"The unconfessable remains unconfessed" : reading gender, mourning, and relationality in "In the name of the father (and of the son)" through the work of Judith Butler

Abstract

Immanuel Mifsud’s In the Name of the Father (and of the Son) is a recent work of Maltese literature in which the author presents an autobiographical account in a literary way that is informed by what can be broadly considered as postmodern or poststructuralist views on identity and subjectivity. This chapter presents a reading of key themes in In the Name of the Father, such as gender, mourning, and relationality, as well as a critical analysis of Mifsud’s confessional approach in this work and its limits. Guiding and inspiring this reading are the ideas of the contemporary philosopher Judith Butler on gendered identity, subjectivity, and the limits of narrating one’s self.