Right now I'm reading "Revolt, She Said" by Julia Kristeva, who is a psychoanalyst and theorist living in France. First, a wee quote from the book:
May '68 in France expressed a fundamental version of freedom: not freedom to succeed, but freedom to revolt. Political revolutions ultimately betray revolt because they cease to question themselves. Revolt, as I understand it -- psychic revolt, analytic revolt, artistic revolt -- refers to a permanent state of questioning, of transformations, an endless probing of appearances.
And now, a description of the book from the publisher:
"In this book, Julia Kristeva extends the definition of revolt beyond politics per se. Kristeva sees revolt as a state of permanent questioning and transformation, of change that characterizes psychic life and, in the best cases, art. For her, revolt is not simply about rejection and destruction -- it is a necessary process of renewal and regeneration."
Okay, so there are fifty million things I could say about how this collection of thoughts on culture, politics, feminism, motherhood, psychoanalysis, language, and the the life of the mind is speaking to me at the moment. But I wanted to take just one throw-away comment/idea that she's raised and pose a question to you.
In talking about psychoanalysis and the theorists who shaped her, Kristeva says that the British approach to psychoanalysis emphasizes catastrophe and psychosis, whereas the French tradition is to privilege the erotic. (eg the Oedipus complex)
I've long been curious about how my parents' people (from the Caribbean) speak English but are Catholic. Shouldn't they be speaking French?* After spending nine years in a proudly WASP private girls' school, I've spent considerable time thinking about how British culture is different from my own. One area of interest has been sexuality. In the Caribbean, our music, Carnival, dance style, jokes, poetry...it's all infused with the erotic. I've usually put this down to a combination of heat - when you live someplace hot, you become very aware of your body - and the legacy of slavery. If you're not allowed to marry legally, you might become less prudish about pre-marital sex.
But how best to explain this difference between France and England?
May '68 in France expressed a fundamental version of freedom: not freedom to succeed, but freedom to revolt. Political revolutions ultimately betray revolt because they cease to question themselves. Revolt, as I understand it -- psychic revolt, analytic revolt, artistic revolt -- refers to a permanent state of questioning, of transformations, an endless probing of appearances.
And now, a description of the book from the publisher:
"In this book, Julia Kristeva extends the definition of revolt beyond politics per se. Kristeva sees revolt as a state of permanent questioning and transformation, of change that characterizes psychic life and, in the best cases, art. For her, revolt is not simply about rejection and destruction -- it is a necessary process of renewal and regeneration."
Okay, so there are fifty million things I could say about how this collection of thoughts on culture, politics, feminism, motherhood, psychoanalysis, language, and the the life of the mind is speaking to me at the moment. But I wanted to take just one throw-away comment/idea that she's raised and pose a question to you.
In talking about psychoanalysis and the theorists who shaped her, Kristeva says that the British approach to psychoanalysis emphasizes catastrophe and psychosis, whereas the French tradition is to privilege the erotic. (eg the Oedipus complex)
I've long been curious about how my parents' people (from the Caribbean) speak English but are Catholic. Shouldn't they be speaking French?* After spending nine years in a proudly WASP private girls' school, I've spent considerable time thinking about how British culture is different from my own. One area of interest has been sexuality. In the Caribbean, our music, Carnival, dance style, jokes, poetry...it's all infused with the erotic. I've usually put this down to a combination of heat - when you live someplace hot, you become very aware of your body - and the legacy of slavery. If you're not allowed to marry legally, you might become less prudish about pre-marital sex.
But how best to explain this difference between France and England?
*Or being Protestant - okay, that, I can't even imagine.
