Autobiography, the dangers of knowledge and Genet's suspect reader
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9840460 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Claire Boyle (Christ Church, Oxford, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 189-202 |
| Publication date | 2005-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | French Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0016-1128 • E-ISSN: 1468-2931 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/fs/kni138 |
| OpenAlex | W2104496216 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
Genet's autobiographical work is noticeably resistant to providing its reader with a conventional autobiographical account of the author's life and self. Notre-Dame-des-Fleurs writes the self principally through its fantasies; Journal du voleur reveals a reluctant autobiographical narrator. My article argues that Genet's determination not to supply the traditional ingredients of autobiography stems from his insights as a prisoner into the means by which deviant, anti-social individuals are made to conform to society's demands. I suggest that Genet is conscious of how the regime of ‘haute surveillance’ in prison aims to correct the unacceptable practices of the prisoner by exposing them knowingly to a constant watchful gaze, which should instil obedience. In this insight, Genet foreshadows Michel Foucault's theorizations in Surveiller et punir on the workings of the prison system. Foucault states that the watchful gaze allows knowledge to be amassed about the prisoner: once reduced to the known and the predictable, a prisoner's behaviour is no longer a threat and he can be disciplined and subjectified. I argue that Genet's treatment of his reader and aversion to autobiographical conventions reflect a determination to avoid subjectification, and to continue acting as an irritant to his society
Art · Biography · Criminology · Gaze · Literature · Obedience · Prison · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Subjectification · Suspect · Trilogy · Canadian Identity and History · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2023 (19) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |