Abstract
Julian of Norwich (b. 1342) anticipated the ontological and epistemological work on sexed embodiment pioneered in the work of Merleau-Ponty and Irigaray in the 20th century. Her epistemology of sensual ‘showings’ helped reconfigure women’s embodiment and speech acts (‘bodytalk’): by recognizing cognitive emotions and the knowledge-producing body; and by envisioning the intertwining of human flesh with All That Is. The paper next examines Merleau-Ponty’s somatic discourse on the chiasmic flesh, which leads to a discussion of Irigaray’s work on poetic mimesis.
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Antonio, D. The flesh of all that is: Merleau-Ponty, Irigaray, and Julian’s ‘showings’. SOPHIA 40, 47–65 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02782386
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02782386