Involuntary Confessions of the Flesh in Early Modern France

Author:   Nora Martin Peterson
Publisher:   University of Delaware Press
ISBN:  

9781644530344


Pages:   186
Publication Date:   14 September 2016
Recommended Age:   From 16 to 99 years
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Involuntary Confessions of the Flesh in Early Modern France


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Overview

Involuntary Confessions of the Flesh in Early Modern France was inspired by the observation that small slips of the flesh (involuntary confessions of the flesh) are omnipresent in early modern texts of many kinds. These slips (which bear similarities to what we would today call the Freudian slip) disrupt and destabilize readings of body, self, and text—three categories whose mutual boundaries this book seeks to soften—but also, in their very messiness, participate in defining them. Involuntary Confessions capitalizes on the uncertainty of such volatile moments, arguing that it is instability itself that provides the tools to navigate and understand the complexity of the early modern world. Rather than locate the body within any one discourse (Foucauldian, psychoanalytic), this book argues that slips of the flesh create a liminal space not exactly outside of discourse, but not necessarily subject to it, either. Involuntary confessions of the flesh reveal the perpetual and urgent challenge of early modern thinkers to textually confront and define the often tenuous relationship between the body and the self. By eluding and frustrating attempts to contain it, the early modern body reveals that truth is as much about surfaces as it is about interior depth, and that the self is fruitfully perpetuated by the conflict that proceeds from seemingly irreconcilable narratives. Interdisciplinary in its scope, Involuntary Confessions of the Flesh in Early Modern France pairs major French literary works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (by Marguerite de Navarre, Montaigne, Madame de Lafayette) with cultural documents (confession manuals, legal documents about the application of torture, and courtly handbooks). It is the first study of its kind to bring these discourses into thematic (rather than linear or chronological) dialog. In so doing, it emphasizes the shared struggle of many different early modern conversations to come to terms with the body’s volatility. Published by University of Delaware Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.  

Full Product Details

Author:   Nora Martin Peterson
Publisher:   University of Delaware Press
Imprint:   University of Delaware Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.10cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.281kg
ISBN:  

9781644530344


ISBN 10:   1644530341
Pages:   186
Publication Date:   14 September 2016
Recommended Age:   From 16 to 99 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

Each part of the book is balanced: the selection of cultural texts is as large and appropriate as the literary pieces. They are all discussed with equal sophistication and nuanced analysis, based on agreeing with, but also adding to, the viewpoints of many American and European scholars. The style is clear, straightforward, and matches the coherence of the analysis. . . This book represents a rich reading of well-known and less known texts in illuminating ways that provoke the desire to engage in further discussions, based on the originality of the connection between self, body, and text.--French Review


Author Information

Nora Martin Peterson is Associate Professor of French and Cultural Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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