Visual Elective Affinities: An Elliptical Study of the Works of Angela Carter and Marosa di Giorgio examines the extent to which these two authors engage with visual representations, as well as how visuality affects and modulates the nature of their writing. In this respect, I am committed to re-thinking the notions of verbal and visual media and I draw on W.J.T. Mitchell’s theory of the imagetext as a conceptual tool from which to investigate the heterogeneity of representation.
On the one hand, I trace similarities and contrasts between Carter’s and di Giorgio’s perspectives, offering new critical approaches to each other’s œuvres. For example, I suggest new routes of interpretation into Carter’s and di Giorgio’s texts, by opening the exploration of their work to the interplay not only with visuality but also with each other’s geo-cultural domains. On the other hand, this thesis draws on theories and discourses of comparative literature and, hence, it also problematises standards and consequences of comparisons between the arts and between cultures.
There are three major visual elective affinities with which I develop an intertwined analysis of the authors’ texts. Firstly, Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s pictures are a shared reference in Carter’s and di Giorgio’s writings, and I analyse Arcimboldo’s “effect” on their works. A second visual affinity is created around visions and images of women. Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber” is put under consideration along with images by Félicien Rops, Jacques Louis David and Corinna Sargood, amongst others, whilst di Giorgio’s Camino de las pedrerías is examined in relation to surrealist works of art including: Max Ernst’s, Leonora Carrington’s and Leonor Fini’s. Finally, this thesis analyses the films The Company of Wolves (dir. Neil Jordan, 1984) and Lobo (dir. Eduardo Casanova, 1990) in relation to Carter’s and di Giorgio’s works. In doing so, I introduce alternative perspectives on these writers, examining the links between cinematography and fairy tales, and exploring the conflictive and hybrid nature of filmic representation.
The University of Exeter