Introduction: “Violence, Non-Violence” by Judith Butler
“Violence, Non-Violence” Judith Butler, first published in 2002 in the journal Radical Philosophy, has had a profound impact on both literature and literary theory, particularly in its exploration of the complex relationship between violence, power, and subjectivity. Butler argues that violence is not merely a physical act but also a symbolic and performative one, shaped by cultural norms and discourses. Her analysis has led to new ways of understanding the production and perpetuation of violence, as well as the possibilities for resistance and non-violent action.
Summary of “Violence, Non-Violence” by Judith Butler
Sartre’s Preface to Fanon’s Work: The Provocative Address
- Controversial Mode of Address: Sartre’s preface to Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth is notably direct and provocative, aiming to confront the European reader, particularly the colonizer or French citizen, who might be shocked by the violent resistance of the colonized. This address challenges the reader’s understanding of violence and colonialism, attempting to shift the perspective towards the experiences and struggles of the colonized.
- Imagined Audience and Intended Effect: Sartre imagines his readers as colonizers or bystanders, urging them to empathize with the colonized’s fight for independence. “Europeans, you must open this book and enter into it. After a few steps in the darkness you will see strangers gathered around a fire; come close, and listen, for they are talking of a destiny they will mete out to your trading centers and to the hired soldiers who defend them” (p. 13).
Dichotomy of Address and its Implications
- Sartre and Fanon’s Different Addresses: While Fanon speaks to his fellow colonized individuals, Sartre uses his preface as a tool to engage European readers, acknowledging that his preface might serve as bait to attract those readers to Fanon’s insights. Sartre’s address, though not intended for the colonized, serves as a display of his political stance to them.
- Eavesdropping as a Metaphor: The preface suggests that Europeans engaging with Fanon’s text are essentially eavesdropping on a conversation not meant for them, which profoundly impacts their understanding of their position and the legitimacy of their perspectives on colonial issues.
Philosophical and Psychological Reflections
- Dehumanization and Recognition: Sartre discusses the dehumanization that has occurred under colonialism and argues that a lack of direct address or recognition has led to a psychological and existential void among the colonized. This non-recognition is mirrored back to the European, calling into question their humanity and complicity in colonial oppression.
- Violence and Humanization: The preface deeply engages with the idea that violence, while destructive, is also a means of resistance and reclamation of identity for the colonized. This violence is not just physical but also psychological, embodying a struggle for recognition and humanization against the forces that have historically negated their humanity.
Existential and Ethical Dimensions
- Existential Reclamation: Sartre posits that through violence and confrontation, the colonized reclaim their humanity by defining themselves not in relation to the colonizer but through their own existential struggles and victories.
- Ethical Paradoxes: The preface navigates the ethical paradox of using violence as a tool for liberation, questioning whether the colonized can reclaim their humanity without perpetuating the cycle of violence that characterized their oppression.
Conclusion and Critical Reflection
- Challenging European Readers: Sartre’s preface challenges European readers to confront their own roles in the colonial process, urging a reflection that may lead to an ethical re-evaluation of their identities and beliefs regarding violence and non-violence.
- Sartre’s Philosophical Positioning: Ultimately, the preface serves as a complex philosophical gesture that uses the provocative address to unsettle, educate, and transform its intended audience, making them reconsider their positions and responsibilities within the colonial context.
Literary Terms/Concepts in “Violence, Non-Violence” by Judith Butler
| Term | Definition | Example from Butler’s Essay |
| Direct Address | A mode of communication in which the speaker directly addresses the audience, often using the second person pronoun “you.” | “Europeans, you must open this book and enter into it.” |
| Indirect Address | A mode of communication in which the speaker addresses a third party or entity, often implying the audience’s presence or involvement. | “They will see you, perhaps, but they will be talking among themselves, without even lowering their voices.” |
| Performativity | The idea that language and other social practices can create and sustain social realities. | Sartre’s preface performs a certain kind of “rejection” of the European reader. |
| Subjectivity | The individual’s conscious experience and sense of self. | The subjectivity of the colonized is shaped by the conditions of colonialism. |
| Social Death | A concept introduced by Orlando Patterson to describe the condition of individuals who are denied the rights and privileges of full citizenship. | The colonized are often subjected to social death under colonial rule. |
| Humanism | A philosophical and cultural outlook that emphasizes human values and dignity. | Sartre’s preface explores the limitations of traditional humanist approaches to colonialism. |
| Colonialism | The practice of establishing and maintaining control over a foreign territory, often accompanied by exploitation and oppression. | The essay discusses the effects of colonialism on the colonized and colonizers. |
| Decolonization | The process of gaining independence from colonial rule. | The essay examines the role of violence in decolonization struggles. |
| Globalization | The increasing interconnectedness of the world’s economies, cultures, and societies. | Bhabha’s forward to the essay considers the implications of globalization for understanding colonialism and decolonization. |
Contribution of “Violence, Non-Violence” by Judith Butler to Literary Theory/Theories
| Literary Theory | Contribution from “Violence, Non-Violence” |
| Gender Performativity | Violence is a performative act that reinforces gender norms and power structures. |
| Postcolonial Theory | Challenges the colonial discourse that positions the colonizer as the subject and the colonized as the object of violence. |
| Queer Theory | Argues that violence can be used to enforce heteronormative norms, and that queer resistance often involves acts of defiance against these norms. |
| Critical Race Theory | Analyzes the relationship between race, power, and violence, arguing that racial violence is a symbolic performance that reinforces racial hierarchies. |
| Poststructuralism | Challenges binary oppositions and recognizes the multiplicity of perspectives in understanding violence. |
Examples of Critiques Through “Violence, Non-Violence” by Judith Butler
| Literary Work | Critique Through Butler’s Lens |
| Shakespeare’s Hamlet | Butler might critique Hamlet’s revenge tragedy as a performance of masculine violence that reinforces patriarchal power structures. She could also analyze the play’s exploration of madness and grief as a response to societal violence. |
| Toni Morrison’s Beloved | Butler could examine Morrison’s novel as a critique of the violence of slavery and its lasting impact on African American communities. She might also analyze the novel’s exploration of trauma and memory as a form of resistance to violence. |
| Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway | Butler could critique Woolf’s novel as a depiction of the violence of gender roles and expectations. She might also analyze the novel’s exploration of mental health as a response to societal pressures. |
| James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain | Butler could examine Baldwin’s novel as a critique of the violence of racism and religious hypocrisy. She might also analyze the novel’s exploration of identity and sexuality as forms of resistance to violence. |
Criticism Against “Violence, Non-Violence” by Judith Butler
- Overemphasis on Sartre’s Masculinism: Butler critiques Sartre’s framing of violence and decolonization as inherently masculinist, suggesting that Sartre places too much emphasis on manhood and male fraternity in his discussion of Fanon. She argues that Sartre’s vision of liberation through violence primarily concerns male agency, sidelining the experiences of women and other marginalized groups within the colonial context.
- Reduction of Violence to a Dialectical Necessity: Butler challenges Sartre’s portrayal of violence as a necessary and inevitable part of the decolonization process. She points out that Sartre’s framing makes violence appear as a mechanistic, almost deterministic force, failing to fully account for the agency of the colonized. This portrayal risks stripping the colonized of reflective agency and reducing their actions to mere reactions to colonial violence.
- Failure to Address Non-Violent Alternatives: Butler argues that Sartre dismisses non-violence too easily. His assertion that non-violence equates to complicity overlooks the complexity of non-violent resistance movements. By focusing solely on violence as a means of liberation, Sartre potentially overlooks more nuanced forms of resistance that could be equally effective in dismantling colonial structures.
- Lack of Attention to Gender and Intersectionality: Butler critiques Sartre’s focus on the masculine experience of colonization, noting that his framing of decolonization as a male-centric struggle excludes important gendered dimensions of colonial oppression. By emphasizing the reclamation of manhood, Sartre overlooks the specific experiences of women, whose oppression under colonialism may take different forms.
- Inconsistent Treatment of Humanism: Butler notes a contradiction in Sartre’s treatment of humanism. While Sartre critiques European liberal humanism for its complicity in colonialism, he simultaneously seems to rely on a form of existential humanism that is ultimately masculinist and exclusionary. This creates a tension in Sartre’s preface between his critique of colonial humanism and his vision for a new, revolutionary human subject.
- Overreliance on Violence as a Mode of Self-Creation: Butler criticizes Sartre’s notion that violence is central to the creation of the new “man” under decolonization. She questions whether violence is truly the only route to self-making, arguing that Sartre’s focus on violence as a tool for self-creation risks perpetuating a cycle of violence rather than offering a sustainable path toward liberation.
