Resistance Against Discursive and Non-Discursive Signification: Self-Realization in She Unnames Them

Language not only operates the linguistic practices through symbol/word systems, but it has great significance in creating subjected subjects through the insidious force of a self-stimulating ideology, as well. The role of language in subject formation is thus interrelated with the ideological aspect, which predetermines and conditions the position of individuals in parallel with the expectations. According to the Althusserian theory of interpellation, language functions as an instrument of the ideology by creating linguistic barriers between the sexes. Named through hailing, individuals indeed accept their predetermined function and role in the world: being a subject requires submission beyond question. Reinforced by the religious and phallocentric discourses, the ideology positions women as the victims of the patriarchal system. This study aims to portray the operations of resistance by addressing Kristeva’s language theory concerning religious liberation. With this purpose, the short story She Unnames Them by Ursula K. Le Guin is discussed within the theory of interpellation of religious patriarchy, which Althusser explains within Subject-subject relationship. The relationship between subjectivity and religious patriarchy and the normalization process of interpellation are interpreted from the perspective of Althusser. The potentiality of un-naming and misrecognition of the grammatical language of the religious patriarchy is exemplified within the story by making reference to Kristeva’s argument.