The right to remain silent : the ethics of invasion and evasion in Paul Sayer’s ''The Comforts of Madness''
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Data
2011
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Edições Universitárias Lusófonas
Resumo
Este artigo considera as implicações do silêncio e da ética da experimentação médica no romance
de Paul Sayer, The Comforts of Madness, vencedor do prémio Whitbread. O romance de Sayer
debruça-se sobre um paciente emestado catatónico, Peter, o qual procura retirar-se para um estado de pura subjetividade como consequência de uma série de eventos traumáticos. Inicialmente tratado
num hospital tradicional, é posteriormente transferido para uma clínica experimental onde é submetido a uma série de «tratamento» invasivos e bárbaros com o objectivo de «curá-lo». A abordagem de Sayer dos temas relacionados com a insanidade, o silêncio pessoal e a medicina progressiva levanta
questões relativas ao direito do indivíduo de rejeitar o mundo comunitário e à ética de extrair
a narrativa retida da narrativa relutante. Ao examinar os processos de normalização e resistência,
o romance levanta questões relativamente à ética da inclusão forçada e estabelece uma legitimidade
de não-cooperação, o direito ao silêncio, o qual funciona em paralelo com a legitimidade da
voz marginalizada. A tendência recente nos estudos literários tem sido no sentido da exposição e promoção das vozes anteriormente ostracizadas pela indústria editorial e pelo público leitor, mas,
de um modo geral, este processo tem partido da premissa de que a voz perdida beneficia de tal exposição. Para Sayer, existe o caso igualmente persuasivo relacionado com o reconhecimento do
direito à privacidade, em risco de ser preterido numa era de transparência excessiva. Este ensaio discute o modo como o romance de Sayer aborda estas preocupações e salienta a sua consciência do processo complexo de lidar com o indivíduo para quem a recusa a falar corresponde a um gesto social ambíguo.
This paper considers the implications of silence and the ethics of medical experimentation in Paul Sayer’s Whitbread Prize-winning novel The Comforts of Madness. Sayer’s novel is concerned with a catatonic patient, Peter, who has attempted to withdraw into a state of pure subjectivity as a consequence of a series of traumatic events. Initially treated at a traditional hospital, he is subsequently moved to an experimental clinic where he is subjected to a series of invasive and barbaric “treatments” in the interest of “curing” him. Sayer’s approach to the topics of insanity, personal silence and progressive medicine raises questions concerning the right of the individual to reject the communal world, and the ethics of extracting the withheld narrative of the reluctant narrative. By examining the processes of normalisation and resistance, the novel raises questions concerning the ethics of enforced inclusivity and establishes a legitimacy of non-co-operation, a right to silence, which functions in parallel with the legitimacy of the marginalised voice. The recent trend in literary studies has been toward the exposure and promotion of those voices which have previously been ostracised by the publishing industry and the reading public, yet this process has generally functioned on the premise that the lost voice will benefit from such exposure. For Sayer, there is an equally persuasive case for recognising a right to privacy which is in danger of being overshadowed in an era of excessive transparency. This essay discusses the ways in which Sayer’s novel addresses these concerns, and highlights his awareness of the complex process of dealing with the individual for whom a refusal to speak is an ambiguous social gesture.
This paper considers the implications of silence and the ethics of medical experimentation in Paul Sayer’s Whitbread Prize-winning novel The Comforts of Madness. Sayer’s novel is concerned with a catatonic patient, Peter, who has attempted to withdraw into a state of pure subjectivity as a consequence of a series of traumatic events. Initially treated at a traditional hospital, he is subsequently moved to an experimental clinic where he is subjected to a series of invasive and barbaric “treatments” in the interest of “curing” him. Sayer’s approach to the topics of insanity, personal silence and progressive medicine raises questions concerning the right of the individual to reject the communal world, and the ethics of extracting the withheld narrative of the reluctant narrative. By examining the processes of normalisation and resistance, the novel raises questions concerning the ethics of enforced inclusivity and establishes a legitimacy of non-co-operation, a right to silence, which functions in parallel with the legitimacy of the marginalised voice. The recent trend in literary studies has been toward the exposure and promotion of those voices which have previously been ostracised by the publishing industry and the reading public, yet this process has generally functioned on the premise that the lost voice will benefit from such exposure. For Sayer, there is an equally persuasive case for recognising a right to privacy which is in danger of being overshadowed in an era of excessive transparency. This essay discusses the ways in which Sayer’s novel addresses these concerns, and highlights his awareness of the complex process of dealing with the individual for whom a refusal to speak is an ambiguous social gesture.
Descrição
Babilónia : Revista Lusófona de Línguas, Culturas e Tradução
Palavras-chave
LINGUÍSTICA, CRÍTICA LITERÁRIA, LITERATURA, LITERATURA INGLESA, ÉTICA MÉDICA, TRAUMAS, LINGUISTICS, LITERARY REVIEW, LITERATURE, ENGLISH LITERATURE, MEDICAL ETHICS, TRAUMAS