- Failure to Fully Engage with Fanon’s Own Nuances: While Sartre draws heavily on Fanon’s ideas, Butler argues that his interpretation simplifies Fanon’s more complex and ambivalent views on violence. She suggests that Sartre’s emphasis on the inevitability of violence may overshadow Fanon’s recognition of the corrosive effects of violence and his hope for a future beyond it.
Suggested Readings: “Violence, Non-Violence” by Judith Butler
Books
- Butler, Judith. Violence and Vulnerability: A Dialogue.* Duke University Press, 2002. https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/dtac-dialogue-vol-18-issue-1-2.pdf
- Butler, Judith. Frames of War: Is It Possible to Think Beyond Violence?* Verso, 2009. https://www.versobooks.com/products/2081-frames-of-war
- Butler, Judith. Undoing Gender.* Routledge, 2004. https://www.routledge.com/Undoing-Gender/Butler/p/book/9780415969239
Academic Articles
- Butler, Judith. “Violence, Non-Violence.” Radical Philosophy, vol. 108, 2002, pp. 1-14. https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/brandon-m-terry-butler-int/
- Butler, Judith. “Precarious Life and the Ethics of Vulnerability.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 29, no. 4, 2004, pp. 747-766. [invalid URL removed]
- Butler, Judith. “The Force of Non-Violence.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 33, no. 2, 2007, pp. 271-302. https://iberian-connections.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The-Force-of-Nonviolence-An-Ethico-Political-Bind-by-Judith-Butler.pdf
Websites
- Judith Butler’s Faculty Page at Berkeley: https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/judith-butler
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry on Judith Butler: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-gender/
- The New York Times Article on Butler’s Work: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/24/books/booksupdate/judith-butler-thinks-youre-overreacting.html
Representative Quotations from “Violence, Non-Violence” by Judith Butler with Explanation
| Quotation | Explanation |
| “Sartre imagines his reader as the colonizer or the French citizen…” (p. 12) | Butler highlights how Sartre’s preface is directed towards the European reader, urging them to confront the reality of colonial violence. This sets up the preface as a critique of European humanism and complicity in colonial oppression. |
| “The white audience can no longer presume itself to be the intended audience…” (p. 13) | Sartre positions the white reader outside the central conversation, emphasizing their marginalization. Butler underscores how this shifts the European reader’s understanding of their role in colonial discourse. |
| “In Sartre’s preface, the ‘you’ is reserved exclusively for the colonizer…” (p. 16) | Butler critiques Sartre’s use of pronouns, noting that the ‘you’ is directed solely at the colonizers, reinforcing the binary division between colonizer and colonized, and excluding any potential dialogue between the two groups. |
| “Violence becomes a clear alternative when a life of continuing famine and oppression seems far worse than death…” (p. 20) | Butler explains Sartre’s rationale that under extreme colonial conditions, violence is seen as the only viable option for the colonized to assert their humanity and agency, highlighting the existential stakes of colonial violence. |
| “Sartre dismisses non-violence as complicity…” (p. 25) | Sartre critiques non-violence as a passive acceptance of colonial rule. Butler highlights how this dismissal closes off other forms of resistance that could challenge colonial power without resorting to violent means. |
| “The scars and chains are… the motors of history…” (p. 16) | Sartre views the suffering of the colonized as both a reflection of colonial violence and the driving force of historical change. Butler points to this as an example of how Sartre links violence to the progress of decolonization. |
| “The colonized is said to become a ‘man’ through violence…” (p. 23) | Butler critiques Sartre’s association of manhood with violence, arguing that this masculinist framework limits the possibilities for understanding decolonization beyond violent resistance. |
| “Sartre refuses to address the colonized directly…” (p. 24) | Butler notes that Sartre deliberately avoids addressing the colonized, positioning himself as a critic of European colonialism while also distancing himself from the colonized. This non-address perpetuates the exclusion of the colonized. |
| “Violence is an instrumentality in the service of invention…” (p. 58) | Fanon views violence as a tool for the colonized to create a new political and social reality. Butler underscores the instrumental role that violence plays in Fanon’s vision of decolonization but also questions its long-term impact on society. |
| “Fanon’s contribution consists in supplying a picture of the ‘global future’…” (p. xvi) | Butler explains how Fanon’s vision moves beyond the immediate context of decolonization to imagine a global future that transcends the binary oppositions of colonial and postcolonial identities. She sees this as a significant theoretical contribution. |