Formal Matters: Embodied Experience in Modern Literature

Formal Matters re-examines postmodernism's view of the body by drawing on early and mid-century formalisms, arguing that embodiment constitutes form and that the lived, corporeal body is not what resists representation but what constitutes it. It offers a new method for grasping embodied experience and reinvigorates formalist methods with political potential.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2022
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Formal Matters: Revisiting Postmodernism's Body-Signification Debate through Early and Mid-Century Formalisms

In Formal Matters, Zoë Roth re-examines the postmodernist insistence that the body escapes signification by turning to an unexpected source: early and mid-century formalisms. The book argues that embodiment—or the experience of the lived, corporeal body—is not what resists representation but what constitutes form. Working at the intersection of formalist criticism, phenomenology, and body studies, Roth reassesses the relationship between embodiment and form in a range of modern European authors, including Primo Levi, Maurice Blanchot, Samuel Beckett, and Anne F. Garréta. Through close textual analysis, Formal Matters provides a new method for grasping embodied experience where it appears most attenuated and fragmented. It provides an original account of the body's relationship to language and representation, while also reinvigorating formalist methods with political potential.

One of the key arguments of Formal Matters is that the body is not a passive object of representation but an active participant in the process of signification. Roth challenges the postmodernist notion that the body is a site of resistance to meaning and argues that the body is instead a site of production and transformation. She suggests that the body's ability to resist representation is not due to its inherent nature but rather to the social and cultural contexts in which it operates.

Roth's analysis of early and mid-century formalisms reveals that these formalisms were not simply concerned with the aesthetic properties of language but also with the social and political implications of language. Formalisms such as structuralism, deconstruction, and poststructuralism sought to uncover the hidden structures and meanings of language and to challenge the dominant discourses that shape our understanding of the world.

However, Roth argues that these formalisms were limited in their ability to address the embodied experience of the body. They tended to focus on the abstract and theoretical aspects of language, while neglecting the lived experience of the body. Roth suggests that this neglect was due to the dominance of the Cartesian mind-body dualism in Western thought, which posits a clear separation between the mind and the body.

To address this neglect, Roth introduces the concept of "embodied cognition." Embodied cognition is the idea that the body plays a crucial role in the process of cognition and that our understanding of the world is shaped by our bodily experiences. Roth argues that the body is not just a passive recipient of information but an active participant in the process of meaning-making.

Roth's analysis of modern European authors demonstrates the importance of embodied cognition in the process of signification. She shows how these authors use the body to convey their ideas and emotions and how the body is shaped by the social and cultural contexts in which they operate. For example, Primo Levi's novel "The Truce" explores the relationship between the body and the Holocaust, while Maurice Blanchot's essay "The Unavowable Community" explores the relationship between the body and the political.

Roth's analysis also reveals the political potential of formalist methods. She suggests that formalist methods can be used to challenge dominant discourses and to promote social and political change. For example, she argues that formalist criticism can be used to critique the power structures that shape our understanding of the world and to promote a more inclusive and democratic society.

However, Roth also acknowledges the challenges that formalist methods face in the contemporary world. She suggests that formalist methods can be too abstract and theoretical and that they can overlook the lived experience of the body. She suggests that formalist methods need to be more responsive to the social and cultural contexts in which they operate and that they need to be more inclusive of different perspectives and experiences.

In conclusion, Formal Matters is a groundbreaking book that re-examines the postmodernist insistence that the body escapes signification by turning to an unexpected source: early and mid-century formalisms. The book argues that embodiment—or the experience of the lived, corporeal body—is not what resists representation but what constitutes form. Working at the intersection of formalist criticism, phenomenology, and body studies, Roth reassesses the relationship between embodiment and form in a range of modern European authors, providing a new method for grasping embodied experience where it appears most attenuated and fragmented. Formal Matters also reveals the political potential of formalist methods and acknowledges the challenges that formalist methods face in the contemporary world.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474497503