Abstract
I consider a model of ‘abjectification’ through Kristeva’s quotation and the relative process of ‘hybridization’ in Igiaba Scego’s short story ‘Salsicce’/‘Sausages’. First, I analyze the three exponents of the quadratic equation visualized in Kristeva’s quotation: the ‘ego’, the ‘object’, and the ‘superego’. I recognize the ‘ego’ in a Somali/Italian lady living in Rome since birth. I refer to the ‘superego’ the symbolic orders of tastes and preferences characterizing her Somaliness and Italianness. I connect the ‘object’ with the discriminatory fingerprinting law. Then, I discover the unknown value of the equation—the ‘abject’—in the protagonist’s transgression because of attempting to eat sausages as a reaction to the ‘object’. Finally, I identify the lack of recognition of the protagonist’s Italian identity in the failed ‘abjectification’, and I suggest that the most viable solution for her sojourn in Italy should reside in the process of hybridization.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—The World on the Move: Understanding Migration in a New Global Age
KEYWORDS
African Migrant Literature, African Diaspora, Somaliness, Italianness, Ego, Superego, Object, Abject, Abjection, Quadratic Equation, Fingerprinting Law, Abjectification, Hybridization
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