Interlitteraria

Crossing Genres and Fields

Jonathan Locke Hart — 2024-10-14

Crossing Genres and Fields

Les genres littéraires participent de domaines: en relisant Croce, Frye et McLuhan

Jean Bessière — 2024-10-14

Literary Genres Are Parts of Fields: Reading Croce, Frye and McLuhan. Literary critics widely apply the notion of genre to literary works; the use of the notion of field is far less frequent. This application of the notion of genre is defined as a tool to code literary works and to subsume the many variants of coding under specific names – the names of genres. The notion of literary genre and its realities are relativistic; they do not succeed in accounting for literary works’ singularities and similarities. Any systematic use of literary genres in criticism ends with inconsistent views of what is supposed to be the whole of literary genres. Genette’s notion of ‘architext’ illustrates this impasse. The notion of field – here translated in French by ‘domain’ and specified by the expression ‘domaine de sens’ (field of sense) – enables critics and readers to align views on singularities and similarities, to reject any systematic perspective and to outline literary works’ differences, proximities and conti nuities. The notion of ‘domaine de sens’ deprives references to constant kinds of forms/ genres of theoretical and practical usefulness. Literary works are constant because they are texts. As texts, they require no coding to be identified as literary. They just ‘appear’ to be works when they are linked to fields of sense, i.e. linked to the discourses and semantics of the place and time of their writing or reading. These discourses and semantics may include literary genres. Fields of sense are innumerous and change according to the place and time of works’ writing and reception, and each field of sense eventually comprises many works. Fields of sense explain literary works’ proximities and chains across time. Croce’s, Frye’s and McLuhan’s theses about literary genres support the aforementioned argument.

Extending the Borders of Translation and Translation Studies: Cultural Translation as a Portal

Shang Wu — 2024-10-14

The essay explores the evolving conceptualisation of translation, moving from a traditional focus on linguistic aspects to an expansive cultural and metaphorical approach. It analyses how this shift challenges and redefines the boundaries of translation studies. The essay specifically underscores the interdisciplinary nature of the concept of cultural translation, showcasing its possible role as a nexus among diverse academic fields such as linguistics, sociology, anthropology, and cultural studies. It advocates that cultural translation c an serve as a crucial tool not only for deciphering intricate intercultural dynamics and exchanges but also for expor ting theories and insights from translation studies to other disciplines. In this way, cultural translation emerges as a liminal interdisciplinary portal, which reciprocally broadens and amplifies the scope and impact of translation studies. That is, while the co nceptual robustness of cultural translation enriches the field of translation studies, the insights and theories nurtured within this field can be propagated to adjacent disciplines via the intermediary of cultural translation.

Governmentality, Democracy, and Liberalism: Desire in Samrat Upadhyay’s ‘The Guru of Love’

Pushpa Acharya — 2024-10-14

In Samrat Upadhyay’s The Guru of Love (2003), the political and the personal intersect, with the novel as a genre exposing how they are interwoven. In the Nepali-American novelist Upadhyay’s novel, democracy and liberalism operate through the management and redirection of desires, instead of constraining them. The novel itself, as a genre, becomes the canvas for orchestrating this transformative process, engaging both characters and readers. Set against the backdrop of Nepal in the global south, The Guru of Love challenges conventional notions, suggesting that democracy’s efficacy does not hinge on industrialisation and education alone. Instead, democracy itself can serve as a potent political tool for nurturing a citizenry that favours such politics. As this novel shows, the key tenet of liberal and capitalist governance lies in the augmentation and regulation of the individual’s desires. Upadhyay’s novel is a testament to the celebration of individualism and shows the workings of capitalist and liberal deregulation as a mechanism for managing and channelling desires. It portrays how these political ideologies shape and mould the individual’s personal aspirations and society’s political paradigms.

Amazon Journeys and Poetic Re-Discoveries in Jan Conn’s 'Jaguar Rain' and Malu de Martino’s 'Margaret Mee e a Flor da Lua'

Magali Sperling Beck — 2024-10-14

The year 2023 marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of botanical artist Margaret Mee’s final expedition to the Amazon. On this trip, she was at last able to paint the rare night-flowering of Selenicereus wittii, commonly known as the Amazon moonflower. Such an accomplishment was not only significant due to the rare nature of the event, but also because it was the final piece created by an artist who renewed the practice of botanical painting. Originally from Britain, Mee lived in Brazil for more than thirty years, embarking on fifteen expeditions to the Amazon region between 1956 and 1988, painting while travelling in dugout canoes deep in the forest and becoming a fervent activist for the protection of the environment. Her work has influenced many artists, e cologists, and biologists, and has served as inspiration for literary and filmic creations. In 2006, Canadian poet Jan Conn published Jaguar Rain: The Margaret Mee Poems, in which she poetically recreates Mee’s journeys to the Amazon. As both a scientist and a poet who has also extensively travelled in the region, Conn reimagines Mee’s wondrous encounters while situating them as part of a tradition of travel and exploration in South America. A few years later, in 2012, the documentary Margaret Mee e a Flor da Lua, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Malu de Martino, was premiered. In the film, Martino reconstructs Mee’s final journey to the Amazon in search of the moonflower while also reinstating the artist’s important contributions as an artist, environmentalist, and contemporary explorer. The connections between the biographical, poetic, artistic, and professional Mee are closely woven throughout the documentary, which can be seen as inserted in a new documentary tradition, less analytical and more poetic, in which notions of truth, history, and reality are problematised and rendered through different lenses. Bearing in mind that both Conn and Martino re-read Mee’s journeys through the tropes of exploration and discovery, which are commonly associated with imperial practices and colonial narratives of the New World, in this paper, we propose to discuss in which ways these tropes are brought into context and problematised, especially in relation to the depiction of Amazonian nature.

