Cognitive metaphors in Hélène Cixous’s essay “The Laugh of the Medusa”

Abstract

The article deals with cognitive metaphors in Hélène Cixous’ essay “The Laugh of Medusa”, which is a key text in feminist literature. The aim of the study is to determine the role of cognitive metaphors (Medusa, “white ink”, Africa) in the formation of the concept of women’s writing. The material of the study is the text of H. Cixous’ essay. The research methods include cognitive analysis, semantic and interpretive approaches, text deconstruction. The authors of the article emphasize the concept of cognitive metaphor as a means of creating and deconstructing narratives. The relevance of the article lies in the fact that the problem of women’s writing remains at the center of modern literary discourse. A brief review of the scientific literature allows us to demonstrate the continued interest of researchers in the issues raised in the essay “The Laugh of Medusa”, as well as the relevance of the theory of cognitive metaphor as a research method. The results of the study showed that H. Cixous’ use of mythological and cultural images enhances the representation of female identity. The authors established the importance of metaphorical images of Medusa, “white ink” and Africa in revealing the concept of women’s writing. The scientific novelty lies in the complex consideration of the named metaphors, whose semantics are fully revealed in their interrelation. This approach distinguishes this study from others in which the subject of analysis in revealing the concept of women’s writing is mainly the image of Medusa. The use of metaphors allows H. Cixous to discuss the essence of a new type of narrative, which is in many ways different from traditional male writing. H. Cixous decenters the male gaze and destroys the culturally established interpretation of the image of Medusa as frightening and threatening. The new optics show Medusa as a victim of male dominance, discriminated against, deprived of the right to vote. This interpretation allows H. Cixous to define the main goal of the female text, namely to break the silence of women in literature, to stop being an object of male interpretation, to create their own type of narration. Africa in Н. Cixous’ essay becomes a metaphorical image of a woman who was imposed with the myth of her mystery and incomprehensibility, and on this basis, attempts to understand her were abandoned. Н. Cixous believes that a male writer is objectively incapable of depicting the nature of a woman and therefore justifies himself with words about the “secret” and “mystery” of a woman, limiting the narrative about her to common stereotypes. H. Cixous uses the metaphorical image of “white ink” to emphasize the fact that women’s writing has its own differences and is free from the established standards of male artistic language. The results of the study can be applied to the analysis of women’s texts.