Apocalyptic Narcissism and the Difficulty of Mourning
Abstract
In this article I examine how death and loss feature in recent apocalypse fiction and suggest that, in a genre mostly concerned with finitude, there appears to be paradoxically little room for expressions of mourning. I assess contemporary attitudes towards mortality through the writings of Philippe Ariès, Zygmunt Bauman, Simon Critchley and others, and propose a psychoanalytic reading of solitary survivor narrative, inspired by the work of Martin Jay. In the final part of the article, I turn to Sigmund Freud and René Girard to explore the relation between apocalyptic teleology, melancholy, and the expectation of global catastrophe.
Narcisismo apocalittico e la difficoltà del lutto
In questo articolo indago la rappresentazione della morte e della perdita nella recente letteratura apocalittica, e avanzo l’ipotesi che in un genere letterario ossessionato dall’idea di fine sembra esserci poco spazio, paradossalmente, per l’espressione del lutto. Traendo esempi da Philippe Ariès, Zygmunt Bauman, Simon Critchley, ricostruisco alcuni atteggiamenti davanti la morte che dominano il dibattito filosofico contemporaneo, e, sulla scia di Martin Jay, propongo una lettura psicoanalitica delle narrazioni dell’ultimo uomo. Nella parte finale dell’articolo, traggo spunto dalle intuizioni di Sigmund Freud e René Girard per esplorare il rapporto tra teleologia apocalittica, malinconia, e aspettative di una catastrofe globale.
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