Silence as a modality of mystical experience in the work of Sylvie Germain
The Figurativeness of the Language of Mystical Experience January 1, 2021 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.5817/cz.muni.p210-9997-2021-8
Summary
The article explores the theme of silence in the works of contemporary French author Sylvie Germain, particularly focusing on her essay Acte de silence (2011). It presents silence as both a sign of God's subtle presence and a human act of humility and patience, which is deemed essential for mystical experiences. The analysis includes a passage from her novel L’Enfant Méduse (1991), highlighting aspects of Germain's transcendent poetics that recur in her later writings.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | Silence is portrayed as a necessary condition for mystical experience in Sylvie Germain's work. |
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Abstract
The article deals with the issue of silence in the thinking and work of the contemporary French author Sylvie Germain. The starting point for deliberation is the author’s essay Acte de silence (2011), in which silence is conceived both as a manifestation of God’s discreet appearance and as an act of humility and patience of man. The presence of silence seems to be a necessary condition for mystical experience. Silence understood in this way is the subject of the analysis in a selected passage from Germain’s novel L’Enfant Méduse (1991), which suggests some specific features of the author’s poetics of the transcendent, also present in her later novel work.