This thesis examines representations of the intimate as experienced by female protagonists, through expressions related to the heart, the soul and the body, in a comparative study of novels by French women writers from the 19th century and the present day. The corpus consists of seven novels : Ourika by Claire de Duras (1822), Lélia by George Sand (1833 & 1839), Monsieur Vénus. Roman matérialiste by Rachilde (1884), Femme nue, femme noire by Calixthe Beyala (2003), Vous parler d’elle by Claire Castillon (2004), Le Cœur cousu by Carole Martinez (2007), and Mon cœur à l’étroit by Marie NDiaye (2007). As a starting point, the thesis provides an extensive literature survey of existing research on the intimate as well as an introduction of the feminist and psychanalytic approaches underpinning the subsequent analyses, which are conducted in two parts, according to the personal and relational dimensions of the intimate. The theories of Beauvoir, Kristeva and Lacan offer perspectives on the intimate experience of women characters which is conveyed in literary imagery as the desire of the Other, and which is oppressed in a patriarchal symbolic order, although an aesthetic with specific narrative techniques related to women’s experience of the intimate is identified in most of the novels. These features include blurring and fragmentation of spatiotemporality, a marked intricacy of narrative voice, proximate first-person narrators, and the development of themes such as the writing of the body, sensed as a container. A discrepancy is noticed between the dominating androcentric posture of the heroines which is found in underlying discourse, and the sensorial dimension of their experience. This leads to a sublimation of body and sexuality in the romantic novels, a masochistic exaltation of the body and pain in the decadent novel and a psychotic and paranoid state in the novels from present day literature. The themes of female sacrifice and of death and denial of the body are very strong throughout the corpus. Relationships within the family are explored, including the mother-daughter relationships that are emphasised in the recent novels but not in those from the 19th century. Family structure, Christian culture and patriarchal, hierarchical social organisation are analysed as grounds for women’s alienation in the novels. The issue of perversion, which is striking in the novels on several different levels, is described as a transgression which involves the reader.

Thesis (MA (English))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts at the University of Stellenbosch / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since 1995, three female authors have published novels narrating the events of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita from Lolita’s point of view. What is it about the character Lolita that prompts writers to rework Nabokov’s text? In an attempt to answer this question this thesis explores reader-responses to Lolita. The grand narrative of girlhood is illuminated, and it emerges that, influenced by the discourse of Romanticism, girls’ subjectivity in the Western world is governed by an ‘innocent-or-corrupt’ dichotomy. As a result, Lolita, who seduces her stepfather, Humbert Humbert, has been vilified by readers through the decades, so that very little further critical attention has been given to her representation in the text. However, in recent years rising concern over the representation of girls has seen renewed interest in Lolita from feminist quarters, with Lolita’s non-representation being critics’ main concern. These derivative novels work towards compiling a body of feminist criticism on Lolita. A secondary function of the derivatives is the restructuring of the grand narrative of girlhood: in other words, the erasure of the ‘innocent-or-corrupt’ dichotomy in favour of a wide range of conceivable subjectivities. This is necessary because the sexualised images of girls in the media are in danger of representing girl-children as one-dimensional sexual objects. Both feminist critics and critical