- All Journals
- Al-Qadisiyah University
- Basrah University
- Kirkuk University
- Mosul University
- The Iraqi Borad for Medical Specialization
- University of Anbar
- University of Technology
- Al Mustafa University
- Al-Zahraa University for Women
- Alnoor University
- Kunooz University
- Misan University
- Ninevah University
- Tikrit University
- University of Al-Hamdaniya
- University of Kerbala
The Poetics of Absence and Identity in the Novel History of the Son by Marie-Hélène Lafon | ||
| Al-Noor Journal for Humanities | ||
| Article 1, Volume 4, Issue 2, June 2026, Pages 67-76 PDF (521.85 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.69513/jnfh.v4.i2.a1 | ||
| Author | ||
| Mohammed Zuhair Zaidan* | ||
| Department of translation, College of Arts, Alnoor University, Mosul, Iraq. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| This study explores the poetics of absence and identity in the novel History of the son by French writer Marie-Hélène Lafon. The novel, which belongs to contemporary French fiction, revolves around questions of lineage, memory and family story. The research aims at analysing how the individual identity is constructed in the context of paternal absence and how this absence becomes a central narrative force forming the protagonist’s life. The study adopts a narratological and semiotic approach drawing on both classical and contemporary French critical works, including those of Gérard Genette, Paul Ricoeur and Bruno Blanckeman, in order to understand the mechanism of through which narrative identity and family memory are constructed. The novel demonstrates that the absence of the father is not merely a structural gap in the family system; rather, it becomes a symbolic void that profoundly influences the protagonist André’s perception of himself and his place within the family and the society. Ultimately, the novel suggests that identity is a dynamic construct shaped by memory, time and familial relationships, where the research for the father becomes a deeper quest for self-understanding and belonging. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| absence; identity; childhood; memory; history | ||
| References | ||
|
1.Lafon, M.-H. (2020). Histoire du fils. Paris: Buchet-Chastel, p.30 2. Ricœur, P. (1990). Soi-même comme un autre. Paris: Seuil, p.168. 3. Roland B. (1973), Le plaisir du texte, Paris, Seuil, p.65. 4.Genette, G. (1972), Figures III, Paris : Seuil, p.123. 5.Bourdieu, P. (1988), La domination masculine, Paris : Seuil, p.64. 6.Ricœur P. (1985), Temps et récits, Tome III : Le temps raconté, Paris : Seuil, p. 356. 7.Bakhtine, M. (1978), Esthétique et théorie du roman, Paris : Gallimard, p.488. 8.Voir Ricœur, P. (1985). Temps et récit, Paris, Seuil., pp.110-115 9.A voir l’épisode du goût de la madeleine dans le roman de Proust : Du côté de chez Swan, Paris : Gallimard, 2004, pp.46-48. 10.Voir Nora, P., (1984), Les lieux de mémoire, Tome I : La république, Paris : Gallimard, pp. XX-XVII de l’introduction. 11.Voir Erikson E. (1978), Adolescence et crise. La quête de l’identité, Paris : Flammarion, 2e Editions, p.124. 12.Barthes, R. (1970), S/Z, Paris: Seuil, p.27. 13.Voir Rabaté, D. (2010). Le roman et le sens de la vie. Paris: José Corti, p. 18. 14.Voir Nora, P. (1984). Les lieux de mémoire. Paris: Gallimard, p. 25. 15.Blanckeman, B., Les fictions singulières, Paris : Prétexte éditeur, 2002, p.118. 16.Viart, D. et Vercier, B., La littérature française au présent, Paris, Bordas, 2005, p.215. | ||
|
Statistics Article View: 60 PDF Download: 42 |
||