aesthetics of the "ych" ("V"/Fanny Burney, from Rei Terada, on NASSR)

[Eric Alan Weinstein, Centre For English Studies, University Of London]

>The contemporary theoretical locus classicus of the "ych" that we haven't
>mentioned is Kristeva's discussion of abjection; paradigmatically, a
>child's loathing of certain foods ("that skin on the surface of the
>milk").  The abjected stuff is supposed to be the focus of primal
>repression, including of the mother's body, so milk really is a
>non-accidental example.
>
>Fanny Burney's description of her mastectomy (I know someone who wrote
>about this) competes well with Pynchon's "Esther's nose job" episode in
>_V._  She makes much of the potential erotic impropriety of the operation
>(7 goggling doctors), and despite her apologies, her prose is mercilessly
>enthusiastic about pursuing all the ych details.  Medical language
>doesn't take us away from the obscenity of it at all.  To the contrary.
>I'm wondering whether what's necessary to make something as ych as
>possible is that kind of language: instrumental, purposive, hence
>anti-aesthetic language.
>
>Rei Terada
>Univ. of Michigan
>
>