Insufferable: Beckett, Gender and Sexuality

Daniela Caselli

doi:10.1017/9781009244763

Series: Elements in Beckett Studies

Insufferable: Beckett, Gender and Sexuality

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 September 2023

Daniela Caselli

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Daniela Caselli: Affiliation:
The University of Manchester

Summary

Insufferable: Beckett, Gender and Sexuality rethinks the role of gender politics in the oeuvre, demonstrates Beckett's historical importance in the development of the 'antisocial thesis' in queer theory, and shows the work's attachment to sexuality as temporarily consolatory but ultimately unbearable. The Beckett oeuvre might seem unpromising material for gender and sexuality studies, but this is exactly what makes it worth considering. This Element brings to Beckett questions that have emerged from gender, queer, and trans theory, engages with the history of feminism and sexuality studies, and develops a theoretical framework able to account for what we have previously overlooked, underplayed, and misinterpreted in Beckett. In the spirit of being 'on the lookout for an elsewhere', it makes a case for a queerly generative de-idealisation of Beckett as an object of critical study.

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Keywords

Samuel Beckett gender studies queer theory trans theory sexual politics

Type: Element
Information: Series: Elements in Beckett Studies

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009244763 [Opens in a new window]

Online ISBN: 9781009244763

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication: 19 October 2023

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Insufferable: Beckett, Gender and Sexuality

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