Abjection within Anna Kavan's Asylum Piece Exploring the language of madness.

Abstract

This thesis researches how the abject reveals a language of madness in Anna Kavan's Asylum Piece. By using the theory of abjection by Julia Kristeva and the method of écriture féminine by Hélène Cixous, I want to reveal how the abject is at work, how the trope of the house functions and how the novel by Kavan can be read as a transgressive text. As this thesis is situated within feminist theory, it is of importance to show how the experience of madness is confined in the phallocentric tradition, and how making this experience visible can lead to empowerment. By close-reading the story “A Changed Situation” from Asylum Piece by Anna Kavan, I have analyzed the use of abjection in language, and how this use of language constructs an écriture féminine. The theory of abjection has shown to reveal a language of madness in “A Changed Situation” by giving attention to expulsion and the duality that exists in the experience of madness. The phallocentric tradition of rendering the female experience as irrational is countered by Kavan's ability to turn the phallocentric language over to write through her body hence creating an écriture féminine. A lot of attention will be given to the trope of the house since that is the space in which Kavan's experiences take place. The house gives an opportunity to make relations to feminist theory and their conceptions of domesticity, whilst also looking through the experience of madness in which the house has the ability to transform itself. Kavan shows that there is a language for madness, and that this opens up the experience of madness and makes it visible which can be interpreted as an emancipatory effect. Feminist theory is of the opinion that giving a voice to the repressed is the important tool to counter the phallocentric tradition by, and this is what Kavan achieves.