theorists are calling for a new form of resistance to these hegemonic media forms, so that a collaboration between the two fields seems useful. This thesis argues that the existence of the derivative novels point to the emergence of a new form of feminist resistance to the oppressive representations of advancing technological society. Consequently, the thesis performs a reading of Lolita and three derivative novels to ascertain how the girl-child is represented. Issues of interest include the Romantic discourse of childhood, the representational practices of advancing technological society, and girls’ agency. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness of each derivative novel in terms of their contributions to both the Lolita-discourse and the feminist endeavour to restructure the grand narrative of girlhood. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Drie vroueskrywers het sedert 1995 romans gepubliseer wat die gebeure van Vladimir Nabokov se roman Lolita uit Lolita se oogpunt oorvertel. Wat is dit omtrent die karakter Lolita wat skrywers aanspoor om Nabokov se teks te hersien? In ‘n poging om hierdie vraag te beantwoord verken hierdie tesis leser-reaksies op Lolita. Die meesternarratief oor jongmeisieskap word blootgelê en dit kom na vore dat meisies se subjektiwiteit in die Westerse wêreld, onder die invloed van die Romantiese diskoers, regeer word deur die digotomie van ‘onskuldig-of-korrup’. Gevolglik is Lolita, wat haar stiefpa, Humbert Humbert, verlei, oor die dekades heen deur lesers sleggemaak, sodat baie min kritiese aandag verder aan haar gewy is. Toenemende kommer onder feministe rondom die uitbeelding van meisies het egter in die afgelope klompie jare tot hernieude belangstelling in Lolita gelei, met die gebrek aan aandag aan Lolita se uitbeelding as hoofbekommernis. Die Lolita-verwerkings dra by tot die saamstel van ‘n versameling van feministiese kritiek oor Nabokov se teks. Die sekondêre funksie van die verwerkings is die herstrukturering van die meesternarratief aangaande jongmeisieskap: met ander woorde, die uitwissing van die onskuldig-ofkorrup digotomie ten gunste van ‘n wye reeks denkbare subjektiwiteite. Dít is nodig omdat die geseksualiseerde beelde van meisies wat in die media voorkom, die gevaar loop om meisies as een-dimensionele seksobjekte uit te beeld. Beide feministe en kritiese teoretici beywer hul vir ‘n nuwe vorm van teenstand teen hierdie verdrukkende uitbeeldings, so samewerking tussen die twee is nuttig. Hierdie tesis doen dit aan die hand dat die bestaan van Lolita-verkwerkings bewys is van die ontluiking van ‘n nuwe vorm van feministiese teenstand teen die verdrukkende uitbeeldings van die vooruitgaande tegnologiese samelewing. Gevolglik analiseer hierdie tesis Lolita en drie verwerkings om vas te stel hoe die meisiekind uitgebeeld word. Sake van belang sluit die Romantiese diskoers van kindwees, die uitbeeldingspraktyke van die toenemend tegnologiese samelewing, en meisies as agente in. Uiteindlik word gevolgtrekkings gemaak oor die effektiwiteit van elke roman ten opsigte van hul bydraes tot beide die Lolita-diskoers en die feministiese poging om die meesternarratief aangaande jongmeisieskap te herstruktureer.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Seeking to navigate and explore diasporic identity, as reflected in and by transatlantic narrative spaces, this thesis looks to three very different novels birthed out of the Atlantic context (at different points of the Atlantic triangle and at different moments in history): Our Sister Killjoy or Reflections from a Black-eyed Squint (1977) by Ama Ata Aidoo, The Chosen Place, The Timeless People (1969) by Paule Marshall and Crossing the River (1993) by Caryl Phillips. Recognising the weight of location – cultural, geographic, temporal – on the literary construction of transatlantic identity, this thesis traces the way in which Aidoo, Marshall and Phillips use fictional texts as tools for grappling with ideas of home and belonging in a world of displacement, fracture and (ex)change. Uncovering the impact of