self-narration

Combining narratological analysis with autobiography studies, this article looks at examples of focalization strategies in several autobiographical works. It adopts Dorrit Cohn's distinction between consonant and dissonant self-narration (identification or distance between the narrating-I and the experiencing-I) to explore how authors engage creatively with different positions of the autobiographical "I," and how this engagement contributes to their texts' aesthetic qualities. Starting from a brief exposition of the role of the narrating-I and the experiencing-I in autobiographical narratives, the article discusses the juxtaposition of the two selves' perspectives in Sylvia Fraser's My Father's House, which is achieved by means of a dexterous combination of consonant and dissonant self-narration. Examples of dissonant self-narration from Günter Grass's Peeling the Onion and Christopher Isherwood's Christopher and His Kind and of consonant self-narration from Mary Karr's memoir trilogy (The Liars' Club, Cherry, and Lit) then demonstrate how self-dissonance may help convey a work's meta-autobiographical message, while self-consonance seems to contribute to readers' immersion in the narrative.

(Open Access) The chapter shows the interconnectedness of nationalism with the construction of the self and close relationships by studying the romantic correspondence of a Finnish nationalist couple in the mid-nineteenth century. Eiranen analyzes personal nationalism by looking at how nationalism was incorporated in the self-narrations of the letters and identifies emotions and gender as central elements in the construction of the national experience. The nationally interpreted male and female ideals formed the basis for the emotional relationship. The cause required gendered sacrifices, partly contradictory to the stereotypes: the man cast himself as an emotional national hero, the woman had to exercise stronger emotional control for his benefit. The chapter argues that the power of nationalism lay in its tight connection to profound, personally experienced meanings and motivations.

Les mots pour le dire è un tentativo di ragionare sui materiali di archivio di AMM suggerendo incroci tra momenti di autonarrazione e momenti di video partecipativo - in questo caso il Cerchio narrativo con alcuni giovani somali arrivati in Italia nel 2008 svoltosi pressi la Suola di italiano Asinitas a Via Ostiense nel 2009 e il video-documentario C.A.R.A. Italia di Dagmawi Yimer (2010) filmato nel Centro di accoglienza rifugiati e richiedenti asilo di Castelnuovo di Porto nei pressi di Roma.