RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Where the twin oceans of beauty and horror meet: an aesthetic analysis of Annie Dillard's "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" T2 Donde los océanos gemelos de belleza y horror se encuentran: un análisis estético de "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" de Annie Dillard A1 Cardone, Anastasia K1 Annie Dillard K1 Pilgrim at Tinker Creek K1 Aesthetic experience K1 Beauty and sublime K1 Via creativa K1 Nature’s wholeness K1 Experiencia estética K1 Belleza y sublime K1 Vía creativa K1 Integridad de la naturaleza K1 Literatura K1 Literature K1 Medio ambiente K1 Environmental science AB Although Annie Dillard's masterpiece “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” (1974) has conventionally been analyzed as a piece of nature writing embedded in the Thoreauvian tradition and it has extensively been studied, little attention has been paid to the aesthetic concepts that underlie the text and that may serve to better comprehend Dillard's take on nature. Therefore, this research applies the concepts of Baumgarten’s “science of sensible knowledge” to the narrator's perceptions in order to demonstrate that Dillard's ultimate message is the acceptance of the whole nature, even in its seemingly inhuman places. The study begins with the analysis of the structure of the book, which outlines two types of experience of nature related to mystical paths that lead to God in Neoplatonic theology. The “via positive” is associated to the aesthetic concept of beauty and to the subject’s active participation in the experience of seeing, which is defined as a verbalization. On the other hand, the “via negative” is linked to the concept of the sublime and the experience of seeing as a letting go. Furthermore, the analysis employs and develops Linda Smith's valid conclusions (1991) to show how these two paths join in a third mystical and aesthetic path, the “via creative”. By leaving the interpretation of natural signs open-ended, Dillard's modern vision enables the author's total acceptance of nature's freedom, which fosters its beautiful intricacy as well as its horrible fecundity. Thus, nature's creativity becomes the basis for an aesthetics of the totality of nature, which can be defined as nature’s wholeness and which leads human beings to accept and respect nature for what it truly is, freed from any prejudices. PB Universidad de Alcalá SN 2171-9594 YR 2016 FD 2016-10 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10017/27377 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10017/27377 LA spa DS MINDS@UW RD 19-abr-2024