Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Drawing on care ethics and vulnerability theory, this study addresses the prominent role of intimacy in Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo (2024), set in contemporary Ireland. Written in a language that focuses on the protagonists’ interiority, bodily sensations, and emotional world, the novel vividly portrays a “radical” sense of intimacy which helps characters reassess their phobias and insecurities within their closest relationships. As will be argued, intimacy in Rooney’s Intermezzo is not just a matter of human connection, but of a personal transformation that allows protagonists to move away from the neoliberal and patriarchal values, norms, and stereotypes of today’s world.
DOI: 10.24197/nfh5j274
Author: José Carregal Romero
Institution: Universidad de Huelva
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4416170472