DeLillo’s Performances of Abjection

Abstract

Drawing on Julia Kristeva’s theorisation of abjection as the subjective experience of the porosity between self and other, and of what is cast out of the symbolic order, this chapter examines Don DeLillo’s engagement with abject art in his later fiction, particularly his 2007 novel Falling Man. Following a brief exploration of recurring ruin and rubble in DeLillo’s oeuvre, this chapter critiques the abject body art of the “Falling Man’s” predecessor: The Body Artist’s Lauren Hartke. It then turns to the “marginal story” of Lianne’s grief and experiential encounter with abject art in Falling Man. Although the novel has assumed canonical status as an exemplary ‘9/11 novel’, it is a novel of crisis and continuity, not a novel of exception. Engaging with broader questions of ontological existence, the limits of human consciousness, and enduring themes in DeLillo’s pre- and post-9/11 work, Falling Man is a counter-narrative to tired trauma narratives of ‘9/11’. The chapter also considers Zero K, drawing points of connection and continuity between this and earlier novels. Despite stylistic differences, abject aesthetics form connective tissue across DeLillo’s literary corpus, revealing the miracles of the marginal and the “awful openness” of grieving bodies.