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Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence

Year 2023, Volume: 3 Issue: 6 - CUMHURİYET'İN 100. YILINA İTHAFEN, 14 - 27, 29.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10456378

Abstract

This article proposes to read John Banville’s The Book of Evidence, a crime story narrated from the protagonist’s first-person gaze, from a Lacanian perspective by referring to his mirror stage theory. As an extension of testimonial literature, the novel is deemed to be a narrative of introspective self-examination, thus introducing a creation of “the self” paralleling the text. The protagonist’s mnemonic narrative is accompanied by the idea of an alternative world of not only self-expression but also self-depiction and presentation as in Lacan’s Imaginary. This self-creation, however, may not be as innocent as it seems. The reason for this is that although the mirror phase involves a transition from the Imaginary to the Symbolic, it presupposes the role of the other, biologically (m)other, in order to accustom the subject to the law of society, the symbolic. However, just because the protagonist, Freddie, mentions his mother’s presence as “nothing”, there is no soothing force for his adaptation to the societal laws. Here, Freddie is subject to what Lacan sees as a minor prototype who lives in a society, and yet, is attached to his own rules as the first principle of male violence associated with this novel. Therefore, this article also tries to find answers for Freddie’s performance of male violence within the axis of psychoanalytic postulations elaborated on Lacan’s identity theory.

References

  • Banville, John (2001), The Book of Evidence. New York: Vintage Books.
  • Beard, Laura (2000), “Giving Voice: Autobiographical / Testimonial Literature by First Nations Women of British Columbia.” Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 12, no.1, 64-83.
  • Benson, Peter (1994), “Freud and the Visual.” Representations, vol. 45, no.1, 101-116.
  • Benvenuto, Bice and Roger Kennedy (1986), The Works of Jacques Lacan: An Introduction. London: Free Association Books.
  • Feldman, A. and Richard Jenkins (1992), “On Formations of Violence.” Current Anthropology, vol.33, no. 5, 595-597.
  • Freud, Sigmund (2012), On Narcissism: An Introduction. London: Karnac Books.
  • Gugelberger, Georg and Michael Kearney (1991), “Voices for the Voiceless: Testimonial Literature in Latin America.” Latin American Perspectives, vol. 18, no.3, 3-14.
  • Hatipoğlu, Gülden (2023), “Trauma of the Gaze in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence.” Mediterranean Journey of Humanities, vol. 13, no. 1, 193-204.
  • Julien, Philippe (1994), Jacques Lacan’s Return to Freud: The Real, the Symbolic, and the Imaginary. New York: New York University Press.
  • Lacan, Jacques (2001), Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Routledge.
  • –––––– (2006), The Seminar, Book XVII, The Other Side of Psychoanalysis. Trans. Russell Grigg. New York: Norton.
  • Lanser, Susan (1992), Fictions of Authority: Women Writers and Narrative Voice. London: Cornell University Press.
  • Licitra Rosa C. et al. (2021), “From the Imaginary to Theory of the Gaze in Lacan.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol.12, no.1, 1-7.
  • McMinn, Joseph (1999), Supreme Fictions of John Banville. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
  • Mulvey, Laura (1975), “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Screen, vol. 16, no. 3, 6-18.
  • Nicol, Bran (2004), Iris Murdoch: The Retrospective Fiction. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • O’Connell, Mark (2013). John Banville’s Narcissistic Fictions. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Segal, Hanna (1988), Introduction to the Work of Melanie Klein. New York: Routledge.

İmgeselden Semboliğe Şiddetin Temsili: John Banville’in Kanıt Kitabı’nda Kimlik Oluşumu

Year 2023, Volume: 3 Issue: 6 - CUMHURİYET'İN 100. YILINA İTHAFEN, 14 - 27, 29.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10456378

