The Mind According to Shakespeare: Psychoanalysis in the Bard's Writings

241 Pages·2008·2.23 MB·English

The Mind According to
Shakespeare:
Psychoanalysis in the
Bard's Writings
Marvin Bennett Krims, M.D.
PRAEGER
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THE MIND ACCORDING TO
SHAKESPEARE
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THE MIND ACCORDING TO
SHAKESPEARE
Psychoanalysis in
the Bard’s Writing
Marvin Bennett Krims, M.D.
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Libraryof CongressCataloging-in-Publication Data
Krims,MarvinBennett, 1928-
The mindaccordingtoShakespeare:psychoanalysis inthe bard’swriting /Marvin
BennettKrims.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references andindex.
ISBN 0-275-99081-8 (alk.paper)
1.Shakespeare,William,1564–1616—Knowledge—Psychology. 2.Shakespeare,
William,1564–1616—Characters. 3.Psychoanalysisandliterature—England.
4.Psychoanalysisinliterature. 5.Psychologyinliterature. 6.Mindandbodyinliterature.
I.Title.
PR3065.K75 2006
822.303—dc22 2006020998
British LibraryCataloguing inPublication Datais available.
Copyright '2006by MarvinBennett Krims
Allrights reserved.Noportion ofthis bookmaybe
reproduced, byanyprocessor technique,without the
expresswritten consentof the publisher.
Libraryof CongressCatalogCardNumber:2006020998
ISBN: 0-275-99081-8
First published in2006
Praeger Publishers, 88Post RoadWest, Westport,CT06881
Animprint of GreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.praeger.com
Printedin theUnited States of America
Thepaper usedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
Permanent PaperStandardissued by theNational
Information StandardsOrganization (Z39.48-1984).
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Every reasonable effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright materials in this
book, but insome instancesthis has proven impossible.The author and publisherwill be
glad to receive information leading to more complete acknowledgments in subsequent
printings of thebook, andin themeantime extend theirapologies for anyomissions.
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copyright acknowledgments
An earlier version of ‘‘Prince Hal’s Aggression’’ appeared as ‘‘How Shakespeare’s Prince
Hal’s Play Anticipates His Invasion of France’’ in The Psychoanalytic Review 88.4 (2001):
495–510.
An earlier version of ‘‘Uncovering Our Hate in The Taming of the Shrew’’ appeared in
SexualityandCulture 6(2002): 49–64.
A modified version of ‘‘Hotspur’s Fear of Femininity’’ was presented at the Ninth Inter-
national Conference on Literature and Psychoanalysis, Lisbon, Portugal, July 1992 and
was published in Literature and Psychology 40 (1994): 118–132. It also appeared in PsyArt:
A Hyperlink Journal for the Psychological Study of the Arts. Article 001129 (2000). Available
athttp://www.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/journal/.
An earlier version of ‘‘Frailty, Thy Name is Hamlet’’ appeared in Free Associations 42.2
(1998): 232–246.
Earlier versions of ‘‘Romeo’s Childhood Trauma’’ appeared in Studies in Psychoanalytic
Theory 4.2 (1995): 58–69. It alsoappearedin PsyArt:A Hyperlink Journal for the Psycholog-
ical Study of the Arts. Article 991022 (1999). Available at http://www.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/
journal/.
An earlier version of ‘‘Misreading Cressida’’ appeared in The Psychoanalytic Review 89.2
(2002): 239–256.
An earlier version ‘‘Love’s Lost Labor in Love’s Labour’s Lost’’ appeared in Studies in Psy-
choanalytic Theory4.1 (1995): 58–85.
An earlier version of ‘‘Sonnet #129: The Joys and Trials of Making Love’’ appeared in
The Psychoanalytic Review 86.3 (1999): 367–382. The chapter also appeared in PsyArt: A
Hyperlink Journal for the Psychological Study of the Arts (2000) Article 000427. Available at
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/journal/.
An earlier version of ‘‘Correspondence between an Elizabethan Woman and Her Psy-
choanalyst: Beatrice on theCouch’’appearedinThePsychoanalyticReview 92(2005): 67–
115.
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This book is dedicated to my dear wife,
Kathlyn Haigney Krims, for her nurturing love and
ever-sustaining friendship. She provides sympathy and
support to me in times of sadness and discouragement
and shares my joy in times of good fortune and celebration.
These qualities, along with her highly intelligent literary
sensibility and endless patience, made this book possible.
No man can ask for more than what Kate gives
without being asked.
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
1
InDefenseofVolumnia’sMothering
inTheTragedyofCoriolanus 11
2 PrinceHal’sAggression 2255
3 UncoveringOurHateinTheTamingoftheShrew 3399
4 Hotspur’sFearofFemininity 5511
5 Frailty,ThyNameisHamlet 6655
6 Romeo’sