiological
and
of primesignificance
to theorganism,
functions
namelyexcretion
is
function
on thesociallevel,thecorresponding
femalereproduction;
in
of function
of thescapegoat.Thereare twocategories
theexpulsion
isprecededbycongestion
oftheorganism
whichtheprocessofexpulsion
involved,and followedby reliefand satisfaction.
(Girardspeaksin
withscapegoating
of unanimity
of violencefollowedby
connection
unification
ofthecommunity.)
Thesetwocategories
maybe termedthe
categoryof the potentialand ephemeral(ejaculation,menstruation,
parole) and the categoryof the actual and permanent(excretion,
Thesecondcategory,
then,wouldincludeallartistic
childbirth,
ecriture).
of
howeverlucidandrational
creation
"residue":
productive permanent
thedrivetocreate(externalize,
theactualprocessofcreation,
expel)art
worksis rationally
exceptas an analogueof thedriveto
inexplicable,
of course,disexpel excreta,progeny,scapegoat.This perspective,
of dcriture
from
modes
other
of
creative
the
writing
tinguishes dcriture
andusuallyevena utilitarian
(whichhavea rational
basis),and thusmay
of littdraritd.
The arts,then,are
providea clue to theelusivecriterion
of
relatedby thiscommondriveto imitatethe variousmovements
of
the
the
universe
and
to
tame
Otherness
by
irreparable
expulsion
thatuniverse
oneself.
producing
conIn WhenGod Was a Woman,MerlinStonedemonstrates
oftheGardenofEdenwasa propaganda
thattheHebrewstory
vincingly
ofEve fromthebody
forth
thedrawing
ofmalechauvinism;47
instrument
vividexampleofmalewomb-envy.
ofAdamthenbecomesa particularly
of artistic
This idea is interesting
to the studentof thephenomenon
of thegestureof a Creator-God
imitation
creation:thecreativeartist's
imitation
artist's
maywellhave evolvedby analogywiththeprimitive
newlife.
ofthemoreobviousactofWomaninproducing
of (artistic)
creationI posited
thetheory
refines
Thisconception
in 1976.The seriesis now
to Derrida'smasturbation)
(as an alternative
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conceivedas follows:
Child: 1. fearof Otherness(birthtrauma;survivalfearinspiredby
ofMother)
autonomy/unpredictability
2. desireto eliminate
ofOther,through
control
unpredictability
3. fecesanalogon(controlofSelf;controlofOther);creation
of
Other(NOT autocastration,
as inFreud)
Adult:4. love-making
ofOther),libidodominandi
analogon(control
5. creationismanalogon (controlof God-omnipotent,but
therefore
benevolent,
predictable)
6. reproduction
analogon (creationof Other),womb-envy:
creation
ofOtherSelf(NOT masturbation,
as inDerrida)
7. attempt
at controlof Otherness
art:magic
(external
reality),
simulacrum.
Conclusion.-Thechallenges
and control
posedby chaostheory
arenotof thesameorder.Controltheory
oweskeyelements
to
theory
OttoRank(thebirthtrauma)and Bettelheim
and therefore
owes much
to Freudiantheory,
howevermuchit mayrejectsomeaspectsof the
latter.
The challenge
issimplythatofwinning
acceptance.Chaostheory,
on theotherhand,raisesthequestionofextrapolation
fromone fieldto
and thestatusofsuchextrapolation.
It is easiestwhenreduced
another,
to fairlygeneralprinciples,
but more insightful
when based on an
use of analogies.One risksfallingbetweenthetwo stools
imaginative
of respectablebanalitiesand over-adventurous
use of the merest
The former
areoflittleinterest,
so thechallengehereis one
metaphors.
of refining
theanalogiesused so as to combineoriginalinsights
with
"Plausible,"
plausiblecomparisons.
"acceptable"-again,of course,we
findthatthechallengeultimately
comesdownto winning
acceptance.
In any case, a heightenedsensitivity
to chaos is evidentin
intellectual
and maybe expectedto growin the
contemporary
life,48
comingdecade.
ofTennessee
University
NOTES
1. On the radicallyformalist
characterof structuralism,
cf. the following

formulation:
"Dansle reelcommeenmath6matiques,
touteforme
estun

contenupourcellesqui l'englobent
ettoutcontenuestuneformepourceux
(JeanPiaget,quotedwithapprovalbyClaude L'vi-Strauss
qu'ilcontient"

