Gendered Geographies and the Economy of Bodily Topographies: The Representation of Border, Body and Space in Jeanette Winterson’s The Passion and Gut Symmetries

In this paper, I will approach the body as a spatial metaphor and discuss Jeanette Winterson’s „The Passion” and „Gut Symmetries” comparatively, in light of their engagement with the concept of border. While „The Passion” depicts the city of Venice a trope of female corporality, „Gut Symmetries” insists on the analogies between the body and the universe. I analyse the correspondences between the description of Venice as an amphibious (and ambiguous) land, and Villanelle’s mixture of male and female characteristics. In „Gut Symmetries”, the amalgam of ancient philosophy, superstring theory, quantum physics, Kaballah and Tarot puts into perspective the hollowness of categorizations and limits. I apply a geopolitcal and psychoaanlytical reading grid, using Anne McClintock’s concept of border loss, as well as Lacan and Kristeva’s theories. I will argue that both novels strive to reinforce a paradigm of unity.