The emptiness of the discourse in “L’Attente l’oubli”: Labyrinths that might lead to “communication”

Abstract

This paper aims at observing the progression of the dialogues in L’attente l’oubli, a novella written by Maurice Blanchot. The characters in L’attente l’oubli are closed in an ever-changing identity and the book shows, through their anguish, the circular routes around which our thoughts revolve, inhibiting us to live the moment where otherness may occur, mainly in a dialogue. The pointlessness of this experience can be attested by the extent to which fantasies, memories and obsessions may develop into “phantoms” that block the individual’s access to “the other”. This paper is informed by an article from Jean-Luc Nancy’s book La pensée dérobée, which will be of fundamental importance to the process of understanding what “communication” might really be.