The Secret of Literary Silence
The Secret of Literary Silence
This chapter explores the domain of literature and the role of silence as the limit that defines the literary, addressing the limit that concerns the language of law. It focuses on the theorized notion of the literary as an element that sustains the border between the “sayable” and “unsayable” that marks literature. Jacques Derrida’s discussion about literature’s silence as the “secret” not only discloses the element of the literary as fully submitted to sovereignty and law, but also exposes literature’s unexpected foundation in the covenant and contract.
Keywords: literature, silence, language of law, sayable, unsayable, Jacques Derrida, sovereignty, covenant
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