London Review Bookshop Podcast

Jacqueline Rose & Yasmin El-Rifae: Women in Dark Times

Oct 1, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Jacqueline Rose, a prominent feminist writer and scholar, is joined by Yasmin El-Rifae, co-producer of The Palestine Festival of Literature. They delve into the lives of Rosa Luxemburg, Charlotte Salomon, and Marilyn Monroe, exploring their connections to revolution and identity. Rose critiques Monroe's role in American culture and discusses the darker themes of 'honour killings' alongside courageous female agency. The conversation also touches on political repression and the enduring impact of feminist narratives in today's world.
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INSIGHT

Darkness As Political Knowledge

  • Jacqueline Rose grouped Rosa Luxemburg, Charlotte Salomon and Marilyn Monroe to explore how women refuse enforced innocence and use darkness as knowledge.
  • She saw their creativity as a bridge between inner psychic truth and political action.
ANECDOTE

Charlotte Salomon's Multilayered Project

  • Rose describes Charlotte Salomon's work combining painting, script and musical instructions as a defiant creative resistance to death.
  • Salomon produced intense sequences rapidly over two years as an artistic survival practice.
INSIGHT

Marilyn As Satirist And Political Subject

  • Rose reframes Marilyn Monroe as a satirist who both mocks and embodies American commodity fantasy.
  • Monroe's childhood displacement made her sensitive to persecution and informed her political awareness.
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