Evil in literature and cinema

Although some literary periods and the leading aesthetics associated with them (for example French Classicism) saw literature as the expression of good, beauty and truth, many writers and thinkers were and still are fascinated by evil. The best known apologists of evil include de Sade, Baudelaire and Bataille, among others. Ostensibly, evil seems to have infected literature and cinema.

Certain genres of popular literature are inextricably connected with evil. Horror fiction and cinema are dominated by its various forms, ranging from spaces filled with horror (the motifs of an evil place, a haunted house), through malevolent characters (vampires, demons), to evil-related motifs (curse, paganism, satanism, cannibalism). In classic texts (Mérimée, Maupassant, Stoker, Blackwood, Lovecraft), as well as in contemporary fiction (King, Masterton, Herbert), evil always triumphs at the end. However, the new fantastic (Andrevon) reverses well-known codes and shows humans as the incarnation of evil, destroying the planet, whereas nature takes revenge for all the harm done (end of the Anthropocene). Gore cinema is an apotheosis of evil, which is visible in its varieties, such as “torture gore porn” or “splat-pack.”

Evil constitutes an inseparable element of the opposition with good, and the clash of these two powers determines many fantasy stories – mainly epic or heroic – as well as similar, more canonical texts, for example the struggle of Beowulf resisting the monster Grendel and his mother. Such opposition is the driving force of classic fantasy, as in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, but also of contemporary popular literature and cinema, like Harry Potter. Therefore, while one can study the topic of the battle against evil and its implementation in fantasy, it seems even more interesting to examine how the boundaries between good and evil are blurred in such texts. In this context, how should one perceive such protagonists as Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné, Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant or Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian? In what way should one interpret the ambiguous attitude of the characters of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones? The conflict between good and evil is more and more often presented with no clear boundaries, and the opposing sides have no obvious intentions. For this reason, not only the representations of the struggle between good and evil need to be examined in fantasy literature, but also grey areas, anti-heroes and motives of their wrongdoings.

As far as speculative fiction (littératures de l’imaginaire) is concerned, it is worthwhile to mention the images of evil in texts written by women about women, as more and more works that belong to fantasy, fantastic fiction or science fiction are created by female authors, talk about female characters and are written for female readers. One of the subgenres of speculative fiction most dominated by women is contemporary urban fantasy written both in English (Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Darynda Jones), and in French (Léa Silhol, Cassandra O’Donnell). Its heroines, like typical fantasy heroes, have to face the evil of the outside world. Therefore, it seems interesting to analyse what roles they play in the fight against evil, how such a struggle changes them and whether they lose their femininity in the battle.

The fantastic, previously dominated by men, also seems to be more and more frequently explored by women. Writers who create the “female fantastic” focus not only on portraying the dark side of women, but also on presenting various aspects of evil that destroys their protagonists (Anne Duguël, Yvonne Escoula, Mélanie Fazi, Shirley Jackson).

Mainstream literature does not fall behind popular genres in the exploration of evil. As Georges Bataille noted, “if literature separates itself from evil, it quickly becomes boring.”  By crossing boundaries and causing anxiety in the reader, literature does not allow anyone to live in the ignorance of the cruellest aspects of human nature, and thus enables confrontation with evil and danger. Evil is always an expression of transgression, and the construction of an anti-hero often simultaneously fascinates and frightens the reader. In this context, one can reflect on the relationship between the oppressor and the victim, as in Ananda Devi’s Green Sari, on physical violence, as well as on some more “subtle” forms of abuse: financial, sexual or emotional. Evil is also associated with discrimination based on sex and race, which entails dehumanization and hate speech. This type of evil and its cultural determinants are visible in African women’s literature written in French, e.g. in the works of Fatou Diome or Ken Bugul. The interpretation of such texts also raises the question of the effects of evil in the characters’ lives (individual and collective traumas), as well as the therapeutic, cathartic role of writing in the healing process.

Evil often manifests itself in violence, which can take various, also less obvious, forms, such as: self-destruction – when the subject, as a result of past harm, mutilates their own body or mentally destroys themselves (e.g. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath); aggression against another, usually weaker, person – violence against women, children, animals (e.g. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn), violence directed by one group against another (national, ethnic, racial or religious) – manifested in the form of war, genocide, terrorist attacks (e.g. the Algerian literary movement écriture de l’urgence from the 1990s, The Barefoot Woman by Scholastique Mukasonga).

We encourage you to reflect on these topics, as well as to explore any issues that have not been mentioned above, but are related to the given field of study.

Submissions with an abstract of a 20-minute paper and a bio-bibliographic note should be sent to: malevil2020.conference@gmail.com by March 31, 2020. The authors of the accepted proposals will be notified by April 15, 2020. The cost of participation in the conference is 100 euros (430 PLN for participants from Poland), plus 25 euros for those interested in participating in the banquet (100 PLN for participants from Poland). The conference fee of 100 euros covers the cost of publication (after obtaining a positive review), but does not include the cost of travel, meals and accommodation of participants. Payment details will be provided later. The conference will include the publication of a multi-author monograph in a publishing house from the list of indexed publishers – articles will be accepted until December 20, 2020.

The conference languages will be French, English and Polish.

The conference is organized at the Institute of Literary Studies,Faculty of Humanities at the University of Silesia in Katowice.

Organising committee: Katarzyna Gadomska (Assoc. Prof., Professor of the University of Silesia): chairwoman of the organising committee; Ewa Drab (PhD), Anna Swoboda (PhD): coordinators of the English-speaking section; Katarzyna Gadomska (Assoc. Prof., Professor of the University of Silesia): coordinator of the French-speaking section; Grażyna Starak (Assoc. Prof., Professor of the University of Silesia); Magdalena Malinowska (PhD): coordinators of the Polish-speaking section; Magdalena Perz (PhD): coordinator of the financial section

For more information, please contact us at malevil2020.conference@gmail.com