LAWS OF ATTRACTION: LANGUAGE AND/AS MAGIC IN OTHELLO AND THE ENCHANTRESS OF FLORENCE
LAWS OF ATTRACTION: LANGUAGE AND/AS MAGIC IN OTHELLO AND THE ENCHANTRESS OF FLORENCE
Author(s): Adriana Răducanu Subject(s): Gender Studies, Studies of Literature
Published by: Editura Universităţii de Vest din Timişoara / Diacritic Timisoara
Keywords: attraction; gender; language; mimetic desire; magic;
Summary/Abstract: The present study aims to offer a comparative reading of Shakespeare’s “Othello” and Rushdie’s “The Enchantress of Florence”. Although perhaps not discernible at a first glance, the Jacobean play and the contemporary novel share some significant parallels. Much of what constitutes the substance of these two canonical texts derives from the art of story-telling and its potentially lethal effects on both unwary listeners and the story-tellers themselves. The theoretical framework will be Renee Girard’s concept of “mimetic desire”, shown as constructed via language and its potential for magic.
Journal: B.A.S. British and American Studies
- Issue Year: 27/2021
- Issue No: 27
- Page Range: 157-165
- Page Count: 9
- Language: English