The Role of Metaphors in "La Photographe" by Christophe Ferré
Titles of the Individual Presentations in a Panel
The Role of Metaphors in "La Photographe" by Christophe Ferré Olga Amarie
Subject Area
French and Francophone Studies
Abstract
Christophe Ferré, in his novella La Photographe (Twin Tower Lovers), the French Academy Award for the best Novella of 2010, emphasizes the importance of emotions after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Not only does the author condemn global terrorism, but he also criticizes the media for not conveying the depth of the message. This presentation focuses on the role of literature in global debates on tragedy and death. On September 11th, the main character of La Photographe takes pictures of Twin Tower victims. She suffers a personal loss, when her lover is trapped on the top floor of the Windows on the World restaurant. This study analyzes the tragic aspect of love and suffering through the use of metaphors and comparisons. There are multiple metaphors in this novella, such as “the towers of Babel attracting crazy planes”, “chimneys of crematory ovens”, “a beast at bay”, that give a mythical dimension to this horrible event in New York, proving that literature takes charge of sense and sensibility, offering a genuine reflection on love, suffering, and tragedy.
Brief Bio Note
Olga Amarie is a faculty member at Georgia Southern University since 2011, an Associate Professor of French and the South Vice President of Pi Delta Phi, the French Honor Society. She holds a PhD in French Literature from Indiana University-Bloomington and a minor in Comparative Literature. Her areas of specialization are Twenty and Twenty-First Century French Novel and French Thought, teaching with technology and film studies. She published articles on Georges Perec, Hervé Le Tellier, Raymond Roussel, Juliette Adam, and Octave Mirbeau.
Keywords
tragedy, death, emotions, metaphors
Location
Room 218
Presentation Year
2017
Start Date
3-24-2017 4:05 PM
Embargo
1-31-2017
Recommended Citation
Amarie, Olga, "The Role of Metaphors in "La Photographe" by Christophe Ferré" (2017). South East Coastal Conference on Languages & Literatures (SECCLL). 71.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/seccll/2017/2017/71
The Role of Metaphors in "La Photographe" by Christophe Ferré
Room 218
Christophe Ferré, in his novella La Photographe (Twin Tower Lovers), the French Academy Award for the best Novella of 2010, emphasizes the importance of emotions after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Not only does the author condemn global terrorism, but he also criticizes the media for not conveying the depth of the message. This presentation focuses on the role of literature in global debates on tragedy and death. On September 11th, the main character of La Photographe takes pictures of Twin Tower victims. She suffers a personal loss, when her lover is trapped on the top floor of the Windows on the World restaurant. This study analyzes the tragic aspect of love and suffering through the use of metaphors and comparisons. There are multiple metaphors in this novella, such as “the towers of Babel attracting crazy planes”, “chimneys of crematory ovens”, “a beast at bay”, that give a mythical dimension to this horrible event in New York, proving that literature takes charge of sense and sensibility, offering a genuine reflection on love, suffering, and tragedy.
