LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:3 March 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Biotext: Deleuze and Bakhtin

Roghayeh Farsi, Ph.D.
Neyshabur University

Abstract

This article revolves around J. S. Anand’s theory of biotext, theorized as the virtual Third Space which encompasses author, text, and context. It brings together the theoretical notions of Anand (India), Deleuze (France), and Bakhtin (Russia) on a comparative scale, hence a cross-cultural phenomenon. It is argued that biotext is the meeting point between Bkahtin’s dialogism and Deleuze’s temporal synthesis. Bakhtin defines man in terms of language which is inherently dialogic; hence for him identity is defined in self-other relation. Deleuze bases self-other relation on temporal syntheses and presents it in a constant flux. What interlinks Bakhtin to Deleuze is Bakhtin’s view that language is inevitably context-oriented; context, for Deleuze, is a synthetic process which happens in temporal scheme. A process of being thought together, synthesis is argued to be dialogic. Biotext is the Deleuzian virtual realm which crystallizes the dialogic relation between language and context, and is therefore synthetic. Any dialogism for Bakhtin is unavoidably ideological, hence politically partial. It is argued that unlike Bhabhalian Third Space which is dehistoricized and depoliticizing, Anand’s biotext conforms, albeit temporarily, to an ideological stance, either of the text, of the author, or of the allegiance provoked by the reader/author’s context.

Key words: Bakhtin, Deleuze, Anand, biotext, text

Introduction

History of literary criticism is marked with oscillations between the triad elements: text, context, and author/reader. Each critical approach has inevitably emerged out of prioritizing one or two elements and marginalizing the other(s). This has given the literary perspective some merits as well as delimitations. While the approach has opened up new horizons on different dimensions of each one of the concerned elements, it has also limited its scope by ignoring or missing out some other facets. Addressing all such limitations, J. S. Anand proposes his notion of biotext which is inclusive of all elements involved in the processes of producing and appreciating a literary work. His theory of biotext involves text, context, author/reader giving each element its due concern. Biotext owes this huge potential to its virtuality; Anand relies for the virtuality of his biotext on Deleuze, the postmodern philosopher. For Anand, biotext is a virtual realm which encompasses multiple different possibilities and syntheses. And therefore, each text and each reading is only one of these possibilities actualized due to the existing conditions. Each actualized text (written or read) has itself a virtual side which renders it impervious to multiple other differentiations and possibilities. Therefore, each text is a site of power struggle among different possibilities and is hence asymmetrical.

Text itself is not an independent entity as it evolves out of interrelationships between author/reader and context. Text is the product of contextual demands and author’s/reader’s responses. Taking these points into consideration, Anand draws on the Deleuzian time notion which is based on the three passive syntheses of past, present, and future. Biotext is similarly argued to have grown out of the three passive syntheses of context (past), author/reader (present), and text (future). While Deleuze’s time notion is less concerned with the politico-historical aspects of the event, biotext is highly political and historicizing. The present paper deals with this aspect of biotext and shows how it conforms to some hailing discourses and countersigns some others. The Deleuzian asymmetrical relations in the time notion seem to be apolitical as they are determined by the degree and speed of synthesis; yet biotext could be nothing other than political since it is actualized based on the degree and power of discourses. For this aspect of Anand’s notion, this study relies on Bakhtin and his definition of language (discourse) and man. It is argued that biotext is a synthesis in a Deleuzian key tone and each synthesis is dialogic in a Bakhtinian terminology. This argument necessitates theoretical elaboration of both Bakhtin and Deleuze. Then the paper synthesizes these theories in the body of biotext. Giving biotext a discursive and thereby and ideological base, this paper takes biotext as the Third Space where all the codes of text, context, author/reader are mobilized but with an ideological tilt. Thus unlike its Bhabhalian counterpart, biotext is highly politicized and historicized.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Roghayeh Farsi, Ph.D.
Neyshabur University
Iran
rofarsi@yahoo.com
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