Book reviews: Writing and Difference, by Jaques Derrida

Derrida: On “Writing and Difference”

Derrida’s text, Writing and Difference, is comprised of various essays dealing with topics as diverse as the violence of metaphysics, the poet Antonin Artaud, the theater of cruelty, and a reading of Sigmund Freud. He devotes much of his text to discussion of Levinas, Hegel, and Heidegger and to some extent, Plato and Socrates. His references also include in smaller part Maurice Blanchot, Levi-Strauss, Kafka, Montaigne, Feuerbach, and various aspects of the Hebraic tradition and/or ideology. Derrida’s aim throughout this collection of essays is to develop his idea of deconstruction as well as the concept of difference within writing.

The first few essays gradually develop and illuminate Derrida’s idea of deconstruction. Rather than let his reader know what deconstruction is, Derrida lets him know what deconstruction is not. Deconstruction is not a form of analysis, a critique, a method, an act, an operation, or, as the word itself seems to imply, destruction. Rather, deconstruction is what Derrida calls an openness to the Other that “present[s] himself as absence” (103). He maintains, furthermore, that all speech is for the other and therefore, no logos as “absolute knowledge” can “comprehend dialogue and the trajectory toward the other” and that this “rupture of logosopens speech” (98). He is very concerned with the openings in speech and writing and describes them in terms of wounds and abscesses; he is very concerned with what these cracks in speech and/or writing reveal, and what fills these cracks. In a more general sense, Derrida’s framing of deconstruction is that it destroys the claim of one dominating form of signification over another and ends up subverting most of the Western metaphysical tradition. Deconstruction illustrates how all texts shift and become increasingly complex in meaning when read in terms of the assumptions they raise and the questions they ask within themselves. That is, deconstruction is a kind of analytical reading of a text that brings to light the difference within the text itself.

Difference is very important to Derrida important enough for him to dedicate an entire compilation to its exploration. According to Derrida in the first few essays, meaning exists and is out there, and he describes it in the same terms as he describes the closure of the book. “It is there, but out there, beyondbut eluding us there” (300). However, the meaning that indubitably exists (though Derrida does

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A look at Wiccan summer solstice rituals

MIDSUMMER’S MAGICK, LIGHT & WARMTH: CELEBRATING EARTH’S ABUNDANCE

Better than staring at the Vincent van Gogh painting named “Starry Night,” when attending a Wiccan Summer Solstice ritual you’re actually enjoying the darkness of night beneath a star-lit sky, painted by the Gods of our European ancestors.

Walking toward the circle of witches, you smell their Summer Solstice bonfire and perhaps the essence of dried-sage burning. You also hear chanting or drumming that stirs your soul. It makes you want to dance.

Beyond that, explaining what you’ll experience at any given Wicca Summer Solstice ritual gets tricky. That’s because a coven of Wiccans is more like a herd of wild elk than a domestic flock of sheep. Not only is there nobody to shear the elk, or tell them how to dress-up (or wear no clothes at all) but nobody tells Wiccans exactly what deity they must celebrate either. Some groups worship only the Goddess energies while others also pay tribute to the horned God of the woods.

Before a Pagan group decides to gather in ritual or a coven or a group of Wiccans decides to celebrate Summer Solstice together – they might forage around in mythological books or meditate in psychic trance long enough to conjure up new ideas for enhancing their Midsummer ceremony. Any Summer Solstice ritual is very likely to turn out something like a container of Neapolitan ice cream, with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry condiments all making any combination of flavors possible.

Consider those Wiccans who believe in Faeries, for instance. Faerie-Wiccans might decorate their Summer Solstice altar with fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers and perhaps an offering of milk and sweet cakes for the Fey. Summer Solstice for Faerie-Wiccans is an especially exciting time because that’s when the portal between Earth and metaphysical-worlds open wide and witches can more easily communicate with residents from other-worlds. Thus, Faerie-Wiccans might sprinkle themselves with glitter (i.e., Faerie dust) and secure wings to their whimsical outfits. Then they might dance wildly in a circle to request Faerie blessings of good health and luck!

In contrast, members of other Wicca traditions might stage a battle of two male Gods or perform what other ceremonial demonstration will most efficiently honor other myths as they choose.

YIN IS TO YANG WHAT SUMMER IS TO WINTER:

To understand what inspires a Wiccan Summer Solstice Ritual in the first place, it’s important to realize