The Heathen Inside: "Darkness," Abjection, and the Colonial Discourse In Romanticism and Colonialism, Tim Fulford and Peter J. Kitson argue that few scholars explicate the relationship between Romantic texts, British colonialism, and imperialism. Fulford and Kitson point out that the "Romantic period is a watershed in colonial history," marking the inception of a British empire based on the political philosophy of the "white man's burden" (3). By reading Romantic texts in the historical and political
themes of sexuality and family domesticity. As her work is autobiographical, there is a sense of abjection in many of her works due to tension and conflict between her father, who she resented, and the rest of her family. Julia Kristeva, a French philosopher born in 1941, addresses abjection in “Approaching Abjection” which builds off of Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis. Paternal abjection is evident in The Destruction of the Father and key elements in Kristeva’s writing can aid in fathoming
Lastly, Gregor’s gradual displacement from the family can be read as a metaphor of an existing abjection at the time when Kafka lived towards the Jewish nation. A few words concerning Franz Kafka’s background should be mentioned, in order to understand the link between Jewishness and abjection in the novella. The author of The Metamorphosis grows up in a German-speaking family in Prague, simultaneously surrounded by the East European culture, and thus also being able to speak Czech. Subsequently
Nature Versus Nurture: The Formation of Personalities in Childhood In psychology field, there is a long-lasting discussion about whether one’s behaviors are determined by the environment or natural instinct. The terms of “nature” and “nurture” have been used since at least 16th century. The definitions of nature and nurture are various among different schools and change along with time. No matter which dimensions of meanings are taken for research, childhood is definitely one of the most crucial
This assertion gives room to the following assumption: It’s true that Anne has to stay yards away from her sisters’ influence to build a literary reputation of her own and do something that has not already been done, yet readers of the Bronte sisters will certainly recognize that all of the three have a lot to share in the artistic creation. Readers of The Tenant who are familiar with Jane Eyre cannot fail to recognize that both Helen and Jane, the two female protagonists bear a lot of resemblance
The reading by Barbara Creed titled “Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection”, is an in-depth examination on the role of women in horror films. Creed challenges the commanding patriarchal view, which frequently puts the woman in the position of the helpless victim. She argues that when the feminine is constructed as monstrous, it is frequently done in conjunction with its mothering role and function. Creed’s main thesis supports that the prototype of all cinematic definitions of
contemporary trend of open plan kitchens reverses this abjection, placing the kitchen at the center of the home around which familial and social activity is structured. However this reversal has also replaced the previous abjection with a new form of anxiety, that of always being watched/available and the need of the domestic laborer to always be watching, surveying and managing the operations of the domestic interior landscape. Trading abjection for accessibility thus in the case of the kitchen also
In social sciences it refers to human behaviour that deviates from the accepted modes of social behaviour. The International Consortium of Mental Health Policy and Services has described society’s pathological phenomena as “Substance abuse, violence, abuses of women and children, crime, terrorism, corruption, criminality, discrimination, isolation, stigmatisation and human rights violations”. All these lead to a flood of social, economic and psychological problems that are detrimental to the society’s
associated with the traditional demonic possession yet, the nature of the monstrous female remains. Creed explains possession and abjection by stating, “Possession becomes the excuse for legitimizing a display of aberrant feminine behavior which is depicted as depraved, monstrous, abject - Number firstly appealing.” She also explains how horror films demonstrate abjection through the women body weather it is whole of dismembered and how the body secrets disgusting bodily fluids such as blood, vomit
Kitchen, and Outside Over There The three titles of Maurice Sendak’s famous picture book trilogy, Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, and Outside Over There, name what Judith Butler calls “zones of uninhabitability,” places of abjection that form the borders of the self as both its constitutive outside and its intimate interior. These are dangerous places in the geography of childhood, places where the child’s very life and sense of self is threatened. More frightening still, they
sexually powerful women. During the kill-or-be-killed game that they are thrust into, several students in Mitsuko’s class explicitly state that they do not trust her. Although they do not state their basis of distrust, Takami implies that their abjection of Mitsuko stems from her reputation as a promiscuous girl. When Mitsuko uses her sexuality to lure and kill male classmates, readers
behold with rapt attention. It is their theorization of monstrosity that allows for the continuation of both insides and outsides in a way more immediate than their encapsulation of such a movement considers. Dorrian takes Uebel’s general form of abjection seriously as a description of aberrations of the body, the human body it even seems. “As a starting point we will assume the conventional understanding of the monster as a being whose existence runs against, or is contrary to, nature - with the
Identity and subjectivity According to Butler, the body is of valid existence (or not) when it is compared or measured to that of which is considered the normative ways (which is the given ideologies by that of the elite in power) of living within a society. Bodies portray different meanings and ideas (by placing themselves into categories such as religion, education and cultures) of the individual based on the environments influences in an attempt to try and make the body more visible (in a sense
In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Faulkner portrays the death of Addie Bundren and her family's quest to honor her dying wish to bury her in the town of Jefferson. Faulkner utilizes humor in the novel to lighten the mood of death and as an act of transgression against the orthodox Christian views of death as it relates to good souls dying and becoming angels. Addie Bundren’s son, Vardaman, relates to the orthodox Christian views of death, and the synonymous use of humor with these views ultimately
It is rather that the counterpart to white experiences and observations have not been taken into consideration. Claiborne continues by elaborating that “[…] black women, after centuries of alienation and abjection, are still only convenient dark bodies through which others – read here as white, male and powerful – come to know themselves” (29). This is a concrete classification of status and power explained. Black women are always abject and alienated by those
Harris defines surrealism as an "avant-garde movement established in the early 1920s by the French writer Andre Breton". He also states that Breton's definition of surrealism was "pure psychic automatism, by which it is intended to express verbally, in writing or in any other way, the true process of thought. It is the dictation of thought, free from the exercise of reason, and every aesthetic or moral preoccupation." He continues to explain that surrealism is "the name mainly for a group of painters
Characters in both The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and Puberty Blues act as gender stereotypes, but sometimes they do not match to the gender stereotypes. In The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, a female character, Olive, shows women stereotypes, such as being emotional, childishness, and waiting for a man who she loves. On the other hand, a man character, Roo, represents manhood, for instance, being a cane-cutter and Lawler shows Roo fighting with Barney (72-75). In Puberty Blues, stereotypes
A plethora of societal values are reflected within texts to compel audiences to develop didactic concerns for an empathetic perception. Sherman Alexie’s poignant first person narration, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” (2007) highlights the adversities in the ever prevailing issue of class and money, racial discrimination, war with alcoholism that exist within the universal concerns resonating in modern context. The cumbersome & elongated title of this poignant novel mirrors the
In Magistrale’s “Terror Theories” we see how abjection affects society. Abjection is when our natural understanding of roles, rules, and borders is threatened. Theoretically Amy should be a submissive, delicate, loving, and dependent wife. Even since 2014 I feel as if society has steered away from that. Overtime I feel like these gender roles are changing for the better. Earlier I had spoken in regards to gender performativity and now we are on abjection and I feel as if they go hand in hand because
Within the Chapman’s portfolio violence, abjection and fetishism combine to form an aesthetic immersed in taboo. Their abrasive imagery is deviously employed as a constructive means to overwhelm the viewer’s emotions while provoking a sense of shared existence. In spotlighting the communal fascination with grotesque subject matter, a deeper inspection of the mind occurs, thus showing an intuitive take on transgression. A deviant act, however small it may be, entices an individual to step outside