Reviews for The Letters Of Victor Hugo

The average rating for The Letters Of Victor Hugo based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-11-18 00:00:00 Wayne Arthur The Feminine and the Sacred is a collection of letters between French philosophers Catherine Clément and Julia Kristeva over the course of a year, from November 1996 to October 1997. They collaborated from different countries - Clément mostly from Sénégal, Kristeva from France. This correspondence led to a somewhat disjointed discussion, as each author writes from her own experiences and expertise, and thus the content, methods, and metaphors used by Clément and Kristeva differ somewhat. They do not fully answer each other's questions for one thing, thus not coming to any ultimate conclusions regarding the feminine and the sacred. Clément's letters often focus on her time in Africa and India, relating myths, tales, and beliefs from Hinduism, Buddhism, African animism, and her own experiences with Judaism. She connects the sacred to social and political struggles against oppression in developing nations, and criticizes certain Western values and behaviors for their oppressive tendencies. Kristeva, on the other hand, often speaks of experiences with analysands in her psychoanalytic practice, of maternity, of love, and of Catholicism, theorizing the relationship of the Virgin Mary and female saints to the sacred. The book has a sense of two obviously worked up individuals passionate about what they write, moving along their own trajectories while trying to locate points of connection along the way. There are common themes present in what each writes, even if their explanations and approaches aren't the same. Of the two, Kristeva was the more cool and composed, while Clément felt at times like she wanted to lock horns. She clearly had her feathers ruffled somewhere along the lines, but who can say for what reason. What is lost in foregoing an otherwise more integrated engagement between the writers and their views, is made up for in the productivity of the space left open in between. And it's a big space. A space of inquiry that invites, and even to some extent requires, the reader to continue the discussion, or at least ponder deeply on one's own thoughts beyond the bounds of the text. For me, it was interesting whilst reading it, but I'll leave it at that. It's highly unlikely I will lose any sleep over the unresolved nature of what is raised.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-05-15 00:00:00 Francesco Paolino An intriguing, if sometimes controversial, collection of letters between Julia Kristeva and Catherine Clement on feminine sexuality, religious rite, states of ecstasy, and the traditions of many female Christian mystics. Wide-ranging and eclectic. Of interest mainly to followers of Kristeva and those interested in gender and religion studies.