Abstract
ABSTRACT British author and philosopher Vernon Lee understood emotions not simply as personal experiences, but as phenomena occurring through trans-historical, trans-spatial ecologies existing beyond the body, the human, and even selfhood. Although this unique formulation can be found throughout her oeuvre, it is especially vividly rendered in her travel essays. During her lifetime, Lee published seven collections of travel writing – from the 1897 Limbo and Other Essays to the 1925 The Golden Keys and Other Essays on the Genius Loci. Although the subjects of the collections vary, Lee returns in her recollections to a characterization of emotional encounters as arising from the imaginative interaction with this affective ecology. “Ecology,” for Lee, is a verb. These encounters allowed her to experience diverse affections – including some that were culturally marginalized, and others not yet recognized. For this reason, Lee formulates her travel essays through a paradigm of limbo, rooted in the incomplete, unattained, or unattainable. Her oeuvre offers a queer ecology in which unsatisfied longings are for her the most vital and most political.
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 callDisclaimer: 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.
