Thesis (MA (Afrikaans and Dutch))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / In fulfilment of the degree of Magister in Creative Writing: Afrikaans, a novel titled Kielhaal (Keelhaul) is presented in which the main character figures as an abject hero. It is accompanied by a formal essay titled “Die abjekte held in Steppenwolf, Fight Club en A Whistling Woman” (“The abject hero in Steppenwolf, Fight Club and A Whistling Woman”). The essay researches the application of the abject hero in literary texts.

Within the science fiction genre, utopian as well as dystopian experiments have found equal representation. This balanced treatment of two diametrically opposed social constructs results from a focus on the future for which this particular genre is well known. Philip K. Dick’s VALIS, Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, Samuel R. Delany’s Babel-17, and Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby, more aptly characterized as speculative fiction because of its use of magic against scientific social subjugation, each tackle dystopian qualities of contemporary society by analyzing the power that language possesses in the formation of the self and propagation of ideology. The utopian goals of these texts advocate for a return to the modernist metanarrative and a revision of postmodern cynicism because the authors look to the future for hopeful solutions to the social and ideological problems of today. Using Slavoj Žižek’s readings of Jacques Lacan and Theodor Adorno’s readings of Karl Marx for critical insight, I argue these four novels imagine language as the key to personal empowerment and social change. While not all of the novels achieve their utopian goals, they each evince a belief that the attempt belies a return to the modernist metanarrative and a rejection of postmodern helplessness. Thus, each novel imagines the revision of Žižek’s big Other through the remainders of Adorno’s inevitably failed revolutions, injecting hope in a literary period that had long since lost it.

This dissertation explores the reoccurrence of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein within twentieth-century American novels. While the inaccurate 1931 film version by James Whale remains the best known adaptation of Frankenstein, I argue that Willa Cather, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and Chuck Palahniuk return to Shelley’s 1818 novel to critique racist and misogynistic responses to anxieties about gender and racial power in the age of industrial consumer culture. In doing so, I extend existing scholarship on the American Gothic to demonstrate that The Professor’s House, Invisible Man, Beloved, and Fight Club represent a specifically Shelleyan Gothic tradition in twentieth-century American literature. My project draws upon influential feminist and postcolonial readings of Frankenstein and on the theoretical work of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and later critics who have developed her theory to show how the twentieth-century novels echo themes and motifs from Shelley’s novel to critique the destructive effects of male homosociality. Each novel contains a protagonist that resembles Victor Frankenstein and responds to historically specific anxieties about gender, race, and industrial technoscience by creating a doppelgänger who enables participation in a homosocial bond that is initially empowering but proves destructive to women, racial minorities, and eventually the creature and creator figures themselves. My reading reveals unexpected similarities between Cather’s The Professor’s House and Palahniuk’s Fight Club. Cather’s novel appears to glorify Tom Outland as the ideal masculine hero but ultimately reveals him to be a monstrous doppelgänger who acts out the Professor’s oppressive impulses; similarly, Fight Club seems to romanticize the male violence instigated by the doppelgänger figure Tyler Durden but actually echoes Shelley’s critique of male homosociality as monstrous. My reading also reveals previously overlooked similarities between Invisible Man and Beloved, both of which feature a black protagonist who surprisingly resembles Victor Frankenstein by creating a doppelgänger to challenge his or her disempowerment by the structures of white male homosociality but end up emulating the destructive homosocial structures they critique. My dissertation shows how all of these writers share Shelley’s critique yet move beyond it by offering alternatives to the destructive cycle of violence, embodied in each case by a female figure who resists or reclaims the position of the abject other in the homosocial triangle.