roots, as well as routes (rupta via) on the realisation of identity for the diasporic subject, this study reveals and wrestles with various narrative portrayals of the diasporic condition (a profoundly human condition). Our Sister Killjoy presents identity as inherently imbricated with nationalism and pan-Africanism, whereas The Chosen Place presents identity as tidalectic, caught in the interstices between western and African subjectivities. In Crossing the River on the other hand, diasporic identification is constructed as transnational, fractal and perpetually in-process. This study argues that in the absence of an established sense of terra firma the respective authors actively construct home through narrative, resulting in what Erica L. Johnson has described as terragraphica. In this way, each novel is perceived and explored as a particular terragraphica as well as a fictional lieux de mémoire (to borrow Pierre Nora’s conception of “sites of memory”). Using the memories of transatlantic characters as (broken) windows through which to view history, as well as filters through which the present can be understood (or refracted), are techniques that Aidoo, Marshall and Phillips employ (although, Aidoo’s use of memory is less obvious). Tapping into various sites of memory in the lives of the fictional characters, the novels themselves become mediums of remembering, not as a means of storing facts about the past, but for the ambivalent purpose of understanding the impact of the past on the present. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In ’n poging om diasporiese identiteit te karteer en te ondersoek, betrek hierdie verhandeling drie uiteenlopende romans wat in die Atlantiese konteks, naamlik vanuit die verskillende hoeke van die Atlantiese driehoek en verskillende geskiedkundige Atlantiese momente, ontstaan het. Die drie romans sluit in: Our Sister Killjoy or Reflections from a Black-eyed Squint (1977) deur Ama Ata Aidoo, The Chosen Place, The Timeless People (1969) deur Paule Marshall en Crossing the River (1993) deur Caryl Phillips. Deur die belangrikheid van plek – kultureel, geografies en temporeel – in die literêre konstruksie van transatlantiese identiteit, te beklemtoon, spoor hierdie verhandeling die manier waarop Aidoo, Marshall en Phillips fiktiewe tekste aanwend na om sin te maak van idees oor tuiste en geborgenheid in ’n wêreld van verdringing, skeuring en (ver)wisseling. Deur die impak van die oorsprong op, asook die weg (rupta via) na, die verwesenliking van identiteit vir die diasporiese subjek te toon, onthul en worstel hierdie tesis met verskeie narratiewe uitbeeldings van die diasporiese toestand (’n toestand eie aan die mens). Our Sister Killjoy stel identiteit as inherent vermeng met nasionalisme en pan-Afrikanisme voor, terwyl The Chosen Place identiteit as tidalekties uitbeeld – vasgevang tussen westerse en Afrika-subjektiwiteite. In Crossing the River word diasporiese identifisering egter gekonstrueer as transnasionaal, fraktaal en ewigdurend in ’n proses van ontwikkeling. Hierdie studie voer verder aan dat die onderskeie skrywers tuiste aktief deur narratief konstrueer in die afwesigheid van ’n gevestigde bewustheid van terra firma, of onbekende land of plek. Die gevolg is ’n voortvloeiing van wat deur Erica L. Johnson beskryf word as terragraphica. Vervolgens word elk van die romans gesien en verken as ’n spesifieke terragraphica asook ’n fiktiewe lieux de mémoire, gegrond in Pierre Nora se konsep “sites of memory”. Die benutting van transatlantiese karakters se herhinneringe as (gebreekte) vensters waardeur die geskiedenis bespeur kan word en filters waardeur die hede verstaan (of gerefrakteer) kan word, is die tegnieke wat Aidoo, Marshall en Phillips aanwend – alhoewel Aidoo se gebruik van geheue minder ooglopend is. Deur verskeie terreine van geheue in die lewens van die fiktiewe karakters te betrek, ontwikkel die romans tot mediums van onthou, nie in die sin van feite van die verlede wat gestoor word nie, maar met die dubbelsinnige doel om die impak van die verlede op die hede te verstaan.

