Representation of the Mother’s Body as a Narrative Conduit for Wartime Themes in Saga

Portland State University, Portland, Oregon

“Representation of the Mother’s Body as a Narrative Conduit for Wartime Themes in Saga” examines how both diagetic and extradiagetic art creates a visual syuzhet to convey themes of interdependence and transgenerational memory in the comic book series Saga. My method of research was a narrative analysis of volumes 1-4 of Saga, particularly focusing on the artistic representation of two mothers’ bodies within the narrative and on covers of the books, as related to the themes and story. As a result, I found in the artistic syuzhet that the representation of two characters’ bodies as they interact physically with their children and also in what their bodies provide for their children (milk or blood) communicated Saga’s themes of political interdependence in war and transgenerational memory trauma, which are not directly addressed in the book’s prose. My conclusion is that at this intersection of art and literature, comics as a medium is uniquely capable of conveying complex themes with an elegance and subliminality not possible through prose alone.