The Semiotic in Kristeva’s Thought: The Place of Resistance Against Contemporary Totalitarianism

Through a critical reading of Julia Kristeva’s major works – especially in relation to phenomenology – this article argues that meaning and identity do not emerge from a fixed point or transcendental position, but arise within the dynamic dialectic of the semiotic and the symbolic, and in the moments of thetic break. Through the process of signification, the “subject-in-process” is understood as a linguistic–corporeal construct that appears through the rhythmic tensions and intertwining of the pre-linguistic (maternal) with the law and norms of the symbolic (paternal). The article then explores the epistemological and political implications of this view: both the critiques raised against linking the chora/semiotic to the maternal body – and the consequent risk of falling back into essentialism – and the emancipatory potential of foregrounding lived experience and linguistic–corporeal practices of resistance. Kristeva’s thought entails a return to the authenticity of maternal space as a way out of the totalitarian tendencies of contemporary thought. On this basis, we argue that one may draw upon Kristeva’s theoretical resources – while preserving phenomenological sensitivity to experience and remaining alert to the discursive mechanisms of power – to reinterpret contemporary cultural processes in a way that both facilitates analyses of the formation of the living subject within historical contexts and avoids reproducing patriarchal totalitarianism, including binary oppositions and symbolic exclusion.