Reorienting Vulnerability: An Analysis of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk

This article seeks to challenge the traditionally negative connotations of the notion of vulnerability. I propose to approach the concept in dialogue with Giorgio Agamben’s idea of potentiality to demonstrate that both potential and vulnerability can be regarded as transforming and empowering chara...

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Main Author:	María Magdalena Flores-Quesada
Format:	article
Language:	EN
Published:	Universidad de Valladolid 2021
Subjects:	Vulnerability Potentiality Deborah Levy Giorgio Agamben Hot Milk English language PE1-3729 English literature PR1-9680
Online Access:	https://doaj.org/article/f6ea0dce91f244cba3a5fee6851de5d2
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f6ea0dce91f244cba3a5fee6851de5d22021-11-11T12:48:14ZReorienting Vulnerability: An Analysis of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk10.24197/ersjes.42.2021.105-1252531-16462531-1654https://doaj.org/article/f6ea0dce91f244cba3a5fee6851de5d22021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://revistas.uva.es/index.php/esreview/article/view/4402https://doaj.org/toc/2531-1646https://doaj.org/toc/2531-1654 This article seeks to challenge the traditionally negative connotations of the notion of vulnerability. I propose to approach the concept in dialogue with Giorgio Agamben’s idea of potentiality to demonstrate that both potential and vulnerability can be regarded as transforming and empowering characteristics for the subject. I analyse the protagonist of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk (2016) under this light to show how a subject can use vulnerability as the fulcrum of freedom and agency, particularly in the context of a problematic mother-daughter relationship. I suggest that understanding vulnerability as potentiality allows a reorientation of our conception of the victim or the vulnerable as subjects in potential power. María Magdalena Flores-QuesadaUniversidad de ValladolidarticleVulnerabilityPotentialityDeborah LevyGiorgio AgambenHot MilkEnglish languagePE1-3729English literaturePR1-9680ENES Review, Iss 42 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Vulnerability Potentiality Deborah Levy Giorgio Agamben Hot Milk English language PE1-3729 English literature PR1-9680
spellingShingle	Vulnerability Potentiality Deborah Levy Giorgio Agamben Hot Milk English language PE1-3729 English literature PR1-9680 María Magdalena Flores-Quesada Reorienting Vulnerability: An Analysis of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk
description	This article seeks to challenge the traditionally negative connotations of the notion of vulnerability. I propose to approach the concept in dialogue with Giorgio Agamben’s idea of potentiality to demonstrate that both potential and vulnerability can be regarded as transforming and empowering characteristics for the subject. I analyse the protagonist of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk (2016) under this light to show how a subject can use vulnerability as the fulcrum of freedom and agency, particularly in the context of a problematic mother-daughter relationship. I suggest that understanding vulnerability as potentiality allows a reorientation of our conception of the victim or the vulnerable as subjects in potential power.
format	article
author	María Magdalena Flores-Quesada
author_facet	María Magdalena Flores-Quesada
author_sort	María Magdalena Flores-Quesada
title	Reorienting Vulnerability: An Analysis of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk
title_short	Reorienting Vulnerability: An Analysis of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk
title_full	Reorienting Vulnerability: An Analysis of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk
title_fullStr	Reorienting Vulnerability: An Analysis of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk
title_full_unstemmed	Reorienting Vulnerability: An Analysis of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk
title_sort	reorienting vulnerability: an analysis of deborah levy’s hot milk
publisher	Universidad de Valladolid
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f6ea0dce91f244cba3a5fee6851de5d2
work_keys_str_mv	AT mariamagdalenafloresquesada reorientingvulnerabilityananalysisofdeborahlevyshotmilk
_version_	1718439093652684800

Reorienting Vulnerability: An Analysis of Deborah Levy’s Hot Milk

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