Winterson’s philosophy of love in relation to language and grand narratives.

Abstract

The three texts examined in this essay all display a fascinating fixation on love, made all the more so because Winterson’s sharp critique against grand narratives and language which effaces the validity of love. Moving from a criticism of the validity and authenticity of grand narratives like history, Winterson’s writing style incorporates her mode of criticism into the very structure of the narrative, developing and sharpening into a criticism of the efficacy of language as a tool of communication. One would think that this form of criticism embedded in a love story immediately effaces the concept of love, and serves to give the reader the impression that love is a fallacy; Winterson’s writing techniques serve to enhance and strengthen her philosophy of love, using the loophole that the above mentioned form of criticism creates to further amplify her argument. This essay aims to prove that the dichotomy between the concept of love and Winterson’s critique of grand narratives and language is necessary, for the one reinforces the other.