Sanctioned by Law: Post-Patriarchal Narratives of Gender-Based Violence

Abstract

Abstract Italian women writers such as Anna Banti, Elsa Morante, and Elena Ferrante have challenged the patriarchal discourse on female subjectivity through their narrative articulations of gender-based violence. Drawing on Walter Benjamin's analysis of violence in relation to natural and positive law, this article argues that these authors’ representations of violence against women not only provide a powerful critique of patriarchal models but also reveal the contradictory nature of law and justice within a patriarchal power structure. By positioning gender-based violence at the intersection of sanctioned (i.e., legal) and unsanctioned (i.e., illegal) violence, the patriarchal structure of power ensures its continuity. The article concludes that by weaving the pervasiveness of violence experienced by women into their narrative textures, these writers modify their relationship to language from one of displacement to one of cautious proximity, thus opening the possibility for the emergence of a post-patriarchal notion of the human.