The aim of this master’s thesis is to examine the identity development of the main character Aliide in Mare Kandre's novel Aliide, Aliide. The analysis of Aliide’s identity development is based on Julia Kristeva's psychoanalytic theory of subjectivity. The main claim of this thesis is that the development of Aliide's identity takes place in continuous contact with a “mother monster”, an abject maternal body which prevents the formation of an autonomous identity of Aliide and keeps her in a melancholic state. The investigation of Aliide’s melancholy draws upon the notion of borderlessness, pertaining to the idea that Aliide longs for a pre-linguistic maternal symbiosis in which her “I” has not yet been fully separated from the mother as the other. The analysis shows that borderlessness is evident both in the way Aliide perceives the world and in Aliide’s relationship to her body. The thesis futher examines Aliide's social identity as a girl, which is also shown to be dependent on the maternal relationship. Kristeva’s theory of abjection is used to explain how the novel problematizes the continual, natural changes of the body and the socially accepted belief in a pure and stable “I”.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-530975 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Baltaduonytė, Miglė |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för litteraturvetenskap och retorik |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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