A ‘Dorothy Hodgkin of vagabonds, a derelict Nobel Prize-Winner’ (PB 65): The Spectacularisation of Social Invisibility in Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van (1989)
Before becoming a narrative, a play and, more recently, a film (2015), The Lady in the Van was a fortuitous (non-)event in Alan Bennett’s life. It all started off when a tramp woman, living in a van, ended up in the driveway of his suburban house in Camden Town. As the old bum settled in her routine...
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| Publicado en: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc, |
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| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Lenguaje: | Anglais |
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Études britanniques contemporaines
2021
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| Acceso en línea: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_11313 |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_11313 https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.11313 urn:doi:10.4000/ebc.11313 en https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/11313 2021-11-15T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/febr https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ A ‘Dorothy Hodgkin of vagabonds, a derelict Nobel Prize-Winner’ (PB 65): The Spectacularisation of Social Invisibility in Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van (1989) Études britanniques contemporaines Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2271-5444 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1168-4917 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc Letissier, Georges social invisibility distribution of the sensible spectacularisation specularisation hermeneutical injustice modal anthropology invisibilité sociale spectacularisation spécularisation injustice herméneutique distribution du sensible anthropologie modale Before becoming a narrative, a play and, more recently, a film (2015), The Lady in the Van was a fortuitous (non-)event in Alan Bennett’s life. It all started off when a tramp woman, living in a van, ended up in the driveway of his suburban house in Camden Town. As the old bum settled in her routine, Bennett noted down in his diaries how her encroaching presence progressively took its toll on his daily life. Through The Lady in the Van, social testimony morphs into aesthetic creation. Bennett’s work is a blending of biography and drama, and Miss Shepherd draws her substance from flesh and blood, or rather rubbish and faeces as, in hyperrealist mode, she soon becomes a festering pustule ruffling suburban ataraxy. With the split between the two authorial figures—Alan Bennett and Alan Bennett 2—the contemporary playwright blatantly tropes the motif of specularisation/spectacularisation. Miss Shepherd’s thespian hypervisibility may underscore an existential and ontological denial of individuality. Such interstitial, liminal existence, however spectacular—and Dame Maggie Smith does achieve a remarkable performance—might ultimately partly erase the elusive original model. Avant de devenir un récit, une pièce de théâtre et, plus récemment un film (2015), La dame à la camionnette a été un (non-)événement fortuit dans la vie d’Alan Bennett. Tout a commencé quand une clocharde qui vivait dans une camionnette s’est retouvée dans l’allée de son pavillon résidentiel à Camden Town. Tandis que la clocharde s’installait progressivement dans sa routine, Bennett nota dans son journal intime comment cette présence envahissante allait peu à peu entamer son quotidien. A travers La dame à la camionnette le témoignage sociologique se transforme en création esthétique. L’œuvre de Bennett est un mélange de biographie et de drame et Mademoiselle Shepherd tire sa substance d’un être en chair et en os, ou plutôt de détritus et de fèces dans la mesure où, sur le mode hyperréaliste, elle devient rapidement une pustule purulente qui gangrène une banlieue plongée dans l’ataraxie. En se scindant en deux personnages dans la pièce — Alan Bennett et Alan Bennett 2 — le dramatuge contemporain met en exergue le motif de la spécularité/spectacularisation. L’hypervisibilité théâtrale de Mademoiselle Shepherd pourrait souligner en creux le déni d’une individualité sur le plan existentiel et ontologique. Une telle existence interstitielle et liminale, en dépit de son côté spectaculaire — et l’interprétation de Dame Maggie Smith est une véritable prouesse — pourrait bien en dernier ressort effacer le modèle original. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
social invisibility distribution of the sensible spectacularisation specularisation hermeneutical injustice modal anthropology invisibilité sociale spectacularisation spécularisation injustice herméneutique distribution du sensible anthropologie modale |
| spellingShingle |
social invisibility distribution of the sensible spectacularisation specularisation hermeneutical injustice modal anthropology invisibilité sociale spectacularisation spécularisation injustice herméneutique distribution du sensible anthropologie modale Letissier, Georges A ‘Dorothy Hodgkin of vagabonds, a derelict Nobel Prize-Winner’ (PB 65): The Spectacularisation of Social Invisibility in Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van (1989) |
| description |
Before becoming a narrative, a play and, more recently, a film (2015), The Lady in the Van was a fortuitous (non-)event in Alan Bennett’s life. It all started off when a tramp woman, living in a van, ended up in the driveway of his suburban house in Camden Town. As the old bum settled in her routine, Bennett noted down in his diaries how her encroaching presence progressively took its toll on his daily life. Through The Lady in the Van, social testimony morphs into aesthetic creation. Bennett’s work is a blending of biography and drama, and Miss Shepherd draws her substance from flesh and blood, or rather rubbish and faeces as, in hyperrealist mode, she soon becomes a festering pustule ruffling suburban ataraxy. With the split between the two authorial figures—Alan Bennett and Alan Bennett 2—the contemporary playwright blatantly tropes the motif of specularisation/spectacularisation. Miss Shepherd’s thespian hypervisibility may underscore an existential and ontological denial of individuality. Such interstitial, liminal existence, however spectacular—and Dame Maggie Smith does achieve a remarkable performance—might ultimately partly erase the elusive original model. |
| author |
Letissier, Georges |
| author_facet |
Letissier, Georges |
| author_sort |
Letissier, Georges |
| title |
A ‘Dorothy Hodgkin of vagabonds, a derelict Nobel Prize-Winner’ (PB 65): The Spectacularisation of Social Invisibility in Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van (1989) |
| title_short |
A ‘Dorothy Hodgkin of vagabonds, a derelict Nobel Prize-Winner’ (PB 65): The Spectacularisation of Social Invisibility in Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van (1989) |
| title_full |
A ‘Dorothy Hodgkin of vagabonds, a derelict Nobel Prize-Winner’ (PB 65): The Spectacularisation of Social Invisibility in Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van (1989) |
| title_fullStr |
A ‘Dorothy Hodgkin of vagabonds, a derelict Nobel Prize-Winner’ (PB 65): The Spectacularisation of Social Invisibility in Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van (1989) |
| title_full_unstemmed |
A ‘Dorothy Hodgkin of vagabonds, a derelict Nobel Prize-Winner’ (PB 65): The Spectacularisation of Social Invisibility in Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van (1989) |
| title_sort |
‘dorothy hodgkin of vagabonds, a derelict nobel prize-winner’ (pb 65): the spectacularisation of social invisibility in alan bennett’s the lady in the van (1989) |
| publisher |
Études britanniques contemporaines |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.11313 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/11313 |
| _version_ |
1877293405977968640 |