Abjection, as defined by Kristeva, can be interpreted as maternal splitting and fragmentation of a cycle of physical processes, which are beyond the control of the subject.
According to Kristeva, abjection can be described as the reaction people wield due to a defenseless breakdown in meaning caused by their inability to distinguish between themselves and others (p. 57). The reactions may be expressed in form of horror or a nauseating feeling (Kristeva, p. 57). A prime example is the visual of a corpse that traumatically elicits the memory of one’s mortality. Other things that can elicit the reactions mentioned here are the presence of a wound with pus, or sewage; both human and animal stool. Kristeva presents abjection as something that must be experienced during human psychosexual development before one can be able to establish a boundary between the subject and the object (p. 157). This essay explores how Kristeva examines abjection in relation to the material.
She connects abject with the maternal aspect since the distinction between self and other involves the transition from birth to death. Wardi agrees abject is more conspicuous in maternal situations (p. 25); if it is to be enumerated from a maternal point of view, the inception of the cycle is marked by the onset of pregnancy where the woman starts experiencing nausea commonly known as morning sickness. The abject here dwells within the womb’s lining from the time of conception until birth.
The abject reappears just before birth with labor pains, convulsions, and contraction of the womb, and eventually the amniotic fluids breaks and comes out paving way for the birth of the child. The cutting of the umbilical cord signifies the establishment of a boundary between the mother and the child. Shortly after birth, the abjection is presented by the infant’s stool. For the mother, the infant’s stool and screams serve as a mode of communication of the infant to the mother. The mother faces abject by observing the color and regularity of stool in an attempt to interpret the needs of the child. As the child grows, abjection occurs where the child separates from the mother and starts acquiring language by entering the semiotics phase.
According to Kristeva, in an attempt to detach from its mother, the child gets into the act of abjection to acquire autonomy (p. 156). The text goes a step further to relate the power of the semiotic; the system of relating to signs of written and spoken symbols, to the genetic mapping of the body. Here, the abject serves to help the child interconnect the different parts of the body. The child is able to realize that the eyes that help in vision, the hands that facilitate touching are all parts of an amalgamated subject called the body. This text further explains how the understanding of abjection in maternal, helps in exploring how the body of a child relates with the outside factors such as food and environmental aspects to develop as a whole combined body.
In conclusion, Kristeva’s analysis of abjection in relation to maternal is logically developed from a variety of subjects to be fused or split. After conception, the mother and the embryo are fused and co-exist together with the developing child, who is entirely dependent on the mother. At this point, there is no boundary between the two; however, there is splitting at birth where the mother and the child become two different entities. At this point, the mother is able to distinguish between herself and the child. Soon after weaning, the child also starts separating from the mother.
Works Cited
- Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982. Print.
- Wardi, Eynel. Once Below a Time: Dylan Thomas, Julia Kristeva, and Other Speaking Subjects. Albany: SUNY Press, 2000. Print.