Abstract
The Australian writer Charlotte Wood is the author of The Natural Way of Things (2016), The Weekend (2020), and Stone Yard Devotional (2023) among other works. The Weekend belongs to the genre of Reifungsroman, the novel of growth and a (re)establishment of meaningful relationships in later life. It is a story of vulnerability, mourning and freedom. The Weekend tells the story of a lifelong friendship between four women. Jude, Wendy and Adel travel to celebrate Christmas in the Australian village of Bittoes in order to declutter Sylvie’s house before it is put up for sale after she has died of cancer. Stone Yard Devotional tells the story of a woman who leaves her established yet failed life to enter a religious community of nuns on the inhospitable planes of Monaro in Australia, where she explores the idea of being in relation to and for others as the most fundamental experience of being alive. This paper examines the ethos of care of Lévinas and Butler, the genre of Reifungsroman and the concepts of co-responsibility, grief, reverence and self-care. I analyze the incorporation of the motif of animal vs human life and their relationship to the environment. Of much interest to my intervention is also the staging of The Weekend at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney. As I argue, healing and transformation are only possible in ethical relations that are inseparable, simultaneous and based on care and co-responsibility.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Social and Cultural Perspectives on Aging
KEYWORDS
Cultural Ageing, Abject, Representation, Animal Life, Co-responsibility
