The auditory uncanny in wartime London: Graham Greene’sThe Ministry of Fear
2004; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 18; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/0950236042000183278
ISSN1470-1308
Autores Tópico(s)Evelyn Waugh and Hans Urs von Balthasar Studies
ResumoThe auditory uncanny in wartime London: Graham Greene's The Ministry of Fear's The Ministry of Fear a powerful sense of the auditory uncanny as a key aspect of the experience of wartime London is created through the protagonist Arthur Rowe's ambivalent relationship with the voices of others. The telephone proves to be an at best faulty and at worst threatening means of establishing contact, which fails to unite the city in the way it promises. A visit to a séance provokes anxieties stemming initially from Rowe's guilt about the mercy killing of his wife, but which expand to produce a sense of uncertainty about female voices in general. Ultimately, the foreign voices of the refugee siblings Anna and Willi Hilfe can provide only fragile reassurance for Rowe as the past catches up with him.
Referência(s)