Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id UAA03147 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 8 May 2001 20:38:45 +0100 Content-return: allowed Date: Tue, 08 May 2001 19:20:18 +0100 From: "Ryan, Angela" <ARyan@french.ucc.ie> Subject: memetics of the heroine To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Message-id: <49AB9D0C6521D84ABD017BF83CDF44C408D745@xch1.ucc.ie> X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Content-type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Dear Members,
I write as a new subscriber: I have been working for some years in the area
of literary and critical theory on the function of the heroine, especially
the tragic heroine, on the hypothesis that our concept of heroism in
representation is memetically inscribed. My idea is that the heroine and
hero have a structural-counterstructural relationship*. I have been working
through the literature on memetics, both on the wonderful Journal of
Memetics site and on the equally wonderful Memes Central site, and would be
happy to exchange ideas with any one interested.
*Structure and counterstructure: this model is formulated in three
propositions:
1. Every structure (e.g. liberty; democracy; justice; comfortable
lifestyle; free education, etc) is inadequate or incompletative in relation
to the theoretical universal set or system in which it exists;
1.1. i.e. it is true, but not so - not implemented;
humans do not actually all enjoy effective human rights, whilst they all
have them;
2. The gap between the structure(s) and the universal system is the
domain of the counter-structure, i.e. the behaviours, mechanisms,
strategies, often private, informal, covert, which tend to complete the
incompletativity of the system;
2.1. these counterstructures may be
palliative, or philosophical, or reformist or transgressive, e.g.
associations, political action, charitable works, or anacrostic
philosophical reflection on society, action following efforts at reform, or
crime and damage to others: their function and indeed their constitution is
always relative rather than ontological since structure generates
counterstructure (as distinct from Victor Turner's concept of
anti-structure);
3. When the counterstructures become strong enough, or the
incompletativity becomes insupportable, or both, change happens, sometimes
revolutionary change, by which some elements, generally the stronger ones,
become incorporated into the structure - thus giving it new entropic energy;
3.1. Generally, and at any rate, thus far in
human history, the reform is incompletative, the newly formed (reformed)
structure rearticulates itself into structure and counter structure and
entropic energy begins to generate itself within the domain of the
counterstructure: e.g. the French revolution sees the new bourgeoisie take
over many of the privileges of the ancien regime, distinctions between
behaviours having been, at least to an extent, situational, and in any case
counterstructural).
Note A: this model would explain why the vécu of change is usually so
difficult and even painful, even where the change was desired; it would also
explain why a counterstructural group or part of group, relatively
disempowered, is often wary of reform: e.g. if women leave behind their
palliative counterstructures of 'feminine wiles' to become full citizens
with civic rights, are they sure that the transfer to the structure, to
public power, will be completative and will compensate for the loss of
indirect counterstructural manipulative influence? If it does not, they
might lose more than they gain, whence the reaction.
Note B: Incompletativity is often articulated in social discourse as a
'given': e.g. "Life isn't fair" when it is obviously what we decide it is
and construct it to be. This overdetermination is characteristic of groups
within the structure which most benefit from this rhetoric of what Bourdieu
calls 'social magic' and who endeavour to sacralise the hierarchisation it
implies; at the same time numerous examples exist of structural hierarchons,
people of privilege who were reformers, who thus initiated transfer of
energy from counterstructure to structure, given that absence of change,
security, is impossible in an evolving universe, whilst happiness is not
impossible - though popular social rhetoric alleges the contrary.
v. Ryan, A.M.T., "The Body in the Library: Helene Cixous and the
Question of the Subject". Public Seminar Series: The French Ideology.
National University of Ireland, Cork, December 1995;
Ryan, A.M.T., "The Body in the Library: Montaigne, Hume, Cixous"
Public Research Seminar Series Europe and its Ideologies. Dublin Institute
of Technology, February 1997;
Ryan, A.M.T., "The King, the Goddess, her Prey and their Lover:
Rhetoric of the Heroine in Euripides' Phaedra and Racine's Phèdre". Public
lecture to the Classics Society, National University of Ireland, Cork, April
2000;
Ryan, A.M.T. "Structure and Counterstructure, Bourdieu's Heretical Discourse
and Leconte's Ridicule". Annual Conference of the British Society for
Phenomenology, National University of Ireland, Cork, 28-30 July 2000 (to be
published).
Ryan, A.M.T.: "Structure and Counter-structure in Cixous' La Jeune née and
Antoine Compagnon's Le Démon de la théorie" Department of French Research
Seminar, National University of Ireland, Cork, 8 December 2000.
Yours sincerely
Angela Ryan
aryan@french.ucc.ie
Dr A.M.T. Ryan Agrégée de l'Université,
Department of French,
National University of Ireland, Cork,
Ireland.
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