Esta é uma tese que salienta a qualidade literária desses dois romances sob a proposta de uma leitura baseada em categorias, desenvolvidas por vários teóricos, como o grotesco, o nojo, a abjeção, o estranho e o sublime. Para atingir este objetivo, levo em conta a crise da beleza e reviso tal conceito segundo a perspectiva de filósofos da Antiga Grécia, a Idade Média, o Iluminismo e século XX. Trata-se de uma proposta de estudo poiético que, a partir do nojento, torna visível a importância do sentido fisionômico na percepção corporal que facilita aos espectadores a experimentação de emoções diante de obras de arte: o “simples” prazer corporal que pode se tornar prazer reflexivo, estético. Com este processo da experiência estética (aisthesis, poiesis, katharsis) através da poiética escatológica, redimensiono o feio nestes romances de Palahniuk e de Noll, na obra de arte, apresentando-o como uma categoria estética que vai além de ser simplesmente o oposto do belo, e se erige como o pináculo de outro cânone. / It is a thesis that highlights the literary quality of the two novels mentioned above. This is to be done through a proposal of reading, based on categories worked by some theoreticians, such as the grotesque, disgust, abjection, the uncanny and the sublime. To achieve this goal, I focus on the crisis of beauty, studying this concept from the perspective of Ancient Greek philosophers, the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment and 20th Century. Furthermore, this deals with a proposal of poetics study that, from the “disgust” perspective, emphasizes the importance of physiognomic sense in the bodily perception, which facilitates spectators to experience emotions about the artwork: the "simple" bodily pleasure becomes “reflective” and “aesthetic” pleasure. Within this process of aesthetic experience (aisthesis, poiesis, katharsis), and through the eschatological poietics, I point out (or address) the ugly of these novels of Palahniuk and Noll, as well as the artwork, presenting it as an aesthetic category that ends to be simply the opposite of beauty and emerges as the pinnacle of another canon. / Es una tesis que resalta la calidad literaria de estas dos novelas, a partir de la propuesta de una lectura basada en categorías, trabajadas por varios teóricos, como lo grotesco, el asco, la abyección, lo siniestro y lo sublime. Para lograr este objetivo, tengo en cuenta la crisis de la belleza y reviso este concepto desde la perspectiva de filósofos de la Antigua Grecia, la Edad Media, la Ilustración y el siglo XX. Se trata de una propuesta de estudio poiético que, a partir de lo asqueroso, destaca la importancia del sentido fisionómico en la percepción corporal que facilita a los espectadores la experimentación de emociones frente a la obra de arte: el “simple” placer corporal que se convierte en placer reflexivo, estético. Con este proceso de experiencia estética (aisthesis, poiesis, katharsis), a través de la poiética escatológica, redimensiono lo feo en estas novelas de Palahniuk y de Noll, en la obra de arte, presentándolo como una categoría estética que deja de ser simplemente lo opuesto a lo bello y se erige como el pináculo de otro canon.

Esta é uma tese que salienta a qualidade literária desses dois romances sob a proposta de uma leitura baseada em categorias, desenvolvidas por vários teóricos, como o grotesco, o nojo, a abjeção, o estranho e o sublime. Para atingir este objetivo, levo em conta a crise da beleza e reviso tal conceito segundo a perspectiva de filósofos da Antiga Grécia, a Idade Média, o Iluminismo e século XX. Trata-se de uma proposta de estudo poiético que, a partir do nojento, torna visível a importância do sentido fisionômico na percepção corporal que facilita aos espectadores a experimentação de emoções diante de obras de arte: o “simples” prazer corporal que pode se tornar prazer reflexivo, estético. Com este processo da experiência estética (aisthesis, poiesis, katharsis) através da poiética escatológica, redimensiono o feio nestes romances de Palahniuk e de Noll, na obra de arte, apresentando-o como uma categoria estética que vai além de ser simplesmente o oposto do belo, e se erige como o pináculo de outro cânone. / It is a thesis that highlights the literary quality of the two novels mentioned above. This is to be done through a proposal of reading, based on categories worked by some theoreticians, such as the grotesque, disgust, abjection, the uncanny and the sublime. To achieve this goal, I focus on the crisis of beauty, studying this concept from the perspective of Ancient Greek philosophers, the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment and 20th Century. Furthermore, this deals with a proposal of poetics study that, from the “disgust” perspective, emphasizes the importance of physiognomic sense in the bodily perception, which facilitates spectators to experience emotions about the artwork: the "simple" bodily pleasure becomes “reflective” and “aesthetic” pleasure. Within this process of aesthetic experience (aisthesis, poiesis, katharsis), and through the eschatological poietics, I point out (or address) the ugly of these novels of Palahniuk and Noll, as well as the artwork, presenting it as an aesthetic category that ends to be simply the opposite of beauty and emerges as the pinnacle of another canon. / Es una tesis que resalta la calidad literaria de estas dos novelas, a partir de la propuesta de una lectura basada en categorías, trabajadas por varios teóricos, como lo grotesco, el asco, la abyección, lo siniestro y lo sublime. Para lograr este objetivo, tengo en cuenta la crisis de la belleza y reviso este concepto desde la perspectiva de filósofos de la Antigua Grecia, la Edad Media, la Ilustración y el siglo XX. Se trata de una propuesta de estudio poiético que, a partir de lo asqueroso, destaca la importancia del sentido fisionómico en la percepción corporal que facilita a los espectadores la experimentación de emociones frente a la obra de arte: el “simple” placer corporal que se convierte en placer reflexivo, estético. Con este proceso de experiencia estética (aisthesis, poiesis, katharsis), a través de la poiética escatológica, redimensiono lo feo en estas novelas de Palahniuk y de Noll, en la obra de arte, presentándolo como una categoría estética que deja de ser simplemente lo opuesto a lo bello y se erige como el pináculo de otro canon.

