The Namework of Ursula K. Le Guin
With its focus on sound and form in language, Sigmund Freud’s concept of jokework provides a useful analogy for studying invented names in fiction. This is especially true of a writer like Ursula K. Le Guin, who describes the onomastic creation in her stories and novels as a largely subconscious pr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
2018-07-01
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| Series: | Names |
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| Online Access: | http://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/view/2160 |
| _version_ | 1818508401842323456 |
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| author | Christopher L. Robinson |
| author_facet | Christopher L. Robinson |
| author_sort | Christopher L. Robinson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
With its focus on sound and form in language, Sigmund Freud’s concept of jokework provides a useful analogy for studying invented names in fiction. This is especially true of a writer like Ursula K. Le Guin, who describes the onomastic creation in her stories and novels as a largely subconscious process. The namework in her fiction recalls the kind of wordplay and verbal experimentation in which children like to indulge, an activity that both Freud and Le Guin claim is inhibited in the course of growing up. It moreover privileges names in and of themselves as objects of aesthetic delight for the ears, eyes and minds of both the author and her readers. Finally, the concept of namework helps to explain how and why Le Guin recreates names that look and sound alike in her fantasy and science fiction.
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| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T22:31:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9e004da477b1462580dee284a4feb41f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0027-7738 1756-2279 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T22:31:25Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | University Library System, University of Pittsburgh |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Names |
| spelling | doaj.art-9e004da477b1462580dee284a4feb41f2022-12-22T01:31:02ZengUniversity Library System, University of PittsburghNames0027-77381756-22792018-07-0166310.1080/00277738.2017.1415541The Namework of Ursula K. Le GuinChristopher L. Robinson With its focus on sound and form in language, Sigmund Freud’s concept of jokework provides a useful analogy for studying invented names in fiction. This is especially true of a writer like Ursula K. Le Guin, who describes the onomastic creation in her stories and novels as a largely subconscious process. The namework in her fiction recalls the kind of wordplay and verbal experimentation in which children like to indulge, an activity that both Freud and Le Guin claim is inhibited in the course of growing up. It moreover privileges names in and of themselves as objects of aesthetic delight for the ears, eyes and minds of both the author and her readers. Finally, the concept of namework helps to explain how and why Le Guin recreates names that look and sound alike in her fantasy and science fiction. http://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/view/2160marriagewomenmarital namefeminismchoiceidentity |
| spellingShingle | Christopher L. Robinson The Namework of Ursula K. Le Guin Names marriage women marital name feminism choice identity |
| title | The Namework of Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_full | The Namework of Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_fullStr | The Namework of Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Namework of Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_short | The Namework of Ursula K. Le Guin |
| title_sort | namework of ursula k le guin |
| topic | marriage women marital name feminism choice identity |
| url | http://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/view/2160 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christopherlrobinson thenameworkofursulakleguin AT christopherlrobinson nameworkofursulakleguin |