The Feminine and the Sacred

by Catherine Clément, Julia Kristeva

In November 1996, Catherine Clément and Julia Kristeva began a correspondence exploring the subject of the sacred. In this collection of those letters Catherine Clément approaches the topic from an anthropologist's point of view, while Julia Kristeva responds from a psychoanalytic perspective. Their correspondence leads them to a controversial and fundamental question: is there anything sacred that can at the same time be considered strictly feminine?

The two voices of the book work in tandem, fleshing out ideas and blending together into a melody of experience. The result is a dialogue that delves into the mysteries of belief--the relationship between faith and sexuality, the body and the senses--which, Clément and Kristeva argue, women feel with special intensity.

Although their discourse is not necessarily about theology, the authors consider the role of women and femininity in the religions of the world, from Christianity and Judaism to Confucianism and African animism. They are the first to admit that what they have undertaken is "as impossible to accomplish as it is fascinating." Nevertheless, their wide-ranging and exhilarating dialogue succeeds in raising questions that are perhaps more important to ask than to answer.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Religion, Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Womens

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Catherine Clément (born February 10, 1939) is a prominent French philosopher, novelist, feminist, and literary critic. She received a degree in philosophy from the prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieure, and studied under such luminaries as Claude Lévi-Strauss and Jacques Lacan, working in the fields of anthropology and psychoanalysis. A member of the school of French feminism, she has published books with writers Hélène Cixous and Julia Kristeva.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherin...

Reviews

[Steven Godin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Feminine and the Sacred is a collection of letters between French philosophers Catherine Clément and Julia Kristeva over the course of a year, from November 1996 to October 1997. They collaborated from different countries - Clément mostly from Sénégal, Kristeva from France. This correspondence led to a somewhat disjointed discussion, as each author writes from her own experiences and expertise, and thus the content, methods, and metaphors used by Clément and Kristeva differ somewhat. They do not fully answer each other's questions for one thing, thus not coming to any ultimate conclusions regarding the feminine and the sacred. Clément's letters often focus on her time in Africa and India, relating myths, tales, and beliefs from Hinduism, Buddhism, African animism, and her own experiences with Judaism. She connects the sacred to social and political struggles against oppression in developing nations, and criticizes certain Western values and behaviors for their oppressive tendencies. Kristeva, on the other hand, often speaks of experiences with analysands in her psychoanalytic practice, of maternity, of love, and of Catholicism, theorizing the relationship of the Virgin Mary and female saints to the sacred. The book has a sense of two obviously worked up individuals passionate about what they write, moving along their own trajectories while trying to locate points of connection along the way. There are common themes present in what each writes, even if their explanations and approaches aren't the same. Of the two, Kristeva was the more cool and composed, while Clément felt at times like she wanted to lock horns. She clearly had her feathers ruffled somewhere along the lines, but who can say for what reason. What is lost in foregoing an otherwise more integrated engagement between the writers and their views, is made up for in the productivity of the space left open in between. And it's a big space. A space of inquiry that invites, and even to some extent requires, the reader to continue the discussion, or at least ponder deeply on one's own thoughts beyond the bounds of the text. For me, it was interesting whilst reading it, but I'll leave it at that. It's highly unlikely I will lose any sleep over the unresolved nature of what is raised.

[Loulou11 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cette correspondance demande un certain nombre de connaissances théologiques que je ne maîtrise que partiellement, certains noms et concepts m’étant inconnus.. ce qui a rendu ma lecture ardue et parfois je l’avoue un peu pénible.
Ce livre méritera une deuxième lecture d’ici quelques temps, certains passages sont extrêmement intéressants et denses.

