ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book considers how common illness is, how tremendous the spiritual change that it brings, how astonishing, when the lights of health go down. It explores the relevant aspects of Kristevan theory and examines four main characteristics of semiotic chora. The book explores the link between the psychological illness of the protagonist of her 1983 novel, Caffe Specchi, and the narrative setting of Trieste, and how the portrayal of the city becomes akin to a distorted reflection of her depressed state. Finally, it links the successful co-presence of expression and the inexpressible, as seen in Morandini's 'feminine' and multifaceted writing, to the concept of the loquela used by St Ignatius of Loyola to chart the ineffable journey of his mystical communication with God.
