28.8.21 The sublime
'But what lies beyond the abject, if anything at all? The answer, Kristeva claims in Powers of Horror, is the sublime. The sublime is "something added," causing us to be in two places (the here and beyond), overstraining and expanding us. The sublime is, then, another form of doubling, since we perceive that we are both here and beyond here in a single moment of sublimation.
The ambiguous and paradoxical nature of the sublime and the sensations it arouses seem very much related to the abject and the uncanny. In comparing Kristeva's notion of the sublime with that of Kant's, we discover marked similarities. In his Critique of Judgment, Kant describes the sublime as something existing beyond the physical world, split between the sensible and supersensible, dwarfing humanity and thwarting our reason and understanding (521-3). This split is reminiscent of Kristeva's concept of the alter ego and of Freud's doubling.
In Powers of Horror, Kristeva defines sublimation as "the possibility of naming the prenominal, the pre-objectal" (11). There is something otherworldly about the sublime for both Kristeva and Kant. But it is an otherworldliness which puts into perspective humanity and gives us brief insight into the possibility of something larger.
The sublime is rooted in the unknown, allowing us to momentarily glimpse beyond the limits of the human universe which previously seemed stable and sure. The sublime is thus also connected to the blurring of boundaries and the paradox and ambiguity this produces. The resulting feeling is paradoxical itself, aptly named by Edmund Burke "pleasant terror" and "delightful horror." Like the abject and the uncanny, the sublime causes uneasiness and confusion in destabilizing the boundaries created by human beings to make sense of the world. 12
These boundaries, which Kristeva claim are what make up the human universe, are also at work for Kant in the sublime. He describes the sublime as a kind of infinite and overwhelming lawfulness and a desire to submit to it (534). So it seems that the destabilization of boundaries by the sublime and by the abject is not the same. The sublime allows us to view past boundaries and makes us hyperaware of their existence. The abject is the breakdown of the border, while the sublime is the imposition of it. But, interestingly enough, both result in terror and horror, though perhaps of different kinds. In Powers of Horror, Kristeva claims that the sublime is what keeps abjection under control. ' (Baird, 2013, p 12)
Baird, A (2013) The Abject, the Uncanny, and the Sublime: A Destabilization of Boundaries Available at: http://writing.rochester.edu/celebrating/2013/Baird.pdf (Accessed: 30 August 2020)
The ambiguous and paradoxical nature of the sublime and the sensations it arouses seem very much related to the abject and the uncanny. In comparing Kristeva's notion of the sublime with that of Kant's, we discover marked similarities. In his Critique of Judgment, Kant describes the sublime as something existing beyond the physical world, split between the sensible and supersensible, dwarfing humanity and thwarting our reason and understanding (521-3). This split is reminiscent of Kristeva's concept of the alter ego and of Freud's doubling.
In Powers of Horror, Kristeva defines sublimation as "the possibility of naming the prenominal, the pre-objectal" (11). There is something otherworldly about the sublime for both Kristeva and Kant. But it is an otherworldliness which puts into perspective humanity and gives us brief insight into the possibility of something larger.
The sublime is rooted in the unknown, allowing us to momentarily glimpse beyond the limits of the human universe which previously seemed stable and sure. The sublime is thus also connected to the blurring of boundaries and the paradox and ambiguity this produces. The resulting feeling is paradoxical itself, aptly named by Edmund Burke "pleasant terror" and "delightful horror." Like the abject and the uncanny, the sublime causes uneasiness and confusion in destabilizing the boundaries created by human beings to make sense of the world. 12
These boundaries, which Kristeva claim are what make up the human universe, are also at work for Kant in the sublime. He describes the sublime as a kind of infinite and overwhelming lawfulness and a desire to submit to it (534). So it seems that the destabilization of boundaries by the sublime and by the abject is not the same. The sublime allows us to view past boundaries and makes us hyperaware of their existence. The abject is the breakdown of the border, while the sublime is the imposition of it. But, interestingly enough, both result in terror and horror, though perhaps of different kinds. In Powers of Horror, Kristeva claims that the sublime is what keeps abjection under control. ' (Baird, 2013, p 12)
Baird, A (2013) The Abject, the Uncanny, and the Sublime: A Destabilization of Boundaries Available at: http://writing.rochester.edu/celebrating/2013/Baird.pdf (Accessed: 30 August 2020)