A 'wilful extremist' according to the London Times, Hélène Cixous is hailed as one of the most formidable writers and thinkers of our time. Acclaimed by luminaries such as Jacques Derrida, her writing has nonetheless been misunderstood and misread, to a surprising extent. With the inclusion of Stigmata, one of her greatest works into the Routledge Classics series, this is about to change. Questions that have long concerned her – the self and the other, autobiographies of writing, sexual difference, literary theory, post-colonial theory, death and life – are explored here, woven into a stunning narrative. Displaying a remarkable virtuosity, the work of Cixous is heady stuff indeed: exciting, powerful, moving, and dangerous.
'Hélène Cixous is in my eyes, today, the greatest writer in the French language... Stigmata is henceforth a classic... One of her most recent masterpieces.' - Jacques Derrida
CONTENTS
Reading in painting 1 Bathsheba or the interior Bible 2 Without end, no, State of drawingness, no, rather: The Executioner’s taking Off
Ringing in the feminine hour 3 In October 1991… 4 Hiss of the axe 5 What is it o’clock? or The door (we never enter) 6 Love of the wolf 7 ‘Mamãe, disse ele,’ or Joyce’s second hand
Going off writing 8 Unmasked! 9 Writing blind: conversation with the donkey 10 My Algeriance, in other words: to depart not to arrive from Algeria
From my menagerie to Philosophy 11 Shared at dawn 12 Stigmata, or Job the dog
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hélène Cixous (1937- ) Born in Algeria, Cixous spent her childhood in France. Known for her experimental writing that crosses the traditional limits of academic discourse into poetic language, she is equally well known for her work in education and as a novelist and a playwright.
