scholarly journals The Future as a Scenario of Hospitality in Ali Smith’s There But For The

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-47
Author(s):  
ANDREI BOGDAN POPA

Abstract The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate how Ali Smith’s novel There But For The (2011) foregrounds a temporality in which the scenario of hospitality is encoded into the characters’ perception of the future, while the welcoming scenarios in which they engage are themselves marked by the awareness of futurity. To this end, I rework Levinas’s equation of the future as the Other, as well as Derrida’s notions of conditional and unconditional hospitality, of the future as the expected/unexpected event, and of “choratic space.” The subsequent analysis of the novel proves how these notions are thematized both through the characters’ inner and intersubjective discourse, and via the authorial construction of imagery and the deictics of the spaces they inhabit. As such, the characters’ conversations bear the marks of an uncertain causality springing from the welcoming scenario; attitudes towards futurity are faced with the disquieting awareness of the conflict between the expected and the unexpected event; while the choratic space acts as the possibility of an ethical reaction to the strangers’ singularity, through a linguistic reorientation which employs the contingency of the linguistic sign as a site for hospitality.

2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 494-530
Author(s):  
Cara Weber

Victorian writers often focus questions of ethics through scenes of sympathetic encounters that have been conceptualized, both by Victorian thinkers and by their recent critics, as a theater of identification in which an onlooking spectator identifies with a sufferer. George Eliot's Middlemarch (1871–72) critiques this paradigm, revealing its negation of otherness and its corresponding fixation of the self as an identity, and offers an alternative conception of relationship that foregrounds the presence and distinctness of the other and the open-endedness of relationship. The novel develops its critique through an analysis of women's experience of courtship and marriage, insisting upon the appropriateness ofmarriage as a site for the investigation of contemporary ethical questions. In her depiction of Rosamond, Eliot explores the identity-based paradigm of the spectacle of others, and shows how its conception of selfhood leaves the other isolated, precluding relationship. Rosamond's trajectory in the novel enacts the identity paradigm's relation to skeptical anxieties about self-knowledge and knowledge of others, and reveals such anxieties to occur with particular insistence around images of femininity. By contrast, Dorothea's development in ethical self-awareness presents an alternative to Rosamond's participation in the identity paradigm. In Dorothea's experience the self emerges as a process, an ongoing practice of expression. The focus on expression in the sympathetic or conflictual encounter, rather than on identity, enables the overcoming of the identity paradigm's denial of otherness, and grounds a productive sympathy capable of informing ethical action.


Author(s):  
Fernando Angel Moreno Serrano

Un análisis sobre La bomba increíble, de Pedro Salinas, es interesante porque nos permite disfrutarla desde diferentes líneas. En primer lugar, no ha sido estudiada como el resto de sus textos literarios, aunque los valores de esta pequeña obra maestra merezcan una especial atención que no ha tenido. Por otra parte, es uno de los extraños casos de novela de ciencia ficción escrita por un autor canónico español. Por último, es sorprendente cómo el poeta mostró todas sus obsesiones, miedos y visiones poéticas con una novela con el futuro como tema. Un análisis de los mecanismos de construcción empleados por Salinas –especialmente ficcionales, pero también lingüísticos y simbólicos– nos permitirá entender y, por consiguiente, disfrutar mejor la novela, así como ponerla en el lugar que le corresponde.An analysis about Pedro Salinas’ La bomba increíble: una fabulación is interesting because we can enjoy it from different points of view. In the first place, it has not been studied as the rest of his literary texts, although the values of this little masterpiece deserve a special attention that has not taken place. On the other hand, it is a strange case of the science fiction novels in Spanish literature written by a Spanish canonic author. Finally, it is amazing how the poet showed all his obsessions, fears and poetic visions with a novel with the future as its main subject. An analysis of the mechanisms of construction used by Salinas –specially the fictional ones, but also the linguistic and symbolic ones– will allow us to understand the novel and consequently enjoy it more. Thus we will be able to put it in the place where it should be.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-174
Author(s):  
Benjamin Noys

Abstract Francis Mulhern’s Figures of Catastrophe argues for the existence of a hitherto-unnoticed generic form: the condition of culture novel, which offers a metacultural reflection on the conditions for the existence of culture and for access to culture. Mulhern’s analysis is located within the framework of Marxist reflections on culture, the history of British cultural Marxism, and Mulhern’s own project of the critique and analysis of ‘metaculture’ in Britain. In particular, this review focuses on Mulhern’s contention that the ‘condition of culture novel’ offers a catastrophic or even nihilistic vision of the access to culture by the working class. Mulhern’s argument is that the ‘condition of culture’ novel accompanies the emergence, solidification and collapse of the British culture of ‘labourism’. This review explores the consequences of this argument for the assessment of ‘culture’ and the future of the novel as a site of reflection on the condition of culture.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Valčić Bulić

The success of the novel Suite francaise has again sparked interest for the opus of Irène Némirovsky, an author who wrote during the interwar period and produced around twenty novels and several collections of novellas. The life of Irène Némirovsky (Ирма Ирина Леонидовна Немировская, 1903-1942), a Russian Jew who lived as a stateless immigrant since the Russian Revolution until her tragic death in Auschwitz, has also attracted a lot of public interest. In this paper, our focus is first on the circumstances in which Nemirovska lived and wrote, as they had an essential impact on her fate and the themes that underlie much of her work. After that overview of the work of Irène Némirovsky, the analysis in this paper focuses on the novels in which the themes of exile, nostalgia and lack of belonging  are evident, such as David Golder (David Golder, 1929), Snow in Autumn (Les Mouches d’automne, 1931), The Wine of Solitude (Le Vin de solitude, 1935) and The Dogs and the Wolves (Les Chiens et les Loups, 1940).The theoretical basis for our analysis is found in the study The Future of Nostalgia by Svetlana Boym. In this study, Boym distinguishes between the two main subtypes of nostalgia: restorative and reflective and she identifies their characteristics.  The analysis of the main characters’ actions and feelings in the afore mentioned Nemirovska’s novels show that reflective nostalgia is predominant in them; the characters show contradictory tendencies: on the one hand to fit in and integrate into the society, while on the other they are dominated by anxiety, sorrow and feelings of displacement and lack of belonging.


Author(s):  
Vadim Markovich Rozin

This article is dedicated to rational interpretation of the novel “Cyclonopedia” by the Iranian philosopher and writer Reza Negarestani, which particularly draws attention of the young audience. The author believes that it is impossible to grasp such works without interpretation and reconstruction of their themes and contents. Implementing the claimed approach, the author discusses the crucial topic of openness in the novel and peculiarities of the poetics of “Cyclonopedia”. There are two different understandings of openness described by R. Negarestani: one that is attributed to common forms of sociality, proclaiming freedom and open relationships in one or another way; and “epidemic openness”, which overtakes a person, even against his will, and destroys him. The author analyzes the concept of openness, suggesting that on the one hand, the external can be interpreted as listening to the trends of the “futureculture”, while on the other ‒ as criticism and objectification of concepts that claim to know and predict the future, but in fact cannot go beyond the traditional representations of modernism. Explaining why Negarestani compares openness to food, the author offers to consider the Tibetan archaic ritual “Chod” (severance), going through which the monks offer themselves to be devoured by demons. Based on this, the author formulates an assumption that in the course of creating “Cyclonopedia”, Negarestani was affected by the ancient and mystical concepts, and may even have read Davin-Neel’s research on the Tibetan ritual. The author also suggests that certain other themes of “Cyclonopedia” also need to be reconstructed. The article analyzes the reality of the novel: in addition to discussing the theory-fiction genre, the author believes that the reality of “Cyclonopedia” is attributed to phenomenological, which represents the peculiarities the consciousness of R. Negarestani, rather than the external events.


1998 ◽  
pp. 61-62
Author(s):  
N. S. Jurtueva

In the XIV century. centripetal tendencies began to appear in the Moscow principality. Inside the Russian church, several areas were distinguished. Part of the clergy supported the specificobar form. The other understood the need for transformations in society. As a result, this led to a split in the Russian church in the 15th century for "non-possessors" and "Josephites". The former linked the fate of the future with the ideology of hesychasm and its moral transformation, while the latter sought support in alliance with a strong secular power.


2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-199
Author(s):  
KATHRYN WALLS

According to the ‘Individual Psychology’ of Alfred Adler (1870–1937), Freud's contemporary and rival, everyone seeks superiority. But only those who can adapt their aspirations to meet the needs of others find fulfilment. Children who are rejected or pampered are so desperate for superiority that they fail to develop social feeling, and endanger themselves and society. This article argues that Mahy's realistic novels invite Adlerian interpretation. It examines the character of Hero, the elective mute who is the narrator-protagonist of The Other Side of Silence (1995) , in terms of her experience of rejection. The novel as a whole, it is suggested, stresses the destructiveness of the neurotically driven quest for superiority. Turning to Mahy's supernatural romances, the article considers novels that might seem to resist the Adlerian template. Focusing, in particular, on the young female protagonists of The Haunting (1982) and The Changeover (1984), it points to the ways in which their magical power is utilised for the sake of others. It concludes with the suggestion that the triumph of Mahy's protagonists lies not so much in their generally celebrated ‘empowerment’, as in their transcendence of the goal of superiority for its own sake.


