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Volume 4, No. 2Volume 4, Issue 2

Published December 1, 2024

Issue description

This issue brings together articles that explore literature, drama, and philosophy through diverse theoretical perspectives, including psychoanalysis, deconstruction, performance studies, and narrative theory. The contributions examine how literary texts and cultural productions engage with questions of interpretation, identity, class, and narrative structure.

Chia-Chieh Mavis Tseng analyzes the critical dialogue surrounding Edgar Allan Poe’s The Purloined Letter, focusing on interpretations offered by Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida, and Barbara Johnson. The article investigates how these theorists reinterpret Poe’s story through psychoanalytic and deconstructive frameworks, highlighting the complex relationship between language, meaning, and textual interpretation.

Turning to contemporary performance, Alaina DiSalvo examines masculinity and class conflict in the musical Hadestown, analyzing how the production reimagines classical myth while addressing modern socio-economic tensions and constructions of gender.

Shakespearean drama is revisited by Nancy Mỹ Nghi La, who reinterprets the character of Malvolio in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The article proposes a reading of Malvolio as an “anti-clown,” offering new insight into the play’s comic structure and the dynamics of authority, humiliation, and theatrical performance.

The issue also includes a book review by Michael Modarelli on Narratives and Narrators: A Philosophy of Stories by Gregory Currie, which discusses philosophical approaches to storytelling and narrative interpretation.

Together, the works in this issue highlight the continued vitality of literary and cultural studies, demonstrating how classical texts, modern adaptations, and philosophical reflections intersect in the ongoing analysis of narrative, performance, and meaning.

Full Issue

Articles

  1. Chia-Chieh Mavis Tseng (Author)

    The Return of a Letter in Reverse Form: Lacan, Derrida, and Johnson’s Critical Writings on Poe’s The Purloined Letter

    Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Purloined Letter revolves
    around a stolen letter and the brilliant detective Dupin’s method of
    retrieving it by understanding his adversary’s psychology. It raises
    an intriguing question: Why does a letter always return to its
    sender? In this essay, I will explore the nature of the letter/
    signifier’s return, drawing on Lacan, Derrida, and Barbara
    Johnson’s critical writings on this renowned short story. This
    study will demonstrate that, despite their different theoretical
    contexts, these analyses mirror the very story they examine,
    raising questions about the legitimate role of the critic and the
    problematic nature of meta-language. 

  2. Alaina DiSalvo (Author)

    “It Ain’t Right, and It Ain’t Natural”: Masculinity and Class Conflict in Hadestown

    This paper analyzes the musical Hadestown, which reinterprets
    ancient Greek myth for a modern audience. The narrative
    juxtaposes the relationship between deities Hades and Persephone
    with the struggles of Orpheus and Eurydice, illustrating themes of
    exploitation and social inequality. This paper looks at the
    standards of masculinity and femininity that are forced upon
    people, and how these strict roles harm everyone. This paper
    argues that Hades’ control over Persephone and the labor force
    mirrors patriarchal and capitalist dynamics, where women and
    workers are commodified. Ultimately, it suggests Hadestown is a
    cautionary tale about reformist approaches within oppressive
    systems, advocating for revolutionary change. A Marxian analysis
    is used alongside contemporary feminist thought to explore these
    dynamics.

  3. Nancy Mỹ Nghi La (Author)

    “Take the fool away”: Reimagining Malvolio as The Anti-Clown in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

    This paper considers a new theoretical and practical approach to understanding unconventional methods of laughter-making in early modern English theatre. It establishes theatrical emotional reciprocity through French philosopher Michel Foucault’s theory on heterotopia and argue that theatre audience and their projections play a role in fostering a relationship between theatregoers and actors on stage. Further, this paper examines embodied communication on stage that allow for a new kind of laughter-making where the characters become the joke, instead of merely performing a comedic act. The success of this alternative method of humour-creation is facilitated through mirror neurons in the brain where mirror neurons are activated when the subject observes others’ actions. Using the character of Malvolio from Twelfth Night as a case study, this paper coins the term “anticlown” to discuss characters that demonstrate this alternative process to laughter-making and argue that this method expands the role of the clown beyond that of simple comedic providers.

  4. Michael Modarelli (Author)

    Book Review: Narratives and Narrators: A Philosophy of Stories, Gregory Currie. Oxford University Press, 2010. 244 pages.

    In Narratives and Narrators, Gregory Currie offers a
    sophisticated philosophical investigation into the nature of narrative
    and narration, challenging existing theories while constructing his
    own comprehensive framework for understanding how stories work.
    This ambitious project succeeds in bringing analytical clarity to
    several contentious issues in narrative theory, though some of its
    conclusions may prove controversial