Gender, identity and sexuality have to be more closely integrated into the
broader discussion of literature and language, which can be achieved only
through wider application of literary texts in the ...teaching process. Teaching
literature to students of English serves not only the purpose of building an
understanding of the human experience, but also tackles the issues of
femininity and masculinity and helps sensitize the students to the gender
differences and the codes of patriarchal society which result in male
dominance. Poems by Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton have proved
as valuable texts in teaching gender, as will be discussed in the paper,
which focuses on Plath?s ?Lady Lazarus? and the strategies the educator can
select in order to achieve the desired objective.
U nastavi knjizevnosti na univerzitetskom nivou, teme razlika izmedju
muskaraca i zena su sve prisutnije, zbog nuznosti da se ukaze na povezanost
roda i identiteta sa socijalnim ulogama. Rad ce se pozabaviti mogucnostima da
se, u okviru analize knjizevnog teksta, u ucionici studenti senzibilizuju za
rodne razlike i mehanizme delovanja rodnih stereotipa. Nastavni materijali
koji se koriste u ovu svrhu mogu biti raznoliki: od novinskih tekstova iz
anglofone stampe do poezije autorki od Emili Dikinson do Silvije Plat, na
primeru cije pesme cemo u ovom radu pokazati kako se prepoznaju i definisu
rodne uloge u nastavi knjizevnosti.
U savremenoj srpskoj prozi postoje dela i opusi u kojima se bezmalo kao po etalonu moze èitati sukob i susret razlièitih aspekata zenskosti. Proza Jelene Lengold, njene tri zbirke prièa (Pokisli ...lavovi, 1994; Lift, 1999; Vasarski maðionièar, 2008) i roman Baltimor (2003), otvaraju pitanja zenskog kao poetièke prednosti i egzistencijalne ugrozenosti. Spisateljica preko skica obiènih zivota govori o stvarnosti viseg reda - o ljubavi, i o samoæ i i smrti koji ljubav neminovno ugrozavaju. Junakinje povremeno obuzima strah od smrti, a rezultat tog straha je melanholija koju Lengoldova èas ironizuje, èas lirizuje. Opisujuæ i odnose izmeðu braènih i sluèajnih partnera, slikajuæ i nerazresiv disbalans u musko-zenskim vezama, Lengoldova tematizuje neuspeh komunikacije i tolerancije, nesporazume i blazenstva koji su nenamerni i neoèekivani. Bez patetike, gorèine ili cinizma, ona se upusta u teme braènog neverstva, u vivisekciju razorenih porodica ili melanholiènu reminiscenciju na detinjstvo. Junakinju njene prièe »Prozori« uznemiruje san u kome bezuspesno pokusava da dozove nekog sa jednog od milion prozora udaljene zgrade koja je sa svih strana okruzuje. Iako joj je reèeno da æ e san prestati »kad sretne pravu osobu«, ona nastavlja da ga sanja i posto je srela èoveka svog zivota i udala se za njega. Ono sto se postavlja izmeðu smrti kao najveæ eg straha i ljubavi kao najveæ e zelje je samoæ a - stanje izopstenja i stanje razlike: »Biti sam. To nije stvar odluke. Jos manje sudbina. To je nesto kao peèat. « (lengold 1999: 26). Junakinje Jelene Lengold presudno odreðuje koliko strah od smrti, toliko i strah od sreæ e. Bolna svest o krhkosti emotivnih odnosa i nemoæ i ljubavi da obeæ a veènost uslovljena je seæ anjem na turbulentne porodiène predistorije. Jos jedna stvaralacka mogucnost u knjizevnosti je istorija preoblikovana zenskom rukom. Mirjana Novakovic u romanu Strah i njegov sluga (2000) pise o Beogradu osamnaestog veka u kom se na pozadini austrijsko-turskog sukoba odigrava potera za vampirima. U nju se ukljucuje licno davo, izdajuci se za Ota fon Hauzburga; privlacan je, ugladen, obrazovan, cinican, uobrazen i prilicna kukavica, poseduje mnostvo ljudskih mana i ponesto od klasicnih demonskih obelezja - ukratko, on je parodija stereotipa o muskoj nesavrsenosti. Davolova povest o poteri za vampirima u okolini Beograda godine 1736. preplice se sa ispovescu u ljubav razocarane princeze Marije Auguste Turn i Taksis. Ova srcana zena, zatecena u stranoj zemlji, nepoznatom jeziku i svetu u manicnoj poteri za vampirima dozivljava neku vrstu licnog prosvetljenja. Princeza i davo su ucesnici i svedoci dogadaja