Abstract
This article examines the legend of St. Christopher (the Christ carrier) as an allegory of the postmodern critique of logocentrism through readings of two novels: Michel Tournier's Le roi des aulnes (1970) and Torgny Lindgren's Sweetness (Hummelhonung, 1995). In the first, the saint becomes an emblem of Nazism as an inversion of the “proper” relationship between truth and power; in the second, he becomes emblematic of representation itself. St. Christopher's entry into contemporary fiction coincides with the “postmodern turn” toward an emphasis on the signifier (the “carrier” of the Logos) at the expense of the signified (the “carried,” Logos). St. Christopher's status as an emblem of the “postmodern turn” continues in two Hollywood cameos, in Norman Jewison's The Statement (2003) and Paul Haggis's Crash (2005). In all of these representations, St. Christopher retains the status of an allegorical emblem of the postmodern battle between truth and power, and between subjectivity and agency.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Symposium: A Quarterly Journal in Modern Literatures
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
