In the Footsteps of the Absent Father: The Protagonist as a Writing Subject in the Work of Ronit Matalon

The article addresses the literary development of the young female protagonist in Ronit Matalon’s early writing, and the character’s relationship with her absent father. Despite the prevalence of this theme, little research has been dedicated to the father-daughter relationship in Matalon’s work and its influence on the daughter’s decision to become a writer. The article examines this theme in Matalon’s young adult novel, A Story that Begins with a Snake’s Funeral (1989). My main argument here is that the father-daughter relationship in Matalon’s work is central to the construction of the daughter’s ’decision to write‘, and points to the issue of inter-generational accountability, in which the daughter is entitled to an inheritance from her father despite her critical view of him. As I will show in my reading of the novel, the fictional representation of this relationship bears an autobiographical imprint, particularly in light of Matalon’s choice to quote her father, Felix Matalon, and to lend his voice to the father figure in her writing. As part of the exploration of this theme, which consists of both fictional and autobiographical aspects, I suggest that the heroine’s efforts to place her absent father in the context of her life and to cope with his absence through her writing point to Matalon’s own efforts to deal with her father’s legacy by writing about him and giving him a place in the Israeli literary canon, while maintaining a critical attitude towards him.

Do clones dream of absent father(s)? Biotechnologia i metafizyka w powieści Nie opuszczaj mnie Kazuo Ishiguro i jej filmowej adaptacji

The article deals with metaphysical aspects of dystopian vision of posthuman and racist socjety presented in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go and its film adaptation. The controversial issue of cloning provokes fundamental questions of what constitutes our existence as human beings and what is the source of overpowering sense of solitude and orphanhood in the “fatherless” world. These questions are being answered in the context of biopolitics (Foucault, Habermas) and its ethical consequences. The paper is intended as a contribution to the ongoing discussion of the human condition and our relation to other beings: machines, animals and… clones.

Temat poszukiwania ojca w twórczości Jacka Dukaja

This essay discusses an important theme in Jacek Dukaj’s writings, namely the difficult relationship between father and son. It examines Dukaj’s works, such as The Plunderer's Daughter and Ice, in which the figure of the absent father who must be found by his child is presented. The son’s journey in search of his lost parent (and his own identity) reflects the pattern of the mythical hero’s journey described by Joseph Campbell and thus ends with a symbolic reconciliation with his father.

“We Say ‘Mothers’ But Mean ‘Parents’”: Qualitative Perceptions and Experiences With Father Absence Among Curaçaoan, Curaçaoan-Dutch, and Dutch Young People

Perceptions and experiences with biological father absence might vary depending on the extent to which father absence constitutes a common family form, like it does in many Caribbean countries. The goal of this qualitative study was to better understand what it means to grow up without a father for Curaçaoan ( n = 19; 15–24 years), Curaçaoan-Dutch ( n = 15; 14–29 years), and Dutch ( n = 16; 16–26 years) young men and women. Findings from thematic analyses of ethically approved in-depth interviews revealed that most interviewees from all three cultural groups perceived no bond with and upbringing from their absent father. The interviewees noted emotional pain, but also mentioned that (m)others compensated for their father’s absence. Dutch interviewees were more negative about their absent father, and both Dutch and Curaçaoan-Dutch interviewees experienced more difficulties with respect to their father’s absence compared with Curaçaoan interviewees. Studying the similarities and differences between perceptions and experiences with father absence enriches our knowledge of what it means to grow up without a father. Doing so from young people’s point of view and across cultures has important practical value by providing a fuller understanding of the meaning of father absence for young people across cultures.

The role of the image of «threatening father» in the novels by Jean Christophe Grange

The article is devoted to the analysis of the specific expression of the parental image in the novels written by Jean Christoph Grangé. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that this topic is relatively poorly covered in literary studies. Although, in his interviews Grangé has repeatedly stated that virtually every his work has an image of a father. And this image is always associated with the concepts of «threat», «evil», «crime». The writer himself did not expand this thesis. Therefore, the questions remain indeterminate: is the image of the father in the text related to the theme of evil and threat, or is the image of the father has the same expression in different novels of the writer? So the purpose of the paper is to investigate the specific of the father image, the features of its implementation in the novels by J. K. Grange, to determine the main types of parental images and their functional load for the artistic text. Even a cursory review of Grangé's writings suggests that the writer's literary works are indeed dominated by the type of «threatening», even criminal father. And especially often it is realized in the system of father–son relations, where maternal image, as a necessary element of the Oedipus complex, is missing. The formation of such an image is created by the fact that their action in the novels explicitly or indirectly revolves around the parental figure. In addition, he is portrayed as extremely dangerous person. A similar impression is created both by the appearance of the character, the indication of his role in society, and the description of his past. The divine traits in the pagan understanding of this concept are traced in the depiction of this type of parent. It shows itself at the plot level, when the actions and life of heroes are closely intertwined with pagan cultures. However, in the perception of children, such images of the father always retain their ambivalence, and it is illustrated in the reflections of the characters and in their actions. In the Grangé novels we can also observe the type of «absent father», which has its own specificity too. The «absent father» here becomes the invariant of the «threatening father», but without ambivalence. Created by the imagination of the hero, the concept of his father quickly turns into a complete image in his mind, which, in turn, becomes an absolute manifestation of the inevitable evil. Thus, the image of the «threatening father» in the works of Jean Christoph Grangé is not homogeneous. If the father acts as a character in the novel, his image becomes ambivalent. But if it is only a figment of the imagination of the hero, it becomes the embodiment of absolute evil. Such serial use of various versions of the «threatening father» type can be interpreted as an effective means of creating a tense atmosphere of uncertainty and fear in the works.

Aurora Dawn

Early years of Randy Shilts’s life in Aurora, Illinois are explored, struggles with physical abuse from an alcoholic mother, and frequently absent father. Information about the Shilts family and arrival of six sons over a 25-year period. Shilts’s early engagement of Young Americans for Freedom and conservative/libertarian ideas posited by his father. Examples of Shilts’s earliest writing for a student newspaper on the draft and the Vietnam War. Shilts’s relocation to Portland, Oregon and enrollment in community college where he “came out” as part of a class presentation. Shilts’s struggle with discrimination and scorn based on his sexuality and his first forays into the gay liberation movement.