Gothic and Quasi-Gothic Aesthetic and the Mise en Abîme in Two Examples of Gay Men’s Life Writing About AIDS
This comparison between Hervé Guibert’s autofiction and Mark Thompson’s memoir is focused on their use of the mise en abîme. Thompson’s unacknowledged use of the mise en abîme is symptomatic of the incoherence pervading his self-narrative. Thompson covers up moments of incoherence in his Gay Body—mo...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)
2014-12-01
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Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/erea/4162 |
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author | Tomasz BASIUK |
author_facet | Tomasz BASIUK |
author_sort | Tomasz BASIUK |
collection | DOAJ |
description | This comparison between Hervé Guibert’s autofiction and Mark Thompson’s memoir is focused on their use of the mise en abîme. Thompson’s unacknowledged use of the mise en abîme is symptomatic of the incoherence pervading his self-narrative. Thompson covers up moments of incoherence in his Gay Body—moments which represent missed occasions for self-reflexivity—by dissertating on Jungian psychology, with the odd result that textual effects readable as mise en abîme morph into a gothic, and gothic-like, aesthetic. In his earlier À l’ami qui ne m’a pas sauvé la vie, Guibert deploys the mise en abîme to indicate that self-examination need not result in positing a substantive content of the self. Guibert’s intellectual willingness to accept this paradoxical outcome reflects his readiness to play a witness to himself and others, in life and in death. His interest in himself and others is a form of love, capable of countering the stigmatizing shame, which Thompson struggles to overcome with his Jungian insights. |
format | Article |
id | doaj-art-9975484121ca4d7e9bae5591d7167461 |
institution | Kabale University |
issn | 1638-1718 |
language | English |
publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
publisher | Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA) |
record_format | Article |
series | E-REA |
spelling | doaj-art-9975484121ca4d7e9bae5591d71674612025-01-09T12:54:15ZengLaboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)E-REA1638-17182014-12-0112110.4000/erea.4162Gothic and Quasi-Gothic Aesthetic and the Mise en Abîme in Two Examples of Gay Men’s Life Writing About AIDSTomasz BASIUKThis comparison between Hervé Guibert’s autofiction and Mark Thompson’s memoir is focused on their use of the mise en abîme. Thompson’s unacknowledged use of the mise en abîme is symptomatic of the incoherence pervading his self-narrative. Thompson covers up moments of incoherence in his Gay Body—moments which represent missed occasions for self-reflexivity—by dissertating on Jungian psychology, with the odd result that textual effects readable as mise en abîme morph into a gothic, and gothic-like, aesthetic. In his earlier À l’ami qui ne m’a pas sauvé la vie, Guibert deploys the mise en abîme to indicate that self-examination need not result in positing a substantive content of the self. Guibert’s intellectual willingness to accept this paradoxical outcome reflects his readiness to play a witness to himself and others, in life and in death. His interest in himself and others is a form of love, capable of countering the stigmatizing shame, which Thompson struggles to overcome with his Jungian insights.https://journals.openedition.org/erea/4162witnessingshameHervé GuibertMark ThompsonSidamise en abîme |
spellingShingle | Tomasz BASIUK Gothic and Quasi-Gothic Aesthetic and the Mise en Abîme in Two Examples of Gay Men’s Life Writing About AIDS E-REA witnessing shame Hervé Guibert Mark Thompson Sida mise en abîme |
title | Gothic and Quasi-Gothic Aesthetic and the Mise en Abîme in Two Examples of Gay Men’s Life Writing About AIDS |
title_full | Gothic and Quasi-Gothic Aesthetic and the Mise en Abîme in Two Examples of Gay Men’s Life Writing About AIDS |
title_fullStr | Gothic and Quasi-Gothic Aesthetic and the Mise en Abîme in Two Examples of Gay Men’s Life Writing About AIDS |
title_full_unstemmed | Gothic and Quasi-Gothic Aesthetic and the Mise en Abîme in Two Examples of Gay Men’s Life Writing About AIDS |
title_short | Gothic and Quasi-Gothic Aesthetic and the Mise en Abîme in Two Examples of Gay Men’s Life Writing About AIDS |
title_sort | gothic and quasi gothic aesthetic and the mise en abime in two examples of gay men s life writing about aids |
topic | witnessing shame Hervé Guibert Mark Thompson Sida mise en abîme |
url | https://journals.openedition.org/erea/4162 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT tomaszbasiuk gothicandquasigothicaestheticandthemiseenabimeintwoexamplesofgaymenslifewritingaboutaids |