The “Parrhesiastic Game”: Textual Self-Justification in Spiritual Narratives of Early Modern Women

Rhetoric Society Quarterly Oct 2007

The “Parrhesiastic Game”: Textual Self-Justification in Spiritual Narratives of Early Modern Women

Gae Lyn Henderson University of Utah

Abstract

Though scholars debate whether Foucault offers a viable theory of resistance, his analysis of parrhesia(fearless speech) poses and problematizes an oppositional rhetoric of truth-telling. Fearless speech challenges regimes of power/truth; spiritual narratives of Early Modern women challenge cultural norms to justify their right to speak. The rhetorical strategies that women use to authorize their writing—performing a struggle between God and Satan, recording revelation, and reinterpreting scripture—make them vulnerable to stereotypical criticisms of madness and witchcraft. Nonetheless, female spiritual narratives courageously critique religious and social culture, playing Foucault's “parrhesiastic game”: these texts break silence to tell truth. A notion of a contemporary rhetor-as-parrhesiastes reflects the historical evolution of parrhesia towards critique and self-questioning. A contemporary parrhesiastes interrogates guises of generalized Truth to give voice to experiential, localized, multiple truths.

Journal: Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published: 2007-10-01
DOI: 10.1080/02773940601078072
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

Posselt (2019)

Rhetorizing Philosophy: Toward a “Double Reading” of Philosophical Texts

Philosophy & Rhetoric
Pezzullo et al. (2018)

Resistance: Taking a Stand, Struggling to Matter

Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Walzer (2013)

<i>Parrēsia</i>, Foucault, and the Classical Rhetorical Tradition

Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Tell (2010)

Rhetoric and Power:

Philosophy & Rhetoric

Cites in this index (1)

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