Poetics and Rhetoric as Erotic Discourse in the Biography of Olivia Manning
Poetics and Rhetoric as Erotic Discourse in the Biography of Olivia Manning

Summary/Abstract: Olivia Manning, an essential British author, is the subject of a remarkable and coherent life and literary creation. The present paper starts from a generic view of Manning’s emotional (amorous) evolution and offers a biographical approach. Moreover, this is undoubtedly the environment in which her psychology, social involvement, and work trajectory originate, develop and function throughout her life. The study will then focus on the author’s family traits and experiences and, subsequently, on specific access to the contentious and affective relationships she maintained as personal or professional interests. Olivia Manning successfully blends her controversial personality with defining aspects of existence and, through affective perception, constructs a masterful and visionary work. Her primary work, The Balkan Trilogy (1960), consisting of six novels chronicling Manning’s experiences as a refugee in Eastern Europe and later in the Middle East, is only one of her artistic milestones, which will represent a key to the adequate and biographical understanding of this article. In addition, the paper will highlight the fascinating connection between emotional stimuli, her reaction to action, and her personal choice, as a woman and a writer. Accordingly, it will analyse expert opinion about the trilogy, projected on the BBC and her entire career. It will lay the groundwork for a deep dive into Manning's work, emphasizing her emotional and social background. The article concludes with an original interpretation of the context in which Olivia Manning transposed her life experiences into an artistic pulse based on a clear conception of writing.

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