Abstract：
The complexities surrounding aging, dementia, and care are timely issues that transcend beyond institutional boundaries, evincing a critical debate on later life across disciplines. The aim of this study is to offer fresh insights into the intricate paradigms of living and growing older with dementia. The study focuses on the Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux\'s memoir I Remain in Darkness (1999), which provides a candid account of her mother\'s journey through dementia from its onset to the gradual decline.
This article employs the theoretical frameworks of literary gerontology, illness narratives and life writing to address the challenges of aging, dementia and care that are represented in Ernaux\'s memoir. It also addresses societal attitudes and stigma associated with aging and dementia by exploring the embarrassment that individuals and families experience when confronted with the deteriorating mental health of their loved ones.
Ernaux\'s memoir explores the nuances of dementia and caregiving within both the familial and institutional context, and sheds light on the complex relationship between a mother and a daughter. Through the act of witnessing, Ernaux embarks on a path of healing, which allows her to confront her past wounds and better navigate the challenges that lie ahead. However, Ernaux\'s confessional memoir also troubles the ethics of life writing and identity issues, and seems to perpetuate the pathologizing medical gaze through the exposure of her mother\'s vulnerability and intimacy in the face of dementia and care.
Ernaux\'s account of her mother\'s dementia and aging is both a confessional piece of writing and a narrative therapy, which reveals the challenges of aging, illness, and unresolved family tensions. Her work illuminates the interconnectedness between the past, present, and future, and shows that illness narratives can act as a catalyst for transformative change, identity formation, and self-reflection. The article addresses the intricacies of old age, showcasing how life writing and humanities-based inquiry can bring to the fore key aspects of the latest stages in life, which are often unvoiced because they represent the most unpleasant and feared aspects of aging in contemporary society.
This article employs the theoretical frameworks of literary gerontology, illness narratives and life writing to address the challenges of aging, dementia and care that are represented in Ernaux\'s memoir. It also addresses societal attitudes and stigma associated with aging and dementia by exploring the embarrassment that individuals and families experience when confronted with the deteriorating mental health of their loved ones.
Ernaux\'s memoir explores the nuances of dementia and caregiving within both the familial and institutional context, and sheds light on the complex relationship between a mother and a daughter. Through the act of witnessing, Ernaux embarks on a path of healing, which allows her to confront her past wounds and better navigate the challenges that lie ahead. However, Ernaux\'s confessional memoir also troubles the ethics of life writing and identity issues, and seems to perpetuate the pathologizing medical gaze through the exposure of her mother\'s vulnerability and intimacy in the face of dementia and care.
Ernaux\'s account of her mother\'s dementia and aging is both a confessional piece of writing and a narrative therapy, which reveals the challenges of aging, illness, and unresolved family tensions. Her work illuminates the interconnectedness between the past, present, and future, and shows that illness narratives can act as a catalyst for transformative change, identity formation, and self-reflection. The article addresses the intricacies of old age, showcasing how life writing and humanities-based inquiry can bring to the fore key aspects of the latest stages in life, which are often unvoiced because they represent the most unpleasant and feared aspects of aging in contemporary society.
摘要：
围绕衰老的复杂性，痴呆症,护理是超越制度界限的及时而紧迫的问题，在跨学科的晚年生活中引发了一场批判性的辩论。近几十年来,痴呆症和护理叙事的文学和文化表现显着增加，这提供了对这种情况下生活和变老的复杂范例的宝贵见解。在她的回忆录《我留在黑暗中》(1999)中，诺贝尔奖获得者安妮·厄诺克斯（AnnieErnaux）坦率地讲述了她母亲在痴呆症中的经历，从开始到逐渐下降。Ernaux真诚地探索了家庭和机构背景下痴呆症和护理的细微差别，并阐明了母女之间复杂而不安的关系。通过见证的行为，她走上了疗伤的道路,这让她能够面对过去的创伤，更好地驾驭未来的挑战。Ernaux对她母亲的痴呆症和衰老的痛苦描述既是一种忏悔性的写作，也是一种叙事疗法，这揭示了衰老的挑战，疾病,和未解决的家庭紧张关系。她的作品阐明了过去之间的相互联系，present,和未来,并表明疾病叙事可以作为变革的催化剂，身份形成,和自我反省。然而,Ernaux\的自白回忆录也困扰着生活写作和身份问题的伦理，并且似乎通过暴露母亲在面对痴呆症和护理时的脆弱性和亲密关系，使病态的医学凝视永存。
