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PLAYING IN THE ABYSS: GENERATING POTENTIAL SPACE

Journal Name:

  • İstanbul Üniversitesi LITERA, Journal of Western Languages and Literatures

Publication Year:

  • 2008
Author Name
Abstract (2. Language): 
By hypothesizing 'potential space' as the place in which imagination is developed, as a site of mythological origination, Winnicott's theory of infant play has been accorded the import of "the source of all subsequent creative and cultural activity and experience" (Pigrum, 2004, par. 3). To the extent that this conception of potential space focuses on creativity and the 'imaginary', it sets the cognitive conditions for the formulation of myth. Thus, given that these same conditions arbitrate the founding nucleus of an individual's creative life, there is scope to consider potential space in terms of the 'abyss' (a metaphor featured in creation mythologies that connotes unfathomable creative potential). The literary steps of this investigation begin with Derrida's discussion of khora (a term literally meaning 'place' and borrowed from Plato's Timaeus). For Derrida, khora connotes 'mother', 'receptacle' and 'abyss'. Here, a line between the notion of the abyss and Winnicott's 'potential space' (wherein the infant breaks down an illusion of oneness with the mother), may be drawn. A subsequent outline of Kristeva's 'semiotic chora' reinforces this connection because, for her, khora also signifies the infant/mother relationship. By capitalising on these theoretical reference points, Winnicott's 'potential space' supports a critical reading of the role of the abyss metaphor in fostering cultural creativity.
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  • 2
41-59
  • English

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