Seeking Autonomy Through Self-Depreciation

This project examines three contemporary women’s texts: Elfriede Jelinek’s The Piano Teacher (1983), Hannan al-Shaykh’s The Story of Zahra (2004), and Yoko Ogawa’s Hotel Iris (2010). The central protagonists in all three novels – Erika, Zahra, and Mari - engage in acts of self-depreciation, appearing to be relinquishing autonomy. However, these schemes are arranged by the characters themselves, demonstrating intent and control over each scenario; this thesis claims these acts of self-torture are perverse orchestrations for reclaiming subjective autonomy. These texts are commonly read as cultural and historical representations, undermining individual experiences. While I recognize there are cultural and political influences that shape these characters and their behaviors, I restrict my analysis to exploring psychological causes for their actions with the theoretical support of Sigmund Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920) and, later, Gilles Deleuze’s “Coldness and Cruelty” (1967)