Why ‘Laughter of the Medusa’ Remains Influential Today
Helene Cixous’ call is clear: “A woman must write herself.”
Although some post-structuralist and theoretical references in “O Riso da Medusa”may seem challenging to unversed readers, the French feminist author’s essay is filled with striking and empowering quotes.
It remains essential reading, especially for any young woman who wants to become an author: “Write, don’t let anyone stop you, don’t let anything stop you: not the man; not the stupid capitalist machine where the publishers are the relays. cunning and obsequious of imperatives transmitted by an economy that works against us and behind our backs; and not yourself.”
Pioneer of feminist studies in Europe
Born June 5, 1937, in French Algeria to Jewish parents, Cixous became known for her experimental writing style, spanning multiple genres: theater, literary and feminist theory, art criticism, autobiography, and poetic fiction.
In 1974, Cixous established Europe’s first center for women’s studies at the University of Paris VIII, a public and experimental university that she also co-founded as a direct response to the French student riots of May 1968.
The essayist, novelist and playwright has more than 70 published works and is seen as a strong candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
His most influential article remains “The Laugh of the Medusa”, which was originally published in French under the title “Le Rire de la Meduse” in 1975, and was translated into English by Paula Cohen and Keith Cohen in 1976.
On masturbation and writing
While the literary landscape has evolved considerably since the 1970s, with more women authors being published and gaining recognition in recent years, “The Laugh of the Medusa” is an important reminder that, over millennia, our Western cultural heritage has been defined through the male gender. perspective.
Cixous argues that the humiliation of women has been defined by how we have been “colonized” by “phallocentric” thinking. The author is based on ideas developed by the French philosopher born in Algeria, Jacques Derrida (1930-2004). It was he who coined the term “phallocentrism”, which refers to the focus given to the male point of view through language.
Though she rejects the patriarchal narratives imposed by our culture, Cixous’s essay is equally replete with juicy phallic references, such as: “The act of writing is equivalent to male masturbation (and thus the woman who writes cuts a paper penis for herself). )”.
For the feminist author, there is a direct connection between the liberation of female writing and the liberation of her personal sexuality, since both female writing and masturbation were associated with shame for a long time; they could only be done in secret and accompanied by a sense of guilt.
Revisiting the Medusa Myth
The essay refers to the Greek myth of Medusa, a monster with poisonous snakes for hair, whose gaze turned men to stone.
For Cixous, male narrative representations of Medusa – a symbol of seduction and power – turned her into a symbol of the threat of castration. Medusa represented her fear of female desire.
“My text was an update of Greek mythology. There is no better example to describe the position of women and the murderous battle that men wage against women. Medusa was one of the three Gorgons [powerful, winged daemons], the daughters of Phorkys and Keto. She was the only mortal among them. Men were afraid of her. When they looked at her, they turned to stone,” Cixous told DW in December 2022, referring to her famous essay.
“But why did she have so much power over men? Because she saw men. They didn’t have time to see her,” he added.
Medusa and freeing women’s hair in Iran
“Men don’t want to see women and they put veils over them so they become invisible, like ghosts. It’s appalling the extent to which women wear veils, even in everyday life,” Cixous said in the DW interview focusing on the women’s protests. . In Iran. “Yet women are not objects, nor veiled dolls. They are radiant. They are beautiful. My Medusa has traveled around the world. Now she is obviously in Iran.”
Source: DW
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