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Abjection and the fear of alterity : matricide and the trope of the maternal in the works of Carlo Emilio Gadda and Samuel Beckett
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Wehling-Giorgi, Katrin (2011) Abjection and the fear of alterity : matricide and the trope of the maternal in the works of Carlo Emilio Gadda and Samuel Beckett. Italian Studies, Vol.66 (No.1). pp. 76-92. doi:10.1179/007516311X12918079775668 ISSN 0075-1634.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/007516311X12918079775668
Abstract
The article offers an analysis of the intrinsically ambiguous representation of the maternal figure in Carlo Emilio Gadda's and Samuel Beckett's writings (with a particular focus on La cognizione del dolore and Beckett's prose Trilogy), which is characterized both by an absolute kind of love and by aggressive desires vented against her. Adopting a Kristevan theoretical framework, a close relationship between the literary trope of matricide and the fragmented notion of the self is identified. In this context, particular emphasis is paid to the narrative imagery of abjection (prevalently in the form of defilement and obscenity) accompanying the maternal trope, a literary and cultural phenomenon which according to Kristeva disturbs identity, system, and order. The present investigation identifies the intrinsically disruptive effect of the maternal figure on both narrative linearity and on the very notion of the subject.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) | ||||
Divisions: | Other > Institute of Advanced Study Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Italian |
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Journal or Publication Title: | Italian Studies | ||||
Publisher: | Maney Publishing | ||||
ISSN: | 0075-1634 | ||||
Official Date: | 1 March 2011 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.66 | ||||
Number: | No.1 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 17 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 76-92 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1179/007516311X12918079775668 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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