Professors of despair

Professors of despair , is a test written in French by the Canadian novelist Nancy Huston, and published in 2004 with the editions Actes Sud.

Summary

In this test Nancy Huston tries to draw a picture, a chronological evolution of the Nihilisme in literature since its origins at the 19th century until the contemporary literature. It details, through its personal readings of part of the Western and French literature in particular, certain fundamental being able to push the authors towards a negation of the direction of the life like forces creative of their work, and their intimate life. She also wonders about the current craving of our company for these authors. Nancy Huston alternates comments and demonstrations thanks to chapters devoted to Arthur Schopenhauer, Samuel Beckett, Emil Cioran, Jean Améry, Charlotte Delbo, Imre Kertész, Thomas Bernhard, Milan Kundera, Elfriede Jelinek, Michel Houellebecq, Sarah Kane, Christine Angot, and Linda the.

Analyzes

Nancy Huston defines the postulates and the factors of emergence of the nihilism or the " néantisme": in reaction to the shock of the place and capacity of the human being in the universe (with the modernism) and of the Man in the company and the culture (with the emancipation of the women), in reaction finally to the traumatism of the Second world war, the nihilism works out a vision of the world based on the principles of elitism and Solipsisme (individualism misanthropist), of dislike of female (the female one being identified with the body and nature) and of contempt for the terrestrial life.

As often at Nancy Huston, the theory is inextricably dependant, in its practice even, with the fiction and lightness counterbalances the dark share of the remarks. Thus its readings of work are punctuated imaginary dialogs with a figure borrowed from Thomas Bernhard: Goddess Suzy, figure of a female god that Bernhard ridicules and denies in the same gesture and that Nancy Huston, on the contrary, calls upon and takes with witness.

References

  • Professors of despair , Nancy Huston, Actes Sud, Collection Babel nº715, 2004, ISBN 2-74275-817-8.

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