L’objectif de cette étude est d’analyser l’inetto contemporain dans le roman italien, à savoir un personnage inapte, aboulique et velléitaire dont l’existence s’entremêle à la littérature italienne depuis désormais plus de cent ans. Notre hypothèse est que le sentiment de mal-être qui l’accompagne peut être lu comme une contestation de la société. Nous nous concentrons sur les dernières vingt années du XXe siècle qui voient une réactualisation de ce personnage né à la fin du XIXe siècle. La première partie trace une possible généalogie du personnage. C’est un détour nécessaire, l’inetto étant un personnage peu étudié et sa définition fluctuante. Partant du sentiment de crise qui affecte la littérature européenne au tournant du siècle, on esquisse un portrait du personnage inapte pour lequel l’œuvre de Svevo s’avère être déterminante. Par la suite, lors de la deuxième partie, nous nous focalisons sur les inetti des années quatre-vingt. Après un chapitre de mise en contexte, nous analysons : Vita standard di un venditore provvisorio di collant (Busi), Diario di un millennio che fugge (Lodoli), Per dove parte questo treno allegro (Veronesi), Casa di nessuno et Gli sguardi cattivi della gente (Piersanti). La troisième partie se focalise sur la décennie suivante ; après avoir tracé le panorama de l’Italie de l’époque, nous analysons quatre romans : Tutti giù per terra, (Culicchia) Eccesso di zelo et Denti (Starnone) et Di questa vita menzognera (Montesano).Cette recherche démontre la charge contestataire qui se cache en ce personnage dont l’incapacité et le déphasage dévoilent les incongruences et les hypocrisies de la société. En particulier l’inetto – qui est toujours un personnage masculin – s’avère être porteur d’un type de masculinité alternative à celle hégémonique. / This dissertation investigates the abulic, and weak character of the contemporary inetto, with the aim of showing how this figure’s feeling of unease and disquiet can be read as protest directed at modern-day society. The analysis focuses on novels published in the last two decades of the 20th century, the period in which the figure of inetto becomes a significant presence.The first part of this study reconstructs a possible genealogy of the character. The point of departure here is the general feeling of crisis, which permeated European Literature at the turn of the 20th century. With this broader literary context in mind and highlighting the decisive role of Svevo’s oeuvre, this part of the study delineates the traits of the character of inetto. The second part of the study is devoted to the inetti represented in the novels written in the 1980s. This part is composed of an introductory chapter providing contextualisation for the five novels analysed: Vita standard di un venditore provvisorio di collant (Busi), Diario di un millennio che fugge (Lodoli), Per dove parte questo treno allegro (Veronesi), Casa di nessuno et Gli sguardi cattivi della gente (Piersanti). The third part of the study starts with the depiction of Italian society in the 1990s, followed by the analysis of four selected novels: Tutti giù per terra, (Culicchia) Eccesso di zelo and Denti (Starnone) et Di questa vita menzognera (Montesano).The investigation shows how the presence of inetto can be read in the light of this character’s potential to counter hegemonic social models in an attempt to disclose the hypocritical and contradictory nature of contemporary society. More specifically, in this reading of inetto, this traditionally exclusively male character can be said to embody a new alternative mode of masculinity. / L’obiettivo della tesi è analizzare l’inetto contemporaneo, cioè un personaggio abulico, velleitario e debole. La nostra ipotesi è che il sentimento di malessere che lo accompagna possa essere letto come una contestazione della società a lui contemporanea. Ci concentreremo sugli ultimi vent’anni del Novecento, che presentano una ritualizzazione significativa di questo personaggio nato alla fine dell’Ottocento. La prima parte traccia una possibile genealogia del personaggio. Si tratta di un momento necessario visto che l’inetto è un personaggio poco studiato e difficile da definire, le cui caratteristiche non mettono d’accordo tutti. Partendo dal sentimento di crisi che caratterizza la letteratura europea tra Otto e Novecento, delineeremo un possibile ritratto dell’inetto, per il quale l’opera di Svevo sarà determinante.In seguito, nella seconda parte, ci focalizzeremo sugli inetti degli anni Ottanta. Dopo un capitolo di contestualizzazione, analizzeremo: Vita standard di un venditore provvisorio di collant (Busi), Diario di un millennio che fugge (Lodoli), Per dove parte questo treno allegro (Veronesi), Casa di nessuno et Gli sguardi cattivi della gente (Piersanti). La terza parte si concentra sul decennio seguente: dopo aver tracciato un panorama dell’Italia dell’epoca, analizzeremo quattro romanzi: Tutti giù per terra, (Culicchia) Eccesso di zelo et Denti (Starnone) et Di questa vita menzognera (Montesano).La nostra ricerca dimostra la capacità di contestazione che si nasconde nella scelta di un personaggio inetto, la cui sfasatura rispetto ai modelli considerati vincenti svela le ipocrisie e le incongruenze della società stessa. In particolare l’inetto – che è sempre un personaggio maschile – si fa portatore di un tipo di mascolinità alternativa a quella egemonica.

