A Foucaultian Interpretation Of Lamotte’s Existential Plight In Possession:A Romance

Possession: A Romance(Possession)is Antonio Susan Byatt’s(A.S.Byatt’s)most critically acclaimed representative novel.By applying Michel Foucault’s interpretations on the relationships between knowledge,discourse and power,space and power,as well as between body and power,this thesis probes into the existential plight of the Victorian poetess Christable La Motte in Possession from three aspects.Firstly,the male intellectual authority empowered by the patriarchal discourse of the Victorian society belittled women’s intellectual ability.As a result,La Motte’s works always failed to gain their due recognition.In this way,La Motte’s identity of knowledge producer was denied and her voice as a poetess was also silenced.Secondly,Ash’s frequent correspondences and increasing intimacy with La Motte destroyed the female alliance between La Motte and Blanche,which resulted in La Motte’s final loss of her private space in Richmond.This reality further worsened La Motte’s existential plight.Finally,under the moral disciplines of the patriarchal power on women’s body,La Motte’s dating with Ash in Scarborough resulted in her final loss of her body autonomy.Her guilt due to suicide committed by Blanche,and her final continuous denial of her self-values led to La Motte’s complete discipline in spirit under disciplinary power.This marked that La Motte was completely stuck in her existential plight.Through the detailed analysis,it is clear to see that suppression on women’s voice by the “rational” patriarchal discourse,the manipulation of space by the patriarchal power,and the patriarchal moral disciplines on women’s body and mind,all together led to La Motte’s failure in maintaining her female autonomy.Byatt’s descriptions of La Motte’s existential plight show her deep concerns on the existential circumstances of female intellectuals and her reflections on women’s destiny.