Abstract
Explores the question of "who is Whitman's biographical mother" by examining the poetry (especially "Song of Myself" and "As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life") in the context of theoretical statements by Lacan, Kristeva, Roustang, and Jacqueline Rose; argues that Whitman's "mother-voice" is presented in the form of the "primitive semiotic" and that "she is the Self who by her own revelations legitimates Whitman's homosexual identity."
How to Cite:
Wartofsky, S. A., (1992) “Whitman's Impossible Mother”, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 9(4), 196-207. doi: https://doi.org/10.13008/2153-3695.1337
Rights: Copyright © 1992 Steven A Wartofsky
Downloads:
Download pdf
View
PDF