“Darkness is different for me now. I know all its depths and textures”: the panoptical gaze in Sarah Waters’s "Affinity"

Elsa Adán Hernández

doi:10.18172/jes.3762

Autores/as

Elsa Adán Hernández Universidad de Zaragoza

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18172/jes.3762

Palabras clave:

Deseo, escopofilia, mirada, (Neo-)Victorianismo, panóptico, Sarah Waters, vigilancia

Resumen

El objetivo de este artículo es explorar la novela de Sarah Waters Afinidad (1999), desde la perspectiva del panóptico como sistema de vigilancia y represión implementado en la sociedad victoriana, siendo el poder de la mirada una de sus principales herramientas. Principalmente, se analiza la prisión Milbank como un excelente ejemplo del panóptico diseñado por Jeremy Bentham y estudiado por las ideas de prisión y castigo de Michel Foucault. Además, la noción de escopofilia discutida por Laura Mulvey se emplea para analizar la relación y la atracción entre dos de las protagonistas, comprobando cómo la mirada puede ser una de las armas más poderosas para subyugar a otra persona. Finalmente, también se analiza la importancia de una tercera protagonista, Ruth Vigers, una sirvienta cuyo trabajo es invisible tanto para los lectores como para los demás personajes. El análisis demuestra que es precisamente esta invisibilidad la que la ayuda a escapar de la mirada de esa sociedad panóptica y convertirse en una titiritera que controla todo desde las sombras.

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Biografía del autor/a

Elsa Adán Hernández, Universidad de Zaragoza

I am Elsa Adán Hernández, a PhD Student at the University of Zaragoza. I am actually starting the third year of my thesis. My main concerns are Victorian and (Neo-)Victorian Literature as well as contemporary literature, paying special attention to female writers who bring to the fore hidden and problematic questions. For that reason, I focus primarily on gender and class issues. Besides, feminism is also omnipresent in my research, given the fact that it is becoming a quintessential aspect of our present society.

Citas

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