Twentieth century American fiction assimilates archetypes of traditional mythologies, in particular the hero archetype, to create a contemporary mythology which relays social issues relevant to its age. This is first approached by creating a theoretical framework, which primarily consists of both Jungian theories of the collective unconscious and the model on which Joseph Campbell based his conception of the archetype in what is known as myth criticism. The theoretical framework also introduces and describes the graphic novel and its use of characterisation distinctive to post-modern fiction. The Sandman, which is the subject of this study, is then contextualised against the backdrop of the evolution of the American comic book, with its influence of folklore, mythology and visual presentation. Through an overview and analysis of The Sandman series as a whole, as well as a reading of its pivotal narrative, The Kindly Ones, this thesis explores the way in which The Sandman fulfils its purpose of integrating an archetypal hero into contemporary mythology. This is achieved by validating claims proposing the existence of a contemporary mythology through an analysis of Morpheus, The Sandman's protagonist and his unique heroic journey. The conclusion reached is that The Sandman indeed represents a contemporary mythology that contains a new form of social commentary, incorporating archetypes from traditional mythology and re-evaluating the role of the hero in this day and age. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M. A. (Theory of Literature)

This research report explores the link between the novels of Ingrid Winterbach / Lettie Viljoen, a third culture and the neo-Victorian novel. The study is therefore situated within the cultural-philosophical framework of a third culture, which implies that the two cultures of science and literature do not function as separate disciplines, but as an organic unit. Researchers in the interdiscipline of literature and science identify the Age of Science (1879–1914) – including the Victorian era (1837–1901) – as a historical period where the existence of such a third culture was observed. This period was characterised by numerous scientific discoveries, and Darwin’s theory of evolution generated heated debates in Victorian society. Nineteenth-century literature (and specifically the Victorian novel) therefore reflects the spirit of an age where the interaction between science and literature was particularly evident. In our information-driven society, the focus is once again on scientific discovery and dissemination of knowledge, prompting social critics to typify the current period as “neo-” or “retro-Victorian”. The contemporary imagination still problematises Darwin’s theory of evolution, and fiction such as Winterbach’s therefore not only renegotiates the fixed modernistic boundaries between science and literature, but also revisits the nineteenth- century genres simptomatic of a similar third culture. Winterbach’s novels (1984–2006) display a distinctive predisposition towards natural history and Darwinistic principles and are therefore postmodern adaptations of nineteenth-century conventions. Darwinistic concepts such as growth, metamorphosis,transformation, evolution and the origin, naming and extinction of species are therefore accentuated. Winterbach’s fictionalisation of a nineteenth-century worldview can be linked to the work of her ancestors in the Afrikaans literary tradition, Eugène Marais and C. Louis Leipoldt (both amateur scientists). Her popularisation of scientific knowledge and revisitation of Victorian codes also link her to a neo-Victorian novelistic movement (a contemporary permutation of the Victorian tradition). Her oeuvre therefore also displays similarities to that of her British contemporary, A.S. Byatt, a prominent neo-Victorian novelist. An exploration of the natural world in this tradition, however, also implies an exploration of supernatural spheres, a trend which is equally evident in texts by congeners such as (George) Eliot, Marais, Leipoldt, Winterbach and Byatt. / Afrikaans / D.Litt. et Phil. (Afrikaans and Theory of Literature)

The aim of this study is to explore the importance of love in its various manifestations in the lives of the Harry Potter characters and its power to consequently influence the paths that they eventually choose to walk. Love is investigated as the reason behind the choice between good and evil as well as paradoxically both a fortifying as well as a destructive force. Furthermore, it attempts to examine the importance that love plays in the healthy or dysfunctional development of the characters. Numerous philosophies and theories that span two different eras will form the theoretical framework of this research paper. There will be a constant interplay between the theories and the main text, that is, the seven Harry Potter books that together represent the Harry Potter series. Additionally, the author‟s opinion acquired from invaluable fan interviews will be utilized in order to improve the understanding of the characters motivations. The introduction is a brief explanation of key terms and theories that are essential to the exploration of love in the Harry Potter series. The study comprises five chapters. The first three chapters are concerned with the three main manifestations of love represented in the series, namely; parental love, friendship and romance respectively. Chapter Four focuses on the adaptation of the novels into movies and the subsequent result that this has on the depiction of love. Chapter Five highlights the finding of the study conducted. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

The thesis of this study revolves around the validity of Tshivenda literature as an authorative commentary on Mission Work in Venda. The value of literary works by selected Tshivenda writers is explored on three important directions: (a) as a source of information on the Vhavenda world-view which is an important aspect in the Vhavenda's understanding of the Missionary message; (b) as a source of challenge to missiology, and (c) as a source of basis for an in-depth contextual missiology. The well-meaning contributions of the German Missionaries is appreciated. Their influence through the spreading of Lutheranism and also in the birth of Tshivenda literature is clearly recognized. My task has not only been to see these positive contributions, but also to problematise and explore both the missionary instrumentality and the local responses that are reflected in the Tshivenda literature. Our first four chapters introduce the thesis, they cover political history of the Vhavenda which is fundamental in our understanding of their world-view and the early missionary works in Venda. Selected Tshivenda novels become the object of inquiry in the fifth chapter. The novels help us in our evaluation of Missionary Christianity. A wide variety of issues are contained in these novels which are significant in Mission work. The sixth chapter concentrates on selected Tshivenda short stories. In two of these short stories the issue of racism is highlighted. The seventh chapter looks into a few Tshivenda Poems. In two of these poems the Missionary-rejected name for God, Nwali, is heavily used. The last chapter contains the essential commentary of indigenous Tshivenda literature on Missionary Christianity as well as the implications for both global and local Missiology. / Missiology. / M.(Theology)

Orientador: Karin Volobuef / Banca: Paulo Cesar Cedran / Banca: Fábio Luís Chiqueto Barbosa / Banca: Camila da Silva Alavarce Campos / Banca: Claudia Fernanda de Campos Mauro / Resumo: Em "A construção do romance moderno de adolescência em Raul Pompéia e em Robert Musil - em busca de uma visão didática" - foram elencadas duas obras literárias que são o objeto da pesquisa. São dois romances, um do escritor austríaco Robert Musil (1880-1942), O Jovem Törless (1906) e o outro do escritor brasileiro Raul Pompéia (1863-1895) O Ateneu (1888). Os dois romances tematizam a vida de adolescente dos dois protagonistas - Sérgio de O Ateneu e Törless de O Jovem Törless - em colégio interno masculino e a luta interior de cada um deles diante dos fatos biológicos, psicológicos e sociais em que se sentem envolvidos. No entanto, há algo de diferente além das semelhanças entre esses dois romances. Dessa percepção surgiu a idéia de um estudo comparativo entre as duas obras. Um aspecto importante foi constatar que os dois pré-adolescentes seguirão seus destinos como o de todos os meninos de bom nível sócio-econômico da Europa e do Brasil da época. Cada um deles irá frequentar colégios de renome em sua sociedade, os preferidos pelos pais abastados e esclarecidos, em regime de internato, e suas trajetórias, que podem ser vistas como aparentemente paralelas, irão desembocar em situações sociais, culturais e artísticas distintas. Os dois livros foram publicados, um pouco antes (O Ateneu) - e um pouco depois (O Jovem Törless), do surgimento da psicanálise, o que nos leva a considerações sobre a importância de Freud para essa passagem do século XIX para o século XX. Diante das características presentes nos dois romances foi proposta uma pesquisa que abordou a problemática da adolescência não apenas no seu aspecto temático, mas, principalmente, no da construção literária dos romances que a exploram. Trata-se da compreensão de como a adolescência é representada nesses romances e como tais representações se inserem em seus respectivos ...