2010 ◽  
Vol 51 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 215-224
Author(s):  
Alexander Carpenter

This paper explores Arnold Schoenberg’s curious ambivalence towards Haydn. Schoenberg recognized Haydn as an important figure in the German serious music tradition, but never closely examined or clearly articulated Haydn’s influence and import on his own musical style and ethos, as he did with many other major composers. This paper argues that Schoenberg failed to explicitly recognize Haydn as a major influence because he saw Haydn as he saw himself, namely as a somewhat ungainly, paradoxical figure, with one foot in the past and one in the future. In his voluminous writings on music, Haydn is mentioned by Schoenberg far less frequently than Bach, Mozart, or Beethoven, and his music appears rarely as examples in Schoenberg’s theoretical texts. When Schoenberg does talk about Haydn’s music, he invokes — with tacit negativity — its accessibility, counterpoising it with more recondite music, such as Beethoven’s, or his own. On the other hand, Schoenberg also praises Haydn for his complex, irregular phrasing and harmonic exploration. Haydn thus appears in Schoenberg’s writings as a figure invested with ambivalence: a key member of the First Viennese triumvirate, but at the same time he is curiously phantasmal, and is accorded a peripheral place in Schoenberg’s version of the canon and his own musical genealogy.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Besin Gaspar

This research deals with the development of  self concept of Hiroko as the main character in Namaku Hiroko by Nh. Dini and tries to identify how Hiroko is portrayed in the story, how she interacts with other characters and whether she is portrayed as a character dominated by ”I” element or  ”Me”  element seen  from sociological and cultural point of view. As a qualitative research in nature, the source of data in this research is the novel Namaku Hiroko (1967) and the data ara analyzed and presented deductively. The result of this analysis shows that in the novel, Hiroko as a fictional character is  portrayed as a girl whose personality  develops and changes drastically from ”Me”  to ”I”. When she was still in the village  l iving with her parents, she was portrayed as a obedient girl who was loyal to the parents, polite and acted in accordance with the social customs. In short, her personality was dominated by ”Me”  self concept. On the other hand, when she moved to the city (Kyoto), she was portrayed as a wild girl  no longer controlled by the social customs. She was  firm and determined totake decisions of  her won  for her future without considering what other people would say about her. She did not want to be treated as object. To put it in another way, her personality is more dominated by the ”I” self concept.


Metahumaniora ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 411
Author(s):  
Abu Bakar Ramadhan Muhamad

AbstrakHegemoni kolonialisme dalam budaya poskolonial merupakan alasan penelitian inikemudian mengkaji wacana kolonial dalam novel Max Havellar (MH) khususnya dampakditimbulkannya. Dampak dimaksud adalah posisi keberpihakan pemikiran tersirat darikarya tersebut. Hasil pembahasan menunjukkan, secara temporal maupun permanen MHmenyuarakan ketidakadilan dalam kondisi-kondisi kolonial menyangkut penindasan sangpenjajah terhadap terjajah. Hanya saja, upaya mengatasnamakan atau mewakili suarakaum terjajah terbukti mengimplikasikan ciri ideologis statis kerangka kolonialisme(orientalisme); yakni cara pandang Eropasentris, di mana “Barat” sebagai self adalah superior,dan “Timur” sebagai other adalah inferior. Dalam konteks poskolonialisme, MH dengan sifatkritisnya yang berupaya “menyuarakan” nasib pribumi terjajah, justru menampilkan stigmapenguatan kolonialitas itu sendiri secara hegemonik. Artinya, “menyuarakan” nasib pribumidimaknai sebagai keberpihankan kolonial yang kontradiktif, di mana stigma penguatankolonialitas justru lebih terasa, ujung-ujungnya melanggengkan hegemoni kolonial. Tidakmembela yang terjajah, tetapi memperhalus cara kerja mesin kolonial.AbstractThe hegemony of colonialism in the culture of postcolonial society is the reason this studythen examines the colonial discourse in the novel Max Havellar (MH) in particular the impactit brings. The impact in question is the implied position of thought in the work. The resultsof the discussion show that, temporarily or permanently, MH voiced injustice in the colonialconditions regarding the oppression of the colonist against the colonized. However, the effort toname or represent the voice of the colonized has proven to imply a static ideological characterin the framework of colonialism (orientalism); ie Eropacentric point of view, in which “West” asself is superior, and “East” as the other is the inferior. In the context of postcolonialism, MH withits critical nature that seeks to “voice” the fate of the colonized natives, actually presents thestigma of strengthening coloniality itself hegemonicly. That is, “voicing” the fate of the pribumiis interpreted as a contradictory colonial flare, where the stigma of strengthening colonialityis more pronounced, which ultimately perpetuates the hegemony of colonialism. No longerdefending the colonized, but refining the workings of the colonial machinery.


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