Hysterical Bodies and Hysterical Conditions: Sensation and Force in Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories

doi:10.6711/REAL.202512_(47).0001

機構典藏 > College of Foreign Languages and Literature > Department of English > Journal Article > Item 987654321/128538

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://tkuir.lib.tku.edu.tw/dspace/handle/987654321/128538

Title:	Hysterical Bodies and Hysterical Conditions: Sensation and Force in Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories
Authors:	Chen, Pei-Yun
Keywords:	Edgar Allan Poe;Gilles Deleuze;body;hysteria;forces;sensations;"Berenice";"The Pit and the Pendulum"
Date:	2025-12
Issue Date:	2026-03-05 12:07:28 (UTC+8)
Abstract:	Hysteria, traditionally linked to mental illness and gendered social constructs, is redefined in this paper through the concepts of the hysterical body and hysterical condition. Drawing on Gilles Deleuze's analysis of the twentieth-century painter Francis Bacon in The Logic of Sensation, this paper offers a new perspective on hysteria, focusing not on its sociocultural or gendered dimensions but on its nature as an intense bodily experience. Hysteria, in this sense, is characterized by overwhelming forces and sensations that verge on the terrifying. It extends beyond the framework of mental disorder, manifesting instead as an intense force arising both internally and externally. The internal forces of the body reveal themselves through spontaneous physical reactions such as vertigo, convulsions, shuddering, spasms, vomiting, and screaming. External forces on the body, meanwhile, act like waves that flow through the body, provoking involuntary responses before conscious awareness can intervene. Poe's horror tales intricately depict these forces and their effects, offering a fertile ground for exploring the movements of sensation and hysteria within his narratives. The latter part of this paper delves into Poe's nuanced portrayal of forces and sensations in "Berenice" and "The Pit and the Pendulum," examining how these narratives vividly render the complexities of the hysterical body and the hysterical condition. By incorporating a Deleuzian perspective, the analysis illuminates how Poe's texts convey the transformation of "abjection into splendor" and the experience of life's horror as "a very pure and very intense life," thereby highlighting the aesthetic depth of hysteria in his works.
Relation:	英美文學評論 47 ，頁 1-22
DOI:	10.6711/REAL.202512_(47).0001
Appears in Collections:	[Department of English] Journal Article

Files in This Item:

File	Description	Size	Format
index.html		0Kb	HTML	89	View/Open

Loading...