inL'Hommenu[Paris:Plon,1971],p. 561).Cf.Marshall
McLuhan's
idea

that"themediumis themessage."
2. For a similarverification
ofthevalidityand valueofstructuralism,
see P.
inCriticism
Brady:Structuralist
Perspectives
ofFiction(Bern:Lang,1978).
3. Cf. P. Brady:"Immanence,Semiotics,and the 'New Contextualism':
of a Historyand Philosophy
of Culture,"invited
Theoryand Illustration
December1976;modifiedversionpublished
lecture,HarvardUniversity,
as "Towardsa Theoryof theRococo," The Comparatist,
vol. IX (May
1985),pp. 4-17.
4. CharlesPanatiin Newsweek,19thJanuary
1976,p. 54.

5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.

77

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and
7. See myarticle"PeriodStylein theLightofStructuralism,
Semiotics,
FrenchLiterature
Series,vol.IV (1977),pp. 119-130.
Theory,"
Catastrophe
8. NewYork:VikingPenguin,
1987.Othersourcesofthepresent
essayinclude
thetelevision
1987).
special(Nova,P.B.S. 31stJanuary
in theStanford
9. Somecatastrophe
theorists
(mathematicians)
participated
The onlydisorderspecialistmentioned
byGleickas involved
symposium.
inchaostheory
is theeconomist
Arrow-andthennotinGleick's
Kenneth
volumebut in his articlein The New YorkTimes,22 November1987
thefirstchaos conference
tookplace
(Section3: Business).Incidentally,
in 1977 (G1.183-184),fouryears beforethe Stanfordconferenceon
disorder.
10. See Gleick,op. cit.,cover.
11. See thediscussion
of"thechaosgame,"ibid.,pp. 236-240;also Nova.
ed.: Disorderand Order:
12. See Paul Watzlawickin PaisleyLivingston,
International
the
(September14-16,
of
Stanford
Proceedings
Symposium
1981)(Saratoga,Ca.: AnmaLibri,1984),p. 63.
13. See Ford's letterhead.
JimYorke,who apparentlyfirstused the term
arelooking
"chaos"inthissense(intheearly1970s),is upsetthatscientists
fororderin chaos:see RobertPool,in Science,vol. 245 (7 July1989),p.
28.
14. QuotedinGleick,op. cit.(insidefront
cover).
15. See above,note1.
16. Maps in thebrainmodeltheworldaccordingto MichaelArbib:see his
U. Mass.P.,1985),p. 36.Cf."Perceptions
In SearchofthePerson(Amherst:
andmemories
arepartofanongoingprocess
aretoa largedegreecreations,
creation"(JohnRoy:"BrainTheory
ofimagination
closelyakinto literary
and thePoeticsof Consolation,"
Mosaic,vol. 21, nos. 2-3 [1988],p. 85).
In thislight,Yorke'sobjections(above,p. 4, note4) seemnaive.
inGleick,p. 6.
17. Quoted,without
attribution,
18. On the crucialand ambiguousquestionof the validityand statusof
fromone fieldto another,
see above,epigraph,fromPool,
extrapolation
art.cit.
is
and long-range
betweenshort-range
19. Since the difference
forecasting
if
not
it
that
of
of
follows
one
kind,
forecasting
short-range
merely
degree,
mustalso be
is possible(as Lorenzagrees)thenlong-range
forecasting
possible.
20. Pool,art.cit.,p. 27.
in non-equilibrium
21. See I. Prigogineand G. Nicolis: Self-organization
to orderthrough
Fromdissipative
structures
(N.Y.:
fluctuations
systems:
andI. Stengers:
Orderoutofchaos(N.Y.:
Wiley,c. 1977).AlsoI. Prigogine
Bantam,1984),basedontheirLa nouvellealliance(Paris:Gallimard,
1979).
22. Cf. AryGoldberger:
"Nonlinear
Dynamics,Fractals,CardiacPhysiology,
and SuddenDeath,"in L. Rensinget alii: TemporalDisorderin Human
Verlag,1987).
Oscillatory
Systems(N.Y.: Springer
The 'HiddenMeaning'of
23. See P. Brady:"Farms,Trees,and Bell-towers:
TriadsinProust'sRecherche,"
LXI,3 (July1977),pp. 371Neophilologus,
377;MarcelProust(Boston:G. K. Hall,1977),pp. 48-55,83-91;"Scripting,
Zola's TwofoldSelfSurrogateMothers,IncestTaboo and Creativity:
LXIX,4 (October1985),pp. 533betrayalin L'Oeuvre,"Neophilologus,
FromL'Oeuvreto Les
and Subversion:
538;"Womb-envy,
Counterscript,
Noeudsd'argile,"L'EspritCrdateur,
XXV,4 (Winter1985),pp. 59-70.
24. P. Watzlawicket alii: The Pragmatics
(New
of HumanCommunication
York:Norton,1967).
25. David Maxfield:"CreativeMinds,"Texas,HoustonChronicleMagazine,
7 February1988,pp. 4-5.
78

