The Literary and Cultural Rhetoric of Victimhood Western Europe, 197
In a series of paradigmatic readings of René Girard, Peter Sloterdijk, Michael Haneke, Anselm Kiefer, Michel Houellebecq, Elfriede Jelinek, Giorgio Agamben, Naqvi examines the current fascination with victimhood and the desire for victim status.
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The Literary and Cultural Rhetoric of Victimhood Western Europe, 1970–2005
Fatima Naqvi
THE LITERARY AND CULTURAL RHETORIC OF VICTIMHOOD
© Fatima Naqvi, 2007. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007 978-1-4039-7570-6 This work includes material adapted from “The Politics of Contempt and the Ecology of Images: Michael Haneke’s Code inconnu,” in The Cosmopolitan Screen: German Cinema and the Global Imaginary, 1945 to the Present (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2007); from “The Abandoned Victim: Cosmology and History in Christoph Ransmayr and Anselm Kiefer” in German Life and Letters 57:2 (2004): 219–35; and from “Elfriede Jelinek’s PostDramatic Stress Disorder: Analysis of a Programmatic Aggression” in Gegenwartsliteratur (2006): 1–28.All images from Anselm Kiefer are Courtesy of the Gagosian Gallery; stills from Michael Haneke are courtesy of WegaFilm; drawings from Friederike Mayröcker are courtesy of the author. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2007 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-53635-1 ISBN 978-0-230-60347-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230603479
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Naqvi, Fatima. The literary and cultural rhetoric of victimhood : Western Europe, 1970–2005 / by Fatima Naqvi. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Social perception—Europe, Western. 2. Victims. 3. Victims in literature. 4. Social psychology—Europe, Western. I. Title. HN373.5.N36 2006 302.12—dc22
2006050185
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: April 2007 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Content s
A Prefatory Note on Translations
vi
Acknowledgments
vii
Introduction Sacrificial Victims: Sigmund Freud, Theodor Adorno, and Max Horkheimer
1
1 Politics of Indifference: René Girard and Peter Sloterdijk
27
2 Mediated Invisibility: Michael Haneke
47
3 Apocalyptic Cosmologies: Christoph Ransmayr and Anselm Kiefer
73
4 Mourning is Moot: A Brief Reprise of Freud
101
5 Feminization and Impoverishment: Friederike Mayröcker
111
6 The Domain of Sexual Struggle: Michel Houellebecq
135
7 Cognitive Dissonances: Elfriede Jelinek
169
Notes
193
Works Cited
243
Index of Names
261
A Prefatory Note on Transl ations
After long consideration, I have made the following choices regarding tran
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