Abstract
Demonstrates Possession’s mythic elements, in particular, how the encounter between the fictitious Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash and his daughter Maia in the novel’s Postscript constitutes Ash’s confrontation with Slavoj Žižek’s famous interpretation of the Lacanian Real. Building on Žižek, argues that Ash’s encounter with the Real actually springs from and mediates grace. This reimagining of the Real is an integral element of myth and introduces the mythic into Possession, giving it the qualities of a Romance.
Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON
July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday)
http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm
Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien
Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022
http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm