‘Tangles of What-Might-Have-Been’: Destiny as Shapeshifting Forces in Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under
Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under questions transitions through a rewriting of the Oedipus myth, in a nonlinear structure that mirrors the ontological instability of its characters. Set on Oxford’s Isis River, it uses water’s shifting nature as a metaphor for identity and fate. Gretel, a lexicographe...
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| Опубликовано в: : | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc, |
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| Формат: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Язык: | Anglais |
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Études britanniques contemporaines
2026
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| Online-ссылка: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_19009 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_19009 https://doi.org/10.4000/16b3q urn:doi:10.4000/16b3q en https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/19009 2026-06-01T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/16b3q https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ‘Tangles of What-Might-Have-Been’: Destiny as Shapeshifting Forces in Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under 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 Trèves, Laurent identité espace illusion réécriture mythe langage transition fluidité changement destin identity space illusion rewriting myth language transition destiny fluidity change Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under questions transitions through a rewriting of the Oedipus myth, in a nonlinear structure that mirrors the ontological instability of its characters. Set on Oxford’s Isis River, it uses water’s shifting nature as a metaphor for identity and fate. Gretel, a lexicographer, is drawn toward Sarah, the abusive mother who abandoned her sixteen years earlier. Besides, the novel explores physical transitions with the story of Marcus, a transgender character who unwittingly fulfills a prophecy by an equally transgender oracle. This paper examines how geographical, ontological and narrative instability paradoxically dramatises destiny as a shapeshifting yet inevitable force: the metamorphic environment draws the characters towards their immutable fates, identity is in constant flux, and the inescapable instability of language as well as the novel’s generic fluidity qualify the illusory desire to fix meaning and to control closure. Le destin comme force métamorphique dans Everything Under de Daisy JohnsonEverything Under de Daisy Johnson interroge la notion de transition à travers une réécriture du mythe d’Œdipe, selon une structure non linéaire qui reflète l’instabilité ontologique de ses personnages. Situé sur l’Isis, à Oxford, le roman utilise la nature changeante de l’eau comme métaphore de l’identité et du destin. Gretel, lexicographe, est irrésistiblement attirée vers Sarah, la mère abusive qui l’a abandonnée seize ans plus tôt. Parallèlement, le roman explore les transitions physiques à travers l’histoire de Marcus, un personnage transgenre qui accomplit sans le savoir une prophétie énoncée par une oracle elle aussi transgenre. Cet article examine comment l’instabilité géographique, ontologique et narrative présente paradoxalement le destin comme une force à la fois métamorphique et inéluctable : l’environnement en perpétuelle mutation attire les personnages vers leurs destinées immuables, l’identité est en constante évolution, et l’instabilité irréductible du langage, tout comme la fluidité générique du roman, remettent en cause le désir illusoire de fixer le sens et de maîtriser la fin. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
identité espace illusion réécriture mythe langage transition fluidité changement destin identity space illusion rewriting myth language transition destiny fluidity change |
| spellingShingle |
identité espace illusion réécriture mythe langage transition fluidité changement destin identity space illusion rewriting myth language transition destiny fluidity change Trèves, Laurent ‘Tangles of What-Might-Have-Been’: Destiny as Shapeshifting Forces in Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under |
| description |
Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under questions transitions through a rewriting of the Oedipus myth, in a nonlinear structure that mirrors the ontological instability of its characters. Set on Oxford’s Isis River, it uses water’s shifting nature as a metaphor for identity and fate. Gretel, a lexicographer, is drawn toward Sarah, the abusive mother who abandoned her sixteen years earlier. Besides, the novel explores physical transitions with the story of Marcus, a transgender character who unwittingly fulfills a prophecy by an equally transgender oracle. This paper examines how geographical, ontological and narrative instability paradoxically dramatises destiny as a shapeshifting yet inevitable force: the metamorphic environment draws the characters towards their immutable fates, identity is in constant flux, and the inescapable instability of language as well as the novel’s generic fluidity qualify the illusory desire to fix meaning and to control closure. |
| author |
Trèves, Laurent |
| author_facet |
Trèves, Laurent |
| author_sort |
Trèves, Laurent |
| title |
‘Tangles of What-Might-Have-Been’: Destiny as Shapeshifting Forces in Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under |
| title_short |
‘Tangles of What-Might-Have-Been’: Destiny as Shapeshifting Forces in Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under |
| title_full |
‘Tangles of What-Might-Have-Been’: Destiny as Shapeshifting Forces in Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under |
| title_fullStr |
‘Tangles of What-Might-Have-Been’: Destiny as Shapeshifting Forces in Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under |
| title_full_unstemmed |
‘Tangles of What-Might-Have-Been’: Destiny as Shapeshifting Forces in Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under |
| title_sort |
‘tangles of what-might-have-been’: destiny as shapeshifting forces in daisy johnson’s everything under |
| publisher |
Études britanniques contemporaines |
| publishDate |
2026 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/16b3q https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/19009 |
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