Abstract

Bu makale, John Banville’in, kahramanın birinci şahıs bakış açısıyla anlattığı bir suç öyküsü olan Kanıt Kitabı’nı Lacan’ın ayna teorisine atıfta bulunarak Lacancı bir bakış açısıyla okuma sunmaktadır. Tanıklık edebiyatının bir uzantısı olarak roman, içe dönük bir kendini inceleme anlatısı olarak kabul edilir ve böylece metne paralel bir “benlik” yaratımı ortaya çıkar. Kahramanın geriye dönük anlatımına, Lacan’ın İmgesel düzeninde olduğu gibi sadece kendini ifade etmenin değil, aynı zamanda kendini tasvir etmenin ve sunmanın da olduğu alternatif bir dünya fikri eşlik etmektedir. Ancak bu kendi kendini yaratma, göründüğü kadar masum olmayabilir. Bunun nedeni, ayna evresinin her ne kadar İmgesel düzlemden Sembolik düzleme geçişi içerse de özneyi toplumun yasası olan simgesel olana alıştırmak için Ötekinin, biyolojik olarak annenin, rolünü ön plana koymaktadır. Ancak başkarakter ve anlatıcı olan Freddie, annesinin varlığından “hiçbir şey” olarak bahsettiği için toplumsal yasalara uyum sağlamasını kolaylaştıracak hiçbir yatıştırıcı bulunmamaktadır. Burada Freddie, Lacan’ın toplumda küçük kesim olarak gördüğü, toplumda yaşayan ancak kendi kuralları doğrultusunda hareket eden prototipi temsil etmektedir, ki bu da romanla ilişkilendirilen eril şiddetin birincil ilkesidir. Dolayısıyla bu makale, aynı zamanda Freddie’nin eril şiddeti performansına Lacan’ın kimlik teorisi üzerinden geliştirilen psikanalitik önermeler doğrultusunda yanıtlar bulmaya çalışmaktadır.

References

  • Banville, John (2001), The Book of Evidence. New York: Vintage Books.
  • Beard, Laura (2000), “Giving Voice: Autobiographical / Testimonial Literature by First Nations Women of British Columbia.” Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 12, no.1, 64-83.
  • Benson, Peter (1994), “Freud and the Visual.” Representations, vol. 45, no.1, 101-116.
  • Benvenuto, Bice and Roger Kennedy (1986), The Works of Jacques Lacan: An Introduction. London: Free Association Books.
  • Feldman, A. and Richard Jenkins (1992), “On Formations of Violence.” Current Anthropology, vol.33, no. 5, 595-597.
  • Freud, Sigmund (2012), On Narcissism: An Introduction. London: Karnac Books.
  • Gugelberger, Georg and Michael Kearney (1991), “Voices for the Voiceless: Testimonial Literature in Latin America.” Latin American Perspectives, vol. 18, no.3, 3-14.
  • Hatipoğlu, Gülden (2023), “Trauma of the Gaze in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence.” Mediterranean Journey of Humanities, vol. 13, no. 1, 193-204.
  • Julien, Philippe (1994), Jacques Lacan’s Return to Freud: The Real, the Symbolic, and the Imaginary. New York: New York University Press.
  • Lacan, Jacques (2001), Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Routledge.
  • –––––– (2006), The Seminar, Book XVII, The Other Side of Psychoanalysis. Trans. Russell Grigg. New York: Norton.
  • Lanser, Susan (1992), Fictions of Authority: Women Writers and Narrative Voice. London: Cornell University Press.
  • Licitra Rosa C. et al. (2021), “From the Imaginary to Theory of the Gaze in Lacan.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol.12, no.1, 1-7.
  • McMinn, Joseph (1999), Supreme Fictions of John Banville. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
  • Mulvey, Laura (1975), “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Screen, vol. 16, no. 3, 6-18.
  • Nicol, Bran (2004), Iris Murdoch: The Retrospective Fiction. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • O’Connell, Mark (2013). John Banville’s Narcissistic Fictions. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Segal, Hanna (1988), Introduction to the Work of Melanie Klein. New York: Routledge.
There are 18 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Oğuzhan Ayrım 0000-0002-2601-1416

Publication Date December 29, 2023
Submission Date November 15, 2023
Acceptance Date December 12, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 3 Issue: 6 - CUMHURİYET'İN 100. YILINA İTHAFEN

Cite

APA Ayrım, O. (2023). Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence. Bitig Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 3(6), 14-27. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10456378
AMA Ayrım O. Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence. bitig. December 2023;3(6):14-27. doi:10.5281/zenodo.10456378
Chicago Ayrım, Oğuzhan. “Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence”. Bitig Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 3, no. 6 (December 2023): 14-27. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10456378.
EndNote Ayrım O (December 1, 2023) Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence. Bitig Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 3 6 14–27.
IEEE O. Ayrım, “Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence”, bitig, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 14–27, 2023, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.10456378.
ISNAD Ayrım, Oğuzhan. “Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence”. Bitig Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 3/6 (December 2023), 14-27. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10456378.
JAMA Ayrım O. Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence. bitig. 2023;3:14–27.
MLA Ayrım, Oğuzhan. “Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence”. Bitig Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 3, no. 6, 2023, pp. 14-27, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10456378.
Vancouver Ayrım O. Representation of Violence from Imaginary to Symbolic: Identity Formation in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence. bitig. 2023;3(6):14-27.
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