Neuter

Neuter summarizes Helene Cixous's early concerns - self, language, meaning, relations, ecriture feminine - by laying bare metaphors, incorporating existing material, and developing text by association, fragmentation, and play on signifiers. Its substance is nebulous; its woven structure determines the presence and function of all its elements and expresses Cixous's guiding philosophy. Neuter's goal is to transform the narratives, myths, and discourses that mold our selves, provoking a revelation through new juxtapositions of the self with all others or new relations. The title reflects both Cixous's focus on language and her attempt to free us from sexual preconceptions. Helene Cixous is an author and critic whose fiction has received less attention because her prose is highly experimental and grounded in its original languages. Lorene M. Birden is a literary researcher and translator.