Ethical Dilemmas of Trauma Representation; Considering Art Spiegelman as a Liminal Mediator
Theodor Adorno famously proclaims that “to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric” (285). Undoubtedly, he does not attempt to silence narratives of the Holocaust through this oft-cited remark. With this paradox began a conversation that proceeds to this day and resulted in a paradigm that haunts a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Bucharest University Press
2022-10-01
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| Series: | University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Gal.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797641877619474432 |
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| author | Maya Gal |
| author_facet | Maya Gal |
| author_sort | Maya Gal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Theodor Adorno famously proclaims that “to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric” (285). Undoubtedly, he does not attempt to silence narratives of the Holocaust through this oft-cited remark. With this paradox began a conversation that proceeds to this day and resulted in a paradigm that haunts all trauma narratives: “who has the right to speak or write? What are the appropriate forms for their utterance to take?” and finally, “who is speaking, to whom, on whose behalf, and in what context?” (Godard 18). An author inevitably distorts and modifies an original traumatic experience by inserting his voice into the narrative via stylistic choices, formatting, narration, etc. By default, he is thus positioned as a liminal mediator between the experiencer of the story and the reader. He must ethically avoid distortions of the subject’s story, despite such responsibility creating a difficult paradox to resolve. I consider this conflict through Art Spiegelman’s Maus volumes I and II. Maus raises the same questions of censorship, authorship, and responsibility through its subject matter of the Holocaust and its medium as a graphic novel. I focus primarily on Art, the narrator, as a mediator between Spiegelman the author, his father, mother, and the written page. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:51:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-274ed9452e8148e38100ad3b9c7e2ca4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2069-8658 2734-5963 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:51:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Bucharest University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series |
| spelling | doaj.art-274ed9452e8148e38100ad3b9c7e2ca42023-11-02T08:05:29ZengBucharest University PressUniversity of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series2069-86582734-59632022-10-011213850Ethical Dilemmas of Trauma Representation; Considering Art Spiegelman as a Liminal MediatorMaya Gal0University of British Columbia; Canada.Theodor Adorno famously proclaims that “to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric” (285). Undoubtedly, he does not attempt to silence narratives of the Holocaust through this oft-cited remark. With this paradox began a conversation that proceeds to this day and resulted in a paradigm that haunts all trauma narratives: “who has the right to speak or write? What are the appropriate forms for their utterance to take?” and finally, “who is speaking, to whom, on whose behalf, and in what context?” (Godard 18). An author inevitably distorts and modifies an original traumatic experience by inserting his voice into the narrative via stylistic choices, formatting, narration, etc. By default, he is thus positioned as a liminal mediator between the experiencer of the story and the reader. He must ethically avoid distortions of the subject’s story, despite such responsibility creating a difficult paradox to resolve. I consider this conflict through Art Spiegelman’s Maus volumes I and II. Maus raises the same questions of censorship, authorship, and responsibility through its subject matter of the Holocaust and its medium as a graphic novel. I focus primarily on Art, the narrator, as a mediator between Spiegelman the author, his father, mother, and the written page.https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Gal.pdftraumatic narrativesgraphic novelsholocaust literaturenarrationcollaborative literatureethics of storytelling |
| spellingShingle | Maya Gal Ethical Dilemmas of Trauma Representation; Considering Art Spiegelman as a Liminal Mediator University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series traumatic narratives graphic novels holocaust literature narration collaborative literature ethics of storytelling |
| title | Ethical Dilemmas of Trauma Representation; Considering Art Spiegelman as a Liminal Mediator |
| title_full | Ethical Dilemmas of Trauma Representation; Considering Art Spiegelman as a Liminal Mediator |
| title_fullStr | Ethical Dilemmas of Trauma Representation; Considering Art Spiegelman as a Liminal Mediator |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ethical Dilemmas of Trauma Representation; Considering Art Spiegelman as a Liminal Mediator |
| title_short | Ethical Dilemmas of Trauma Representation; Considering Art Spiegelman as a Liminal Mediator |
| title_sort | ethical dilemmas of trauma representation considering art spiegelman as a liminal mediator |
| topic | traumatic narratives graphic novels holocaust literature narration collaborative literature ethics of storytelling |
| url | https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Gal.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mayagal ethicaldilemmasoftraumarepresentationconsideringartspiegelmanasaliminalmediator |