koje predocavaju i tumace potpuno razlièito, jer su njihove verzije dogaðaja obojene razlièitim nakanama: cilj njegove je da ispripoveda avanturu u kojoj æ e biti glavni protagonista, a cilj njene da se ispovedi i opravda. Princeza i ðavo, oboje suoèeni s nerazumevanjem sredine koja ne prihvata njihove verzije istine, bore se za isto - za potvrdu sopstvenog identiteta. Ova zivopisna povest o pinèonovskoj poteri za vampirima veæ je svojim raskosnim zapletom i knjizevno-istorijskom citatnosæ u inspirisala na mnoga razlièita èitanja, tako da je prva knjiga Mirjane Novakoviæ , Dunavski apokrifi (1996) neopravdano ostala u njenoj senci. U Ðurðeviæ kinom romanu Èuvari svetinje (2007) neimenovani Istrazivaè prati put Miroslavljevog jevanðelja od nastanka nacije do kraja istorije, kroz manastire i trezore sve do intergalaktièke deponije. Putovanje kroz vreme menjaæ e roman stilski i zanrovski, te æ e pripovedanje teæ i u formi policijskog zapisnika, novinskog intervjua, filmskog scenarija, avanturistièkog romana u nastavcima, sve u cilju komiène mistifikacije. Delo je saljivi odgovor na istoriografsku metafikciju: osmisljeno je kao ispovest o istrazivanju, a glavni junak je knjiga koja nestaje i tekst koji se sakriva u istoriji, izranjajuæ i uvek u doba istorijskih previranja i politièkih kriza. Mirjana Ðurðeviæ sistematski problematizuje istoriju kao konstrukciju, kao da sledi reèi Linde Haèion o tome da objektivno istorijsko znanje ne postoji jer je u istorijsko svedoèanstvo uvek upisan identitet svedoka. Èitava postmoderna teorija dovodi u sumnju istoriju zbog toga sto ona poseduje fluidnu i nefiksiranu prirodu kakvu ima i fiktivni tekst: neumitno se menja i prilagoðava interesima i identitetu svedoka i pripovedaèa. Beograd je u ovom romanu mesto susreta kultura: u njemu zive Kalmici, pripadnici malog mongolskog naroda koji je izbegao iz Rusije nakon Oktobarske revolucije ali i Amerikanac Dzon Dajnili Prins, bivsi diplomata najmlaðe svetske velesile. Poznanstvo kalmièke devojèice Kaje i amerièkog diplomate od miloste zvanog Pidzin prerasta u porodiènu privrzenost pod okriljem Mice Ðurðeviæ . Roman Mirjane Ðurðeviæ nadilazi okvire porodiène hronike i realistièkog pripovedanja uz pomoæ veæ u Èuvarima svetinje primenjene montaze razlièitih diskursa i stilova (diplomatskih depesa, novinskih èlanaka, sveznajuæ eg pripovedanja i dozivljenog govora), fotografija, fotomontaza i crteza. Kaja, Beograd i dobri Amerikanac jeste mistiènosatirièna alternativna istorija Beograda i Srbije ali i pripovedni eksperiment koji nema hermetiènost postmodernistièke tekstualne igre. Ovo je, izmeðu svega ostalog, i roman o slozenom odnosu spisateljice i njene dvojnice. Mica i Kaja su dva pola zenskog koji se odbijaju, ali uèe da funkcionisu u tandemu: veæ su kritièari u ovom romanu prepoznavali parabolu o prihvatanju Drugog, ali je Mirjana Ðurðeviæ otisla i dalje od toga - srpska imperijalna tema (koju èine prelomni istorijski dogaðaji - atentati, ubistva i ratovi) preobraæ ena je u alternativni narativ o burlesknim i trivijalnim objasnjenjima politièkih i socijalnih promena.
У заокруженој целини која обухвата тематски и методолошки разнородне радове о најважнијим делима релевантних књижевника англофоне традиције Томаса Стернса Елиота, Казуа Ишигура и Малкома Бредберија ...откривамо нове потенцијале анализе оних симбола и тоталитета који су дуго деловали неупитно и безмало хомогено.
The paper examines the ways narrative strategies contribute to representations of gender and history in two recent novels by Serbian women writers. Set in the 18th century Belgrade, Mirjana ...Novaković’s Fear and Servant (2000) revolves around the arrival of the commission from Vienna to investigate vampires, exposing political manipulations within the frame of a gothic plot. Mirjana Đurđević’s Kaya, Belgrade and the Good American (2009) combines docudrama, satire, and mystery in picturing encounters of cultures in the Belgrade from the 1920’s to the 1950’s, whereas Jelena Lengold prefers to follow in the footsteps of the American short story and portray ordinary lives.
