<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Jim Crace likes to refer to himself as a “landscape writer” and indeed, in each of his eleven novels he has created a distinct yet recognizable imaginary landscape or cityscape. This has led critics to coin the term “Craceland” to describe the idiosyncratic milieux he creates, which, through his remarkably authentic and poetic rendering of geography and topography, appear to be both other and familiar at the same time. In <italic>The Pesthouse</italic> 2007, the milieu is the devastated America of an imagined future, a country which has deteriorated into a pre-modern and pre-industrial wasteland so hostile to sustainable existence that most of its inhabitants have become refugees travelling eastwards to sail to a new life on another continent. Franklin and Margaret, two such refugees, are leaving their homes not only to flee misery and destitution, but also the trauma and pain occasioned by the loss of their relatives. Using geocriticism as a practice and theoretical point of departure, this article presents and analyses the various ways in which Crace’s novel renders and explores its spaces, landscapes and places, as well as how it links them with the transformation of the protagonists’ psyches and mental worlds.</abstract>

The landscape of trauma, pain and hope in Jim Crace’s <italic>The Pesthouse</italic>

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Stuart Hall in <italic>Black Britain</italic> claims that “the experience of black settlement has been a long, difficult, sometimes bitterly contested and unfinished story.” Such is the case in Samuel Selvon’s 1956 novel <italic>The Lonely Londoners</italic>, which depicts the trauma of diaspora for West Indian newcomers. People from the Caribbean who settle in the “mother country” experience total disillusion because they are not welcomed by the white British. The paper focuses on the influence British politics has had upon the Windrush generation of immigrants. It shows how the characters cope with animosity, loneliness and the sense of failed promise that all lead to the traumatic experience of living in total isolation in a foreign city far from their native islands. The immigrants face xenophobia, suffer from being the “other”, invisible and segregated. They try to cope with the trauma of “not belonging anywhere”, i.e. being uprooted from their homes in the West Indies. In the aftermath of the decolonization process they fail to come to terms with their new living conditions, and as there is no return ticket to the Caribbean, they experience the ever-growing trauma of unsuccessful resettlement.</abstract>

Foreign in London: Diaspora as a traumatic experience in Samuel Selvon’s <italic>The Lonely Londoners</italic>

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Tectonic Theater Project’s documentary/verbatim theatre work entitled <italic>The Laramie Project</italic> charts the intricacies of the process of a hate crime victim’s search for and acquisition of identity (becoming) and the concurrent success and failure of the community to engage in this process (affiliation). The productions, as well as the film version, of <italic>The Laramie Project</italic> tackle the crucial importance of understanding the grey area between the state of becoming (part of) something and being excluded from it (in-betweenness). This liminality, reflecting Victor Turner’s illustrious ideas of “betwixt and between”, shall serve to explore <italic>The Laramie Project</italic> as an attempt to show the facets of social and cultural affiliation and becoming, as well as an instrument to put them to use in socially and politically relevant theatre. The paper will seek to show how Tectonic Theater Project’s work scrutinizes the significance of “in-betweenness” and employs it to communicate a message that is both humanistic and aesthetic.</abstract>

Hate crime trauma and pain: Affiliation, becoming and in-Betweenness in <italic>The Laramie Project</italic>

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This paper focuses on how the romance mode is used to re-narrativize the trauma of Jesus’s crucifixion in two contemporary biblical rewritings: Pullman’s <italic>The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ</italic> 2010 and Tóibín’s <italic>The Testament of Mary</italic> 2012. Reflecting on the process of the composition of the Bible, these novels resort to romance in order to invite a critical reflection on different narrativizations of the traumatic event, dependent as they are on both conservative and more subversive effects of romance. As some characters rely on the strategies of traditional spiritual romance in order to alleviate their pain, others cynically resort to a dualistic vision to establish and consolidate power, and still others make use of the excess and disarticulation of romance to do justice to the absolute horror of the event, the novels draw attention both to the comforting and subversive function of Christian scripture. Adding a metafictional dimension to the narrative of crucifixion, the novels expose the way in which religious scriptures can become ideological instruments, and signal the potentially dangerous effects of the renewed significance of religion today.</abstract>

Romancing the crucifixion in biblical rewritings by Phillip Pullman and Colm Tóibín

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Richard Flanagan’s novel, <italic>The Unknown Terrorist</italic>, does not only depict terrorism and violence but especially contemporary postmodern life in an Australian urban setting influenced by media, information technologies and consumerism. Drawing on Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra and simulation, this paper analyses Flanagan’s depiction especially of the main character, the Doll, and the way she symbolically represents various aspects of the process of simulation as understood by Baudrillard. In this context, the Doll and other characters are understood as subjects both manipulating and manipulated by the simulated image of reality represented by media and technology, the image which replaces physical reality. The imagery of manipulation is understood as a metaphor implying a critique of hypocrisy and consumerism of the contemporary urban setting in the technologically advanced society represented by the Australian city of Sydney.</abstract>

Media, simulation, freedom and control in Richard Flanagan’s <italic>The Unknown Terrorist</italic> 2006

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The contribution focuses on a thematological interpretation of the existentials of misery and extinction, using a corpus of selected fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. In explaining the specificity of Andersen’s concept and presenting life’s givenness (the parameters of being-in-the-world) he verifies the relevance of several existentials which were explained by Heidegger in connection with the use of factual existence (Dasein). The use of existentials as real facts in describing a textual model of the world is justified by the thematic concept as a proposition of modes of existence by Ricouer.</abstract>

Iconization of the deathly affliction in Andersen’s Fairytales1

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Ars Aeterna

 Ars Aeterna is a literary peer-reviewed academic journal focused on the questions of literature and art and their importance in the contemporary world for the development of culture, mutual understanding, and the human self. It invites international contributions in the field of literary studies, concerning primarily the Anglophone world. The journal is seeking submissions on English, American, Irish, Scottish, Canadian, Australian and other English literary traditions. Its aim is to provide up-to-date and innovative critical and theoretical approaches to the study of literary text. The journal accepts studies on literary relations which include the Western tradition, but we encourage contributions which deal with world literature as well. General and comparative literature studies are also appreciated and we are open to a broad variety of methods and theories. While the journal primarily focuses on the study of literary texts, contributions related to art and film which address the text are also welcome. Submissions in English should offer international perspectives on specific themes and subjects and the journal’s thematic scope wants to provide a stimulating platform for scholarly discussions and dissemination of original research on literary history, theory, literary criticism and related matters. The content of the journal consists of high quality research articles and its target audience includes scholars and researchers in the field of literature and the study of art.  Rejection Rate   30-40%   Visit our Facebook  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 

Ars Aeterna

Volume 10 (2018): Issue 1 (June 2018)

The landscape of trauma, pain and hope in Jim Crace’s The Pesthouse

Foreign in London: Diaspora as a traumatic experience in Samuel Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners

Hate crime trauma and pain: Affiliation, becoming and in-Betweenness in The Laramie Project

Romancing the crucifixion in biblical rewritings by Phillip Pullman and Colm Tóibín

Media, simulation, freedom and control in Richard Flanagan’s The Unknown Terrorist 2006

Iconization of the deathly affliction in Andersen’s Fairytales¹

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