[Andre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parto con il dire che questa raccolta di lettere tratta di argomenti molto interessanti e offre innumerevoli punti di partenza per discussioni più approfondite. Ovviamente, data la forma scelta del libro, molto spesso si tratta solamente di riferimenti sfuggenti, in quanto noi lettori seguiamo il flusso di coscienza delle due autrici nel loro scambio epistolare. È un libro che consiglierei a chi è in cerca di nuovi sbocchi di pensiero. Tuttavia, vi sono momenti e sottoni presenti nel libro che mi impediscono di dargli più di 2 stelle.
Innanzitutto: momenti di stereotipizzazione e feticizzazione delle persone nere in Africa e negli Stati Uniti, aggiungendo anche mascolinizzazione delle donne nere. (Pag.14)
Un generale sottotono di femminismo bianco, soprattutto nel discutere le civiltà non europee che permane il libro. Sembra che le autrici si atteggino come sofisticate intellettuali francesi che guardano dall'alto qualsiasi persona non bianca (anche il modo di discutere di bianchi stranieri è un po' quetsionabile.) , considerandosi esperte nello spiegare -più accuratamente dettare- come queste persone si comportano. Un livello di curiosità superficiale nelle loro considerazioni. Poi la frase :'Razzismo (si produce) al contrario' pag.181... qui non c'e modo di giustificare una tale asserzione, nemmeno il contesto del libro aiuta. Altre due istanze sono le seguenti: Julia Kristeva che critica (giustamente) l'estremismo islamico, per poi affermare che "La religione, questa religione [l'Islam], a mio parere non ha nulla di sacro: condanna le donne al 'muro' del velo; le costringe alla sottomissione; uccide con freddezza chi non condivide il dogma estremista."(pag.191) . Asserire che la religione islamica "non ha nulla di sacro" data la violenza perpetrata usandola come giustificazione e il suo trattamento delle donne; ma allo stesso tempo ricercare il sacro nel cristianesimo è ,a mio papare, ipocrisia. In quanto, applicando la stessa logica, anche il cristianesimo non dovrebbe avere nulla di sacro, dato che è statao usato come giustificazione dei peggiori massacri del mondo ed ha infestato quasi tutto il mondo con il proprio 'dogma estremista'. Ma la Kristeva di questo o lo ignora, o non lo ha preso in considerazione involontariamente. Sempre la stessa autrice, verso la fine del libro, descrive una versione cinese del scaro e il modo in cui lo ravvisa anche nelle sue studentesse cinesi, per poi scrivere che " Ovviamente le mie passioni greche o giudaico-cristiane non mi abbandonano: dopo poco tempe affascinanti mi sembrano superficiali. queste asiatiche tanto pronte a lasciarsi prendere da un mondo di immagini e calcolatrici". Questo a parere mio è un caso in cui il bias interiorizzato dell'autrice si fa sentire: si tratta di un'affermazione, a mio avviso, fondata sullo stereotipo razzista della 'fredezza' e della natura 'calcolatrice' o 'rigida' delle persone asiatiche, aggiungendo anche un po' di orientalismo nella discussione della spiritualità orientale. In generale, si tratta di un libro con molto potenziale, sprecato tuttavia dalle convinzione subconscie delle autrici e una centralizzazione della prospettiva bianca e occidentale, anche se involontaria.

[Isadora Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing, if sometimes controversial, collection of letters between Julia Kristeva and Catherine Clement on feminine sexuality, religious rite, states of ecstasy, and the traditions of many female Christian mystics. Wide-ranging and eclectic. Of interest mainly to followers of Kristeva and those interested in gender and religion studies.

[Sylvia Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a profound analysis of the sacred through a philosophical and anthropological perspective, a fascinating read.

[Mariam Rawwas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The epistolary form this work takes makes it less a work of theory and more the unfolding of a conversation, thoughts not fully developed but hesitantly offered forth. Fascinating to watch the fault lines between Kristeva's and Clément's positions develop, though they both unfortunately seem to engage in some light orientalism. The O'Keeffe connection I do find compelling, though.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting, but as it is correspondence it can be difficult to follow the backwards and forwards. Very helpful for my dissertation!

[kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

did really like it. a recent trend is that i've been enjoying books v. more near the end and this one follows.

[Valarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11681241

[Steven Felicelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clement for some inexplicable reason is constantly jabbing at Kristeva and Kristeva stays on the sisterly higher ground

interesting dialogue - but kept wondering what Clement's problem was