The paper will focus on the representations of identity, self, fantasy and transformation in seemingly incomparable novels and films. The theoretical background of the analysis is partly based on ...Laura Mulvey's theory of "male gaze", along with various critical analyses of other processes that radically change the concept of identity, love, emotion, and desire in the modern world. The novel The Enchanted April and the film Her show that the gap dividing the imaginary self and the real world narrows as the protagonists tread into beautiful landscapes as imaginary territories that bring miraculous change of personalities and relationships. In this paper, Theodore Twombly and Lady Caroline Dester are seen primarily as fugitives from their respective realities of the year 2025 and the 1920's: while Theodore seeks solace in connecting to a computer operating system designed to function as a flawless emotional partner, Caroline retreats to a garden of a fascinating mansion San Salvatore in order to find her priorities and define her own identity, with the firm intention to become more than a beautiful object of male gaze and desire. The paper will explore the examples of hunger for intimacy in the modern age, as well as the human need to form romantic obsessive attachments to inanimate objects, places and landscapes.
Ko je Peter Nichols ν The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction pojasnil, da je tako za znanstvenofantasticno kot tudi fantasticno literaturo znacilna ideja novuma (»do- locen novi element; nekaj, kar ...fikcijo razlikuje od sedanje resnicnosti, vampir ali koloniziran planet« (Clute in Nichols 1979: 408)), mu verjetno ni bilo treba raz- misljati, kaj bi se zgodilo, ce bi novum izgubil svoj element novega. Po prehodu ν se eno stoletje lahko recemo le, da se je novum izrabil. V zadnjih dvajsetih letih in hitreje kot kdaj koli poprej so fantasticna bitja iz vrst vampirjev, hudicev in podobnih izgubila svojo izvorno moc in izjemne sposobnosti, vendar avtorjem, ki te like upo- rabljajo, pero nikoli ni zastalo in ponotranjili so to novo pridobljeno lastnost svojega knjizevnega materiala. Slednja tudi bralcev ni zmotila; od bitij, ki sluzijo razlicnim kulturnim, druzbenim in ideoloskim namenom, je pricakovati, da se bodo spreme- nila. To je edini nacin, kako lahko obenem konservativna in revolucionarna proza, ν kateri nastopajo liki prehodne, vmesne narave, izpolni svoj namen. V 21. stoletju so vampirji, volkodlaki in nezivi vseh vrst utrujeni, ni jih sram pokazati strahu ali svoje zenskosti (moskosti), obenem pa ν besedilih predstavljajo kljucne elemente in opravljajo kohezivno vlogo. ? drugimi besedami, njihov prijem ni popustil, le zame- njali so rokavice. Tako se vsaj zdi ζ vidika Balkana, domovine stevilnih strasljivih in nadnaravnihbitij, med katerimi so vampirji le najbolj znani. Po mnenju stevilnih kritikov sta goticno in fantasticno vedno odrazala strahove dolocene kulture ν do- locenem zgodovinskem trenutku, zato je namen najinega prispevka prepoznati in obravnavati ta vprasanja ν sodobni srbski knjizevnosti, ob tem pa bova posebno po- zornost namenili reprezentaciji kulturnega spomina in identitete. Nagnjenost tako k politicnemu kot k fantasticnemu je opaziti ν proznem opusu Sretena Ugricica, ki je umescen med politicno alegorijo in moderno pravljico, ζ bo- gato uporabo elementov strasljivega in nadnaravnega. V njegovem zadnjem romanu, Neznanom junaku (2010), se vdor fantasticnih elementov pricne ζ nacinom dojema- nja stvarnosti s strani junakov kot monstruozne in sprijene: Ugricic ζ mojstrskim povezovanjem perecega vprasanja Kosova in distopicnega ter fantasticnega Srbijo ν letu 2014 prikaze kot pusto drzavo, ki jo preplavljajo groza, strah, nevednost, ko- rupcija in nemiri in kjer je telepatija edini svobodni medij. Napis na zidu, ki pravi: »Srbija: ubila te bo«, se iz preprostega fragmenta realnosti spremeni ν prevladujoci koncept grozecega. Zbirka zgodb Milete Prodanovic Agnec (2009) se osredotoca na motive cudezev in pokore, obdobje tranzicije pa prikaze kot simbolicno stanje bodisi skupinskihidentitetbodisi prizadevanj posameznika. Zgodbe, ki so polne ironicnega in grotesknega, spominjajo na anekdote ali crtice, ki jih ν pogovornem in vedrem tonu obicajno podaja objektiven, a hudomusen porocevalec. Mesanica fantasticnega, religioznega in parodije poudarja absurdne vidike danasnjega sveta: tako naslovna zgodba Agnec pripoveduje o cudezu, ki se zgodi tam, kjer je najbolj potreben - sredi banalnih materialisticnih skrbi. Pripovedovalec je poslovnez, ki je denar zasluzil ζ novacenjem beracev, nato pa nekega dne ugotovi, da se je njegova tolpa, ki prosi vbogajme, nepojasnjeno spremenila ν credo ovac. V Beogradu 18. stoletja, ob koncu kratke avstroogrske vladavine, katere dobre plati bodo kmalu iznicili Turki, ki bodo brez truda ponovno zavzeli Srbijo zahvalju- joc izdaji, se Otto von Von Hausburg in princesa Marija Avgusta Thum und Taxis podata na isto pustolovscino, ob cemer ju zenejo razlicni motivi, obenem pa si prizadevata svoji zgodbi prikazati ν drugacni luci in razresiti svoje konflikte. Satana skrbi, da se, ceje res, da so mrtvi vstali, priblizuje sodni dan, Alexander von Wirttemberg, regent Srbije, pa preiskavo izkorisca, da bi prikril lastno izdajo, ob tem pa se ne zaveda, da njegova zena hrepeni po njegovi ljubezni in da so njene ambicije dalec od politike in spletkarjenja - vsaj kakor se zdi bralcu, ki je brez kancka dvoma pripravljen verjeti njenim besedam. Najsi priznajo, da so del nje ali ne, zarota je mocno orozje vseh udelezencev lova na vampirje, ucinkovita strategija za resevanje vseh vrst tezav in pretkan nacin za prikrivanje izdaje in prevar. Begunci iz Nisa ob koncu romana, na primer, so uradno razglaseni za vampirje, da bi jim lahko odrekli pomoc. V roma- nu vampirje krivijo za vsa hudodelstva, vendar nikoli niso nie vec kot govorice in izgovor za okrutnost. Da bi fantasticne motive uporabila ν politiene namene, mora Mirjana Novakovic vampirja vzpostaviti kot glavno silo politienega: bolj verjetno je, da gre za povod ali pretvezo, medtem ko dejansko zlo najdemo drugje, predvsem ν mislih tistih, za katere se zdi, da zlo preganjajo. Medtem ko Ottu Von Hausburgu prizadevanja, da bi se obnasal kot pravi moski, vedno znova spodletijo, ν delu Konstantinovo raskrsce najdemo vrsto moskih likov, ki izpolnjujejo vsa merila tradicionalne moskosti: noben izmed stirih srediscnih ju- nakov ni ubog mehkuzec, vsi so nepopustljivi in zanesljivi, kot se za prevladujoco podobo ν patriarhalni druzbi spodobi. Nemanja Lukic, major ν cetniski vojski, je popoln vitez, neustrasen, pravicen in obcudovan; Krsta Teofilovic, ugleden trgovec iz Nisa, je »pozabil ruske klasike in Ovidove verze«, po druzinski tragediji se je od- rekel svojim sanjam o solanju ν Franciji in karieri srednjesolskega ucitelja ter prevzel podjetje pokojnega brata, ki je trgoval ζ usnjem, in postal »glava druzine«. Lika feld- marsala Otta von Fehna in majorja Heinricha Kahna sta predstavljena kot brezhibna vojaka, ceprav Kahn zaide na stranpota zaradi svojega pohlepa in rasizma. Vsi ti mozati moski se odpravijo na pustolovscino, ki se tice razmeroma nemoske zadeve: kulturne dediscine. Konstantinovo raskrsce je predvsem roman o preiskovanju niza umorov, ki jih je zagresila neznana grozljiva sila, kar kriza nacrte nacistom, ki se zelijo dokopati do bojnega meca Konstantina Velikega, ki naj bi bil skrit ν Nisu in s pomocjo katerega bi Hitler postal nepremagljiv. Vampir, za katerega se izkaze, da je osemletna deklica, je obenem sila pravice in sila teme. Dejan Stojiljkovic prepleta motive zarote in vampirjev, ponovno zdruzuje politicno in fantasticno terkrajino, ki se pov- precnemu zahodnjaskemu bralcu zdi eksoticna, spremeni ν zibelko vsega dobrega na tem svetu. Zato morajo njegovi moski liki, tako dobri kot zli, biti mozati, avtoritativ- ni, dominantni in naravnani k uspehu.