Esta é uma tese que salienta a qualidade literária desses dois romances sob a proposta de uma leitura baseada em categorias, desenvolvidas por vários teóricos, como o grotesco, o nojo, a abjeção, o estranho e o sublime. Para atingir este objetivo, levo em conta a crise da beleza e reviso tal conceito segundo a perspectiva de filósofos da Antiga Grécia, a Idade Média, o Iluminismo e século XX. Trata-se de uma proposta de estudo poiético que, a partir do nojento, torna visível a importância do sentido fisionômico na percepção corporal que facilita aos espectadores a experimentação de emoções diante de obras de arte: o “simples” prazer corporal que pode se tornar prazer reflexivo, estético. Com este processo da experiência estética (aisthesis, poiesis, katharsis) através da poiética escatológica, redimensiono o feio nestes romances de Palahniuk e de Noll, na obra de arte, apresentando-o como uma categoria estética que vai além de ser simplesmente o oposto do belo, e se erige como o pináculo de outro cânone. / It is a thesis that highlights the literary quality of the two novels mentioned above. This is to be done through a proposal of reading, based on categories worked by some theoreticians, such as the grotesque, disgust, abjection, the uncanny and the sublime. To achieve this goal, I focus on the crisis of beauty, studying this concept from the perspective of Ancient Greek philosophers, the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment and 20th Century. Furthermore, this deals with a proposal of poetics study that, from the “disgust” perspective, emphasizes the importance of physiognomic sense in the bodily perception, which facilitates spectators to experience emotions about the artwork: the "simple" bodily pleasure becomes “reflective” and “aesthetic” pleasure. Within this process of aesthetic experience (aisthesis, poiesis, katharsis), and through the eschatological poietics, I point out (or address) the ugly of these novels of Palahniuk and Noll, as well as the artwork, presenting it as an aesthetic category that ends to be simply the opposite of beauty and emerges as the pinnacle of another canon. / Es una tesis que resalta la calidad literaria de estas dos novelas, a partir de la propuesta de una lectura basada en categorías, trabajadas por varios teóricos, como lo grotesco, el asco, la abyección, lo siniestro y lo sublime. Para lograr este objetivo, tengo en cuenta la crisis de la belleza y reviso este concepto desde la perspectiva de filósofos de la Antigua Grecia, la Edad Media, la Ilustración y el siglo XX. Se trata de una propuesta de estudio poiético que, a partir de lo asqueroso, destaca la importancia del sentido fisionómico en la percepción corporal que facilita a los espectadores la experimentación de emociones frente a la obra de arte: el “simple” placer corporal que se convierte en placer reflexivo, estético. Con este proceso de experiencia estética (aisthesis, poiesis, katharsis), a través de la poiética escatológica, redimensiono lo feo en estas novelas de Palahniuk y de Noll, en la obra de arte, presentándolo como una categoría estética que deja de ser simplemente lo opuesto a lo bello y se erige como el pináculo de otro canon.

This dissertation explores the reoccurrence of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein within twentieth-century American novels. While the inaccurate 1931 film version by James Whale remains the best known adaptation of Frankenstein, I argue that Willa Cather, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and Chuck Palahniuk return to Shelley’s 1818 novel to critique racist and misogynistic responses to anxieties about gender and racial power in the age of industrial consumer culture. In doing so, I extend existing scholarship on the American Gothic to demonstrate that The Professor’s House, Invisible Man, Beloved, and Fight Club represent a specifically Shelleyan Gothic tradition in twentieth-century American literature. My project draws upon influential feminist and postcolonial readings of Frankenstein and on the theoretical work of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and later critics who have developed her theory to show how the twentieth-century novels echo themes and motifs from Shelley’s novel to critique the destructive effects of male homosociality. Each novel contains a protagonist that resembles Victor Frankenstein and responds to historically specific anxieties about gender, race, and industrial technoscience by creating a doppelgänger who enables participation in a homosocial bond that is initially empowering but proves destructive to women, racial minorities, and eventually the creature and creator figures themselves. My reading reveals unexpected similarities between Cather’s The Professor’s House and Palahniuk’s Fight Club. Cather’s novel appears to glorify Tom Outland as the ideal masculine hero but ultimately reveals him to be a monstrous doppelgänger who acts out the Professor’s oppressive impulses; similarly, Fight Club seems to romanticize the male violence instigated by the doppelgänger figure Tyler Durden but actually echoes Shelley’s critique of male homosociality as monstrous. My reading also reveals previously overlooked similarities between Invisible Man and Beloved, both of which feature a black protagonist who surprisingly resembles Victor Frankenstein by creating a doppelgänger to challenge his or her disempowerment by the structures of white male homosociality but end up emulating the destructive homosocial structures they critique. My dissertation shows how all of these writers share Shelley’s critique yet move beyond it by offering alternatives to the destructive cycle of violence, embodied in each case by a female figure who resists or reclaims the position of the abject other in the homosocial triangle.

Los hombres de cada civilización han adoptado distintas posturas y han desarrollado elaboradas cosmovisiones con el fin de dar un sentido y a veces un alivio, al sinsentido y conjunto de aporías que surgen cuando el ser humano, a través de sus propios medios y vivencias, ve lo frágil y finita de su condición en el lugar y el tiempo que le tocó vivir. El sentimiento que nos embarga y el pensamiento que sobre ese sentimiento elaboramos, en cuanto nos percatamos de nuestra finita condición y nos negamos a resignarnos ante esta realidad, es lo que definimos aquí como “lo trágico”

This thesis seeks to understand how we read and understand the use of depictions of violence by examining its rhetorical presentation. Although the media gives us a mixed understanding of the way that experiencing violence secondarily (that is, through all types of media) affects us, scholarship in this area has proved clear connections between viewing/experiencing depictions of violence and raised levels of aggression. On the other hand, there is a clear difference between gratuitous depictions of violence and socially useful depictions of violence (i.e., the difference between a slasher movie and a holocaust movie) that that area of scholarship does not expressly take into account. I argue that the language of trauma studies has the ability to evaluate the impact of violent texts on audiences and that Kenneth Burke's Dramatistic Pentad has the ability the examine depictions of violence to uncover explicit and hidden ideologies that affect the presentation of the violence and, thus, our reception and interpretation of that violence. Working in conjunction, these two theories can help audience's understand depictions of violence on an ideological level and help them to assess the violence's potential traumatic impact on themselves and others within certain contexts. To demonstrate this theory of understanding violence, I make two short analyses of Native Son and The Lovely Bones and demonstrate an in-depth analysis of Fight Club and Blood Meridian in order to give an example of the type of reading I am advocating and its potential for understanding and interpreting depictions of violence in ways that uncover both social benefit and harm. In the end, I hope that this theory of reading violence might extend beyond the sample readings I have done and into other types of media, so that we can all understand the ways that violence is used rhetorically for social and political purposes and be able to both use it and interpret it responsibly.