Conclusion: Epistolary Poethics and Agonistic Politics

In this concluding chapter the author deploys the notion of ‘epistolary poethics’, as a configuration of the way Arendtian theoretical narratives have been brought in dialogue with her feminist interlocutors, as well as with the epistolaria and political writings of four revolutionary women: Désirée Véret-Gay, Rosa Luxemburg, Emma Goldman and Rose Pesotta. Despite their differences in terms of their political ideas and positions, but also in terms of the social, cultural and economic conditions that underpin their lived experiences, all four women grappled not only with the existential aporias of love, but also with the discourses and practices of free love. In this backdrop, feeling love was an experience of joy and happiness, both personal and collective, but also an agonistic practice that drove the four revolutionary women’s actions and winged their pens. They loved while acting and they acted for love.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in Epistolary Narratives of Love, Gender and Agonistic Politics: An Arendtian Approach on 14 July 2023, available online: https://www.routledge.co.uk/9781032191638