“If Jesus lived today, he would smell like smoke”: Contemporary Visions of Jesus Christ in Philip Pullman’s Novel and Tumblr Blogs

Danijela Petković — 2024-10-14

Influenced by critical race theory and drawing on historical Jesus scholarship, the paper discusses the portrayals of Jesus Christ in Philip Pullman’s novel The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (2010), and the poems written by young, mainly anonymous, poets found online on the social media platform Tumblr. The interpretation of Pullman’s novel and the selected poems is placed within the context of past and current struggles over the historicity, human/divine status, and politics of Jesus Christ.

Fictionality in “Fog on the Barrow-downs”: Myth and Reference

Sanja Ignjatović — 2024-10-14

Exploring fictionality as the link between imagined and referential reality, the paper draws on the theoretic al framework of cognitive narratology in examining the mechanisms on which the creation of myth relies in the narratives introduced at the beginning of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, in Chapters 7 and 8 of The Fellowship of the Ring. In the introductory section, the authors review relevant literature pertaining to the manner in which immersion occurs, how analogous links are formed between fiction and reality, and whether the pragmatic dichotomy of the fictional and factual holds in all fictional circumstances. Essentially, the reviewed literature offers an insight into how text reception depends on context and the imported or integrated rhetorical frame of the fictional text. Next, the paper uses these two chapters as illustration, with reference to the appendices relevant to their interpretation, from the perspective of the formulated framework. The concluding remarks summarise the importance of immersion, as well as other automatic processes activated during reading, in internalising truth programs contained within fiction and myths that render their fictionality almost irrelevant.

Canon y Premio Nobel: un estado de la cuestión

M. Àngels Francés Díez — 2024-10-14

This paper poses the following question: as a world institutional award, what is the influence of the Nobel Prize in Literature over the construction of the global canon? To answer it, we start from previous resea rch and analyze the studies on canon and Nobel Prize published in scientific journals indexed in the two main international databases: Web of Science, by Clarivate Analytics, and Scopus, by Elsevier, since both cover the current scientific production. After reading the articles which are relevant for the research objective, the centres of interest of this critical literature can be grouped into three large blocks: the concept of World Literature and its relationship with the Nobel Prize; the canonical characteristics of the works by Nobel Prize winners, and the influence of Nobel Prize in the process of creating the world canon. The conclusions question the monolithic and monumental character of the literary canon and advocate for a more transparent approach to its construction that considers economic and ideological aspects (beyond the formal or artistic value of the texts) as crucial for understanding its nature and evolution. For example, E. Lameborshi’s concept of ideological fluency and R. Walkowitz’s born translated novels are useful for understanding to what extent the common concepts of World Literature and canon have recently been redefined.

Home in Han Suyin’s 'Till Morning Comes' from the Perspective of New Cultural Geography

Xiaoling Hu — 2024-10-14

Viewed through the lens of new cultural geography, a geographical landscape is a symbolic system showing the beliefs and values of society, as in the case of the home landscape. The article employs Mike Crang’s concepts of landscape and home to examine different homes in Han Suyin’s Till Morning Comes (1982). From leaving homes, searching for homes to returning homes, Stephanie, an American woman in diaspora, is exposed to different cultures, experiencing a sense of home in China, a sense of homelessness in both China and America, and a sense of being between worlds. In the process of searching for a home, Stephanie constructs her identity as a Chinese and eventually as a world citizen. The home in the novel is more than just a dwelling place; it is a place signifying cultural identity and a meaningful space that influences the identity transformation of a diasporic woman. The article therefore uses a textual analysis approach to explore how homes are represented and how a diasporic woman’s identity is affected by the home landscape she experiences in Till Morning Comes. This novel’s exploration of home illuminates the unique experience of a diasporic woman, highlighting the importance of re-evaluating Han’s work within the framework of contemporary cultural geography.

