MAPPING THE BRAIN AND THE BODY: THE EXAMPLE OF GREEK AESTHETE NIKOLAOS EPISKOPOPOULOS

Authors

  • Eleni Mavroeidi MA, Modern Greek Literature, School of Philology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejls.v3i2.354

Keywords:

aestheticism, cognitive literary historicism, degeneration, modern Greek literature, Nikolaos Episkopopoulos

Abstract

This article concentrates on the neurological condition of epilepsy in the short story “Mavra” by Greek author Nikolaos Episkopopoulos. An attempt is made to see the condition via the lens of social preconceptions, those who support degeneration, as well as neurological beliefs, through the identification and analysis of the themes that make up the protagonists’ epileptic identities. The reflection of the scientific atmosphere of the 19th century in fin-de-siècle literature is visible through the methodological prism of cognitive literary historicism. The socio-cultural makeup of the epileptic self eventually seems to be captured by the narrator’s body. The narrator’s brain functions are examined using introjection, visual perception, and the most recent finding of mirror neurons, indicating the particular and subjective experience of the illness.

Author Biography

  • Eleni Mavroeidi, MA, Modern Greek Literature, School of Philology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

    Eleni Mavroeidi studied Medieval and Modern Greek Literature (BA, MA) at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She currently works as a Modern Greek Language Teacher and is the Production Editor in the annual academic literary journal Comparative Literature Review (CompLitReview). Her academic interests range from Modern Greek and European Aestheticism to interdisciplinary topics, such as the neurological depiction of literature in the 19th century, Health Humanities, pathographies, and narrative medicine.

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Published

2022-08-12

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2022)

Section

Articles

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