The narrative form requires a capacity of structuring and patterning both the language and the experience: its objective is the attribution of meaning and articulation of experience. Reading is a ...process which produces its own fictional truths by prioritizing a coherent historical focus rather than the puzzling elements of the identity which cannot be observed, analyzed or reconstructed. According to Teresa de Lauretis, 'the history proper, in the modern definition, achieves both narrativity and historicality by filling in the gaps left in the annals and by endowing events with a plot structure and an order of meaning' (de Lauretis, 1984, pp. 127-8). In the mythical-textual mechanics, the protagonist is predetermined to be of male gender, whereas his chief interest and main obstacle must be female (de Lauretis, 1984, p. 119). This practice turns out to be universal, and we can observe it in many fields: in arts and in popular culture alike, in epics, stories, novels and non-fiction as much as in TV shows which put male figures at the centre. The mythical subject is typically male, 'he is the active principle of culture, the establisher of distinction, the creator of differences', unlike the female who is not 'susceptible to transformation, to life or death' but rather a mere 'element of plot-space, a topos, a resistance, a matrix and matter' (de Lauretis, 1984, p. 119). The paper will focus on some narrative strategies and cultural practices Hemingway's fiction is working with.
Medieval English romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is unique not only in its form, content and structure, but also in the poet's skillful use of conventions that play with the reader's ...expectations by introducing elements that make the poem exquisitely ambivalent and place it in the fuzzy area where reality and fiction overlap. Although the poem seemingly praises the strength and purity of chivalry and knighthood, it actually subtly criticizes and comments on their failure when practiced outside the court and in real life. This is particularly noticeable when the poem's symbolism, its hero, and the society he comes from are read against historical context, i.e. as reflections of the realities of medieval life. Accordingly, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight can be read as a poem that praises chivalry and knighthood more by way of commenting on their dissipation than through overt affirmation, as the future of the kingdom, its rulers and society, with its faulty Christian knights, is far from bright, given the cracks and flaws that mar its seemingly glossy façade.
The paper sets out to explore the recent alterations in the process of making a valuable literary canon in the postmodern age, which relativizes the idea that literary canon should be a mere list of ...master-pieces, decided upon with the help of male-defined standards. The achievement of gynocriticism and the contribution of Elaine Showalter serve as examples of investigating how the heroines of American literature grew out of the provincial and parochial into centralised symbols of the new literature. In their journey from cultural margins to diversity, American women writers disrupt the male-centredness of the literary canon and change it irrevocably. In view of various styles and topics operating in the women's literature, the paper will focus upon the latest project of Elaine Showalter, the history of American women writers, compiled by a gynocritic who strongly dissaproves of emphasizing cultural importance over aesthetic distinction. One of the major Hungarian writers of the 20th century, Antal Szerb is known for his wonderful grasp of characters of young men who fight with contradictory urges of being expatriate Bohemians and living an ordinary life according to the inherited set of rules, but his example will show what a belated recognition can irrevocably change the mapping and reputation of a national literature.
This paper aims at exploring and analysing the presence and significance of images of light and darkness as symbolic elements in the short story collection In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway. Many ...renowned writers incorporate such images into their works, often representing them as distinct polarities or as a unified entity. Given the fact that Hemingway's often omitted elements of the narrative are prone to analysis due to their significance, the main aim of this paper would be to examine what these symbolic elements might be an indication of. By relying on the theory of conceptual metaphor and Jung's coniunctio oppositorum, or the union of opposites, abstract oppositions such as emotions surrounding birth and death, fear and consolation, the fundamental misunderstanding between various married or unmarried couples within these short stories will be analysed within the mentioned framework. Thus, the paper provides an exploration of these notions and sheds light on Hemingway's portrayal of the stereotypical dark/light opposition, as well as the coexistence of these opposing elements within the inner and outer worlds of his characters. Hence, the main conclusions which can be drawn from the analysis include the perspective from which the author creates images of light and darkness in order to draw attention to emotions such as fear or consolation corresponding to the common perception of these images. Nonetheless, depending on the context within different narratives, the author also manipulates the common perception, thus creating the reverse symbolisation. By presenting both of these images, examining their contrast, relatedness, as well as the necessity of their existence, Ernest Hemingway creates a unique short story collection, thus supporting the claim that his narratives can be repeatedly and inexhaustibly reread and reanalysed.
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