Where does perversion begin? Who is perverse? Ever since the word
first appeared in the Middle Ages, anyone who delights in evil and
in the destruction of the self or others has been described as
'perverse'. But while the experience of perversion is universal,
every era has seen it and dealt with it in its own way. The history
of perversion in the West is told here through a study of great
emblematic figures of the perverse - Gilles de Rais, the mystical
saints and the flagellants in the middle ages, the Marquis de Sade
in the eighteenth century, the masturbating child, the male
homosexual and the hysterical woman nineteenth century, Nazism in
the twentieth century, and the complementary figures of the
paedophile and the terrorist in the twenty-first. The perverse are
rarely talked about and when they are it is usually only to be
condemned. They are commonly viewed as monstrous and cruel, as
something alien to the very nature of being human. And yet,
perversion can also attest to creativity and self-transcendence, to
the refusal of individuals to submit to the rules and prohibitions
that govern human life. Perversion fascinates us precisely because
it can be both abject and sublime. Whether they are sublime because
they turn to art or mysticism, or abject because they surrender to
their murderous impulses, the perverse are part of us because they
exhibit something that we always conceal: our own negativity and
our dark side.
General
| Imprint: |
Polity Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
| Release date: |
September 2009 |
| First published: |
2009 |
| Authors: |
Elisabeth Roudinesco
|
| Dimensions: |
230 x 154 x 15mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Paperback
|
| Pages: |
188 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-7456-4593-3 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
General
|
| LSN: |
0-7456-4593-3 |
| Barcode: |
9780745645933 |
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