Mirrors and envelopes: John Berger and Eva Figes’ Light (1983)

Abstract

This article explores the influence of John Berger on Eva Figes’ novel Light (1981). The novel describes a day in the life of Claude Monet. Figes’ depiction of Monet’s artistic processes reflects her own explorations of literary-critical theory as well as showing the clear influence of Berger’s ideas. The article uses archive materials newly recently made available at the British Library to outline the personal relationship between the two writers. It uses this to build a picture of mutual influence, both interpersonal and interdisciplinary, between two of the leading critics, Marxist and Feminist, of the 1970s.