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26. Marilyn
Yalom:Maternity,
and theLiterature
ofMadness(Penn
Mortality,
StateU.P., 1989).
27. BeverlyBeyette,
Yalomin The New YorkTimes.
reviewing
28. Yalom,op. cit.,quotedin Beyette,
rev.cit.
29. EconomistsRichardThalerof Cornell,LawrenceSummersof Harvard,
and RobertSchillerof Yale stressthe role of psychologicalfactorsirrational
orpessimism,
unfounded
enthuemotions,
optimism
contagious
siasmordiscouragement-in
stockmarket
Cf.R. M. Hogarth
performance.
andM. W. Reder,eds.:RationalChoice:TheContrast
BetweenEconomics
and Psychology(Chicago: U.C.P., 1986). This volumedetailsnot only
butcommongroundand mutualinfluence
differences
betweenthesetwo
disciplines.
30. Cf.hisessay"ChaosandComplexity
inEconomicandFinancialScience,"
in G. M. Furstenberg,
ed.: ActingunderUncertainty:
Multidisciplinary
Conceptions(forthcoming).
31. "Low-level"or "low-dimension"
here means:"involvingrelativelyfew
variables,thusmakingprediction
possible."
32. Chaos is relatedto aporia (undecidability)
and entropy(decreasein,or
of,energy).
degradation
33. Such disproportion
betweencause and effectis a mode of nonlinearity.
34. "Structure
and Sub-structure
ofLe Neveude Rameau,"L'EspritCreateur,
to by
Spring1968,pp. 34-41.HiddenorderinLettrespersanesis referred
as "unechainesecrete;"inLe Neveuitis describedbyGoethe
Montesquieu
as "unechained'acierqu'uneguirlande
d6robea nosyeux."
35. See above,p. 7, and Gleick,op. cit.,oppositep. 114.
36. His stylehas been characterized
as chaotic:see G. Antoine:"Proustou le
chaosmetaphorique,"
Cahiersde lInstitut
de Linguistique,
X, 1-3(1984),
17-25.
37. See P. Brady,op cit.(MarcelProust),Ch. 1.
38. The new"orderliness
without
attractors
repetition"
represented
bystrange
likeLorenz'sButterfly
Attractor
(above,p. 7) wasprefigured
byDebussy's
on whichClassicalmusic
therepetition
Impressionist
goal of eliminating
had beenbased.
39. Progressive
December1988,p. 7.
Architecture,
40. Ibid.,loc. cit.
41. Time,20 March1989,p. 75. See also Gleick,op. cit.,pp. 116-117.Chaos
theoryhas inspiredartexhibitions:
"StrangeAttractors:
Signsof Chaos,"
New Museumof Contemporary
Art,New YorkCity,13 Septemberto 26
November1989and "StrangeAttractors:
The Spectacleof Chaos,"Kaos
Inc. ArtShow,Chicago,samedates.
42. N. Pevsner:An Outlineof EuropeanArchitecture
(London:Penguin,4th
ed. 1953),p. 195.
43. Gleick,op. cit.,p. 153.
44. See P. Brady:"RococoStyleinEuropeanTheatre,"inM. G. Badirand D.
Theatre:Aspectsand Contexts
J. Langdon,eds.: Eighteenth-Century
(Edmonton,Alberta:U. of Alberta[Dept. of RomanceLanguagesand
ComparativeLiterature],
1986),pp. 53-73.
45. Montesquieu:
Cahiers,1716-1755
(Paris:Grasset,1941),p. 70.
46. SymbolicWounds(New York:Collier,1962).
47. London:HarcourtBrace,1978.
48. See forexamplethe historian
GertrudeHimmelfarb's
resistanceto the
of contingency
and unpredictability
in FrancisFukuyama's
suppression
influential
in The NationalInterest,
Summer
essay"The End ofHistory?"
inTheNew YorkTimes,27 August
1989,as reported
byRichardBernstein
1989.
79

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