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In "The construction of the modern novel of adolescence in Raul Pompéia and in Robert Musil - in search of a didactic vision", two literary works were included that are the object of this research. These are two novels, one by Austrian writer Robert Musil (1880-1942), Young Törless (1906), and the other by Brazilian writer Raul Pompéia (1863-1895), The Athenian (O Ateneu) (1888). The two novels thematize the adolescent life of the two characters - Sérgio, in The Athenian, and Törless, in Young Törless - in a boarding school for boys, and their inner struggles to face the biological, psychological and social facts in which they feel involved. However, besides the similarities between these two novels, there is something different. This perception led to the idea of a comparative study of the two works. An important aspect was the finding that these two preadolescents will follow their destinies like those of all boys of a good socioeconomic level in Europe and Brazil in those times. Each of them will attend well known boarding schools in their society, chosen by their wealthy and well educated parents, but their trajectories, which can be seen as apparently parallel, will lead them into distinct social, cultural and artistic situations. The Athenian was published shortly before and Young Törless shortly after the emergence of psychoanalysis, which leads us to considerations about the importance of Freud in this passage from the 19th to the 20th century. In view of the characteristics of these two novels, a research was proposed to examine the problem of adolescence not only in its thematic aspect, but principally in the literary construction of the novels that explore the subject. This research seeks to understand how adolescence is represented in these novels, and how these representations are inserted within their particular cultural, social and historical contexts, ...(Complete abstract click electronic address below) / Doutor

Récusant à la fois les déterminismes naturels et les représentations d’un ordre politique ou moral, l’œuvre de Gary est marquée par une aspiration au dépassement des limites et par une posture de résistance. Face à la haine ou à la barbarie, elle défend les vertus de la dérision et le pouvoir de l’imaginaire et s’engage dans une double démarche de mise à distance et de réenchantement du monde. Nourrie par le traumatisme de la seconde Guerre Mondiale, elle soutient l’idée que l’humain est à réinventer, qu’il n’est pas une donnée préalable mais un fiction à construire, un idéal à atteindre. Artistes et créateurs se doivent donc de contribuer à l’invention d’une nouvelle mythologie de l’homme qui vienne réaffirmer un principe inaliénable de dignité et qui instille dans l’esprit de chacun la force de ne pas désespérer. Mais l’humanisme n’est pas seulement une valeur abstraite ou un horizon à conquérir : il met aussi en question une façon d’être au monde dans le présent. Il s’agit de se prémunir de ce que la réalité peut avoir d’envahissant et de dogmatique en privilégiant des « marges » où l’humain se trouve reconnu dans ses paradoxes et sa fragilité. Loin de l’idéalisme prophétique, ces refuges deviennent un espace propice à l’expression de l’intime et permettent à la fois de se dérober au regard de l’autre et d’échapper à l’injonction des discours de vérité. Façonnés autour des valeurs de l’affectif, ils incitent chacun à se rendre sensible à l’humanité latente du monde. Ils viennent rappeler que, face aux certitudes inflexibles et au principe aliénant de transparence, l’approximation et le mystère ouvrent des espaces de liberté et conditionnent bien souvent la possibilité d’être heureux. / Challenging both apparent determinism and political or moral representations, Gary's work is defined by its predilection for off limit situations and contentious attitudes. Confronted with hatred or barbarism, it will always stand for irony and the power of creativity, involved both in the process of getting detached as well as enrapturing the world anew. Fed on the World War II trauma, it sustains the concept of humanness needing reinvention, not being a set notion but a fiction to be built, an ideal to achieve. Artists and creators owe their contribution to such foundation of a new human mythology upholding the unalienable principle of dignity, thus implanting everyone's spirit with the strength to resist despair. However, humanism cannot be seen just as an abstracted value or some shore to reach, it also implies the actual manner of living in the world. One has to keep clear from whatever overwhelming dogmas reality can impose, by favoring “margins” that will accept human contradictions and frailty. Away from any prophetic idealism, these dedicated spaces become shelters for intimate expression, allowing one to avoid onlookers and escape compelling truth assessments. Shaped around affective values, they bring one to become sensitive to a potential world humanity. Against rigid certitudes and the alienating principle of transparency, they help remember that approximation and mystery can give access to freedom and oftentimes condition the possibility of happiness.