Affect in Literary Translations: What is at Stake for the Author and the Translator

Klaarika Kaldjärv — 2024-10-14

This article explores the relationships between authors, translators, and readers within the context of literature and translation. Emphasising the reciprocal influence between texts, it delves into the desire of writers to control the interpretation of their works during translation. The examination extends to the hierarchy within literature and translation, questioning whether a translated text can be considered an autonomous entity and if translators can be acknowledged as authors considering the transformative nature of translation and the subjective, creative processes involved. The article also sheds light on the emotional and affective aspects involved in the translation process, highlighting the recurring theme of trust and the fear of translatorial non-compliance. Through examples, it demonstrates how authors can actively engage in the translation process to safeguard their narrative nuances. Case studies, including instances involving Umberto Eco, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Carlos Fuentes, and Günter Grass, illustrate various levels of authorial control and collaboration. The discussion expands to the global literary landscape, emphasising the dominance of certain languages and the dynamics between the literary centre and periphery. Ultimately, it raises fundamental questions about authorship, control, and the transformative power of translation in shaping the “world republic of letters”. The article investigates the multifaceted dynamics between authors and translators, examining collaboration along a continuum from carte blanche to conflictual relationships. The extent of an author’s involvement in the translation process is explored, questioning the reasons behind some authors’ keen interest in ensuring accurate translations. The power imbalances within collaborations are scrutinised, raising questions about the translator’s agency. The article concludes with reflections on the challenges and potential pitfalls of authors participating in the translation of their own works, emphasising the inherent plurality of interpretations in the act of translation.

Misères et splendeurs d’un mendicant dans 'Le Seigneur vous le rendra' de Mahi Binebine

Mohamed Semlali — 2024-10-14

Mahi Binebine is a Moroccan novelist with more than twelve novels to his credit. He is also a great painter whose paintings can be found in the most famous collections, notably in the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. For him, painting and writing evolve together and deal with the same issues. In his novel, The Lord Will Pay You Back, Binebine takes up the theme of the suffocation of the individual who tries to resist the alienating forces that crush him (misery, predation). We propose to read this story as a picaresque tale with symbolic significance: the protagonist, forced to beg from birth, bears the brunt of his own mother’s monstrosity and dislike, worthy of the worst of the fairy tales. Driven by poverty, the mother takes possession of her child’s body and sculpts a deformed being that will be exhibited in the main square of Marrakech to earn a living. If the monstrous is here inseparable from the tale, it also inscribes the hero in a process of transformation made possible by intellectual (literature) and sentimental (love) learning. Thus the protagonist goes from being a simple fairground beast who flaunts his disproportionate physique for a few coins to becoming a storyteller, a fabulator, a creator of worlds. In the meantime, the tale gives way to the novel and the child, now an adult, regains a certain bodily normality, which is not a guarantee of happiness. If the marvellous is not completely evacuated, if the narrator claims a part of fantasy in his story, the novel is there to remind us that a literary work is also a reflection on the human condition of those left behind and on the alienation of the individual who must redouble his ingenuity to assert himself as a singular and independent being.

Intertexte et réécriture du Drame de l’Homme, de la Femme et de Dieu dans 'Partage de midi' de Paul Claudel

Samuel Bidaud — 2024-10-14

This article examines the way in which Paul Claudel, in Partage de midi [Break of Noon], actualizes and rewrites several founding texts whose themes echo those of his play – which represents nothing more than the Drama of Man, Woman and God, based on an autobiographical source, Claudel’s love for Rosalie Vetch. In this perspective, we can distinguish two types of intertexts. The first is secular and corresponds to the legend of Tristan and Iseult, from which Claudel takes up narrative patterns and dramatic motifs, ranging from onomastics to the love potion drunk on the boat and to forbidden and fatal love. However, he places these elements in a different existential and religious context, marked by free will and the grace of a God who can always draw good from evil. The second intertext is with the Bible, in particular with two books of the Old Testament, the Song of Songs and the Book of Hosea, but also more broadly with the beginning of Genesis and the end of the Gospels, which allows Claudel to lead Mesa and Ysé to the repentance in the last act of the play and to affirm the reconciliation of Man and Woman in God.

Othering Nature in Arundhati Roy’s 'The God of Small Things': A Postcolonial Ecocritical Study

Ghulam Yasin — 2024-10-14

By mainly referring to Huggan and Tiffin (2010) on postcolonial ecocriticism, the study aims to explore how Arundhati Roy’s novel The God of Small Things (1997) contributes new perspectives on the intertwining between postcolonial studies and ecocriticism. In addition, it explores how the anthropocentric attitude of human beings ruins their natural environment. The selected text is analyzed by utilizing the techniques of content analysis. Human beings are involved to ‘other’ natural environments for their economic gains in the name of development. It is the way of justifying their colonizing attitudes and manipulation of nature. The research finds out that the humans’ desires for economic development are materialized through putting aside the traditional ways of agriculture, building dams, clearing forests, and adopting modern ways of living which destroy the balance of their ecosystem. These factors eventually lead towards the ‘othering’ of nature and the natives in the hands of the colonizers, having some hidden economic and political agendas. Though, Roy’s selected text (1997) has been explored through different postcolonial perspectives but, the colonizers’ attitude towards nature and lands of the colonized is ignored. So, the study is an effort to fill this research gap.

About Authors

About Authors — 2024-10-14

About Authors