Forever Fluid ― A Reading of Luce Irigaray's Elemental Passions

Forever Fluid is a rich feast of literary and philosophical insight. It provides the first English commentary on Luce Irigaray's poetic text, Elemental Passions, setting it within its context within continental thought. It explores Irigaray's images and intentions, developing the gender drama that takes place within her book, and draws the reader into the conversation in the text between 'I-woman' and 'you-man'.

But the book is also much more than this, as it uses the exploration of sexual difference as a means to challenge the system of binary logic which has pervaded western thought since Aristotle. It develops the exciting idea of a fluid logic which can move beyond oppositions to multiple subjects and creativity of thought and action. While challenging Irigaray's refusal to move beyond sexual difference, the book shows how her representation of sexual difference enables appreciation of difference of all kinds.

Hanneke Canters studied at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, King's College London and the University of Sunderland, UK. She was awarded her PhD in December 2000 and died before completion of the book.

Grace M. Jantzen was Research Professor of Religion, Culture and Gender at the University of Manchester, UK.