“HOW DO YOU GRIEVE A NUMBER?” – UNSUCCESSFUL GRIEVING IN JESS WALTER’S “THE ZERO”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2021.2.10Keywords:
9/11 fiction, exploration of grief, work of mourning, trauma narrative, Jess WalterAbstract
“How do you grieve a number?” – Unsuccessful Grieving in Jess Walter’s The Zero. Accountability and grief, assuming different forms and accommodating a variety of (sometimes antithetical) approaches, seem to be the dominants shaping 9/11 fiction and, consequently, the attendant criticism. Grief is a central theme to Jess Walter’s The Zero, examined in various manifestations, ranging from public to private, from counterfeit to genuine. The claim of this paper is that The Zero explores alternatives of grief only to invite the thought that the work of mourning, in a traditionally ‘successful’ sense, is no longer possible post-9/11.
REZUMAT. “Cum deplângem un număr?” – Eșuarea travaliului de doliu în romanul The Zero de Jess Walter. Luând diverse forme și permițând o plajă largă de abordări, uneori chiar antitetice, identificarea responsabililor și gestionarea suferinței par a fi dominantele care modelează proza despre atacurile teroriste de la 11 septembrie și, implicit, critica aferentă. Raportarea la suferință și doliu este tema centrală a romanului The Zero de Jess Walter, examinată în multiplele-i manifestări, traversând spațiul public și spațiul privat, teritorii ale superficialității, dar și zone restrânse de autenticitate. În acest context, lucrarea de față susține că romanul The Zero explorează alternative de raportare la suferință și doliu pentru a lansa ideea că travaliul de doliu, în accepțiunea tradițională a succesului acestui proces, nu mai este posibil în lumea de după 11 septembrie.
Cuvinte-cheie: literatură 9/11, deplângere și suferință, travaliul de doliu, narațiune a traumei, Jess Walter
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