Psychoanalysis and Literature: An Introduction

200 Pages·1981·6.553 MB·English

by  Robert N. Mollinger

Psychoanalysis
63
Literature
cAn Introduction
An examination of the relationship between
psychoanalysis and literary criticism
Psychoanalysis and
Literature
An Introduction
Robert N. Mollinger
In literature, perhaps more than in the sci¬
ences, psychoanalysis has found a discipline
congenial to its own spirit. Literature and
psychoanalysis are human-centered studies,
exploring and expressing the depth of human
character and the complexity of human rela¬
tionships. In performing this task both focus
on individuals—the particular patient or pro¬
tagonist. Nonetheless, the goals of both disci¬
plines are more universal; both are engaged in
uncovering the meaning of human action and
the nature of human fulfillment.
The alliance of psychoanalysis and litera¬
ture has been reciprocal. Oedipus Rex and
The Merchant of Venice were inspirations
and psychological subjects for Sigmund
Freud’s analytic techniques. In turn, in works
such as Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes
Electra, the insights of psychoanalysis have
been put to conscious use in theme and char¬
acter development. Robert N. Mollinger's work
elucidates this mutually enhancing relation¬
ship.
In two introductory chapters Mollinger
charts the history of psychoanalytic literary
criticism from its Freudian genesis to the
present and furnishes a concise overview of
the psychoanalytic perspective on human
development. Challenges to the value of
psychoanalysis as a method of literary criti¬
cism and to the validity of psychoanalytic
theory itself are assessed and obviated.
Mollinger’s insightful studies of works and
writers, forming the balance of the book, illus¬
trate the various ways psychoanalytic knowl¬
edge can be applied to literature. The texts and
(continued on back flap)
ST. PETERSBURG JUNIOR COLLEGE LIBRARY
PS88 .M57
Mollinger, Robert N., 194 000
Psychoanalysis and litera 240201
20th cent.
StST-HOfe
3 540 0020 894 2
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PS Mollinger* Robert
88 N. 1945-
• M57
Psychoanalysis and
literature
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© THE BAKER & TAYLOR CO.
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Psychoanalysis
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Literature
An Introduction
Robert N. Mollinger
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Excerpts from The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens, by Wallace Stevens,
copyright® 1954 by Wallace Stevens. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc.
Excerpts from Opus Posthumous by Wallace Stevens and edited by Samuel
French Morse, copyright® 1957 by Elsie Stevens and Holly Stevens.
Excerpts from "Autobiography" by Dom Moraes from Poems 1960 used by
permission of Eyre and Spottiswoode (Publishers) Ltd. and John Johnson.
Excerpts from The Colossus and Other Poems by Sylvia Plath, copyrightc
1957. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Excerpts from Ariel by Sylvia Plath, copyright® 1968. Reprinted by permis¬
sion of Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Mollinger, Robert N 1945-
Psychoanalysis and literature.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. American literature — History and criticism.
2. Psychoanalysis and literature. I. Title.
PS88.M57 ' 810'.9 80-26256
ISBN 0-88229-363-X
Copyright ® 1981 by Robert N. Mollinger
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Manufactured in the United States of America.
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