Narrative Equilibrium and Biopolitical Aesthetic Image in Philip Roth's Nemesis : Health as Hermeneutical Exchange.
Philip Roth's last novel Nemesis enacts a literary construction of healthy body that is both biopolitical and hermeneutical in nature. By juxtaposing Michel Foucault's and Hans-Georg Gadamer's theoretical analyses of health and their divergent understandings of the function of language as it enables...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Modern Literature Vol. 49; no. 2; pp. 41 - 54 |
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| Formato: | Literary Criticism |
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Indiana University Press
Winter2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=192311959&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 192311959 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 0022281X JML jtl: Journal of Modern Literature issn: 0022281X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Winter2026 vid: 49 iid: 2 pid: 211 pub: Indiana University Press artinfo: ui: 192311959 10.2979/jml.00122 ppf: 41 ppct: 13 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 918KB tig: atl: Narrative Equilibrium and Biopolitical Aesthetic Image in Philip Roth's Nemesis : Health as Hermeneutical Exchange. aug: au: Ian, Tan affil: Nanyang Technological University su: Hermeneutics Biopolitics (Philosophy) Authors Well-being Polio Roth, Philip, 1933-2018 Fiction Narrative therapy Gadamer, Hans Georg, 1900-2002 Aesthetics of art Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 20th century (Literary period) sug: subj: Hermeneutics Biopolitics (Philosophy) Authors Well-being Polio Roth, Philip, 1933-2018 Fiction Narrative therapy Gadamer, Hans Georg, 1900-2002 Aesthetics of art Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 20th century (Literary period) keyword: biopolitics Hans-Georg Gadamer hermeneutics Michel Foucault Philip Roth ab: Philip Roth's last novel Nemesis enacts a literary construction of healthy body that is both biopolitical and hermeneutical in nature. By juxtaposing Michel Foucault's and Hans-Georg Gadamer's theoretical analyses of health and their divergent understandings of the function of language as it enables access to the body and lifeworlds of physician and patient, I argue for the pertinence of a hermeneutical reading of the intersubjective encounter between fellow polio sufferers Bucky Cantor and Arnie Mesnikoff, positioning the achievement of equilibrium as a therapeutical move beyond the dead repetitions of trauma and the eudaemonic potentialities of narrative as manifested in dialogue between the two characters. Foucault's biopolitical emphases allow for significant critical attention to the ideological markers of societal normativity that come undone under epidemiological circumstances, but it is Gadamer who evokes the healing potentialities of narrative as it integrates the narrated self with future ethical possibilities made possible by a balanced self-understanding. Nemesis employs an artful narrative structure to create an objectified equilibrium bringing together the language of health and the health of language. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Literary Criticism src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Journal of Modern Literature is the property of Indiana University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Journal of Modern Literature holder: Indiana University Press dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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