The Voracious Text – Hélène Cixous’ Vivre l’orange

Abstract

In her autobiographical texts, Hélène Cixous creates a strong connection between self, writing and place through the medium of consumption. Hers is a voracious writing which both consumes and creates the self. In her texts there is an intricate relationship – on the level of the signifier – between the narrating “I”, the letters of the text and referentiality. Perhaps one of the most conspicuous examples is her play upon words in Living the Orange, where orange is a pun made up of Oran, her birth place, and je which claims a central part in the text. In this way, Cixous ensures a non-objectified version of the self but one which is entrenched in a highly subjective space and language.

Keywords

• autobiography
• food
• alterity
• language
• politics