Virtual labyrinths: Nancy K. Miller’s and Susan Gubar’s narratives of cancer

Abstract

Abstract In the midst of the age of memoir, where the demarcation between public discourse and private lives has been eroded, a number of life-writing genres figure prominently as identity narratives. Specifically, illness narratives proliferate in both digital and non-digital forms, thus becoming powerful social and cultural forms to understand illness today. This article aims to analyze how online forms are bringing relevant changes both to the genre and to the actual communication of cancer experience. Nancy K. Miller and Susan Gubar choose different forms (visual diary and blog, respectively) to help readers “acknowledge the place of cancer in the world”. Having lived in cancerland for a while, both reject widespread stereotypes about illness, such as being a cancer survivor, the role of the good patient or the need to reject negative emotions such as anger, fear or sadness. Specifically, I will use the concept of automediality in order to explore how subjectivity is constructed in their use of images and new media. This concept may help us further explore the ways in which online forms offer new ways of self-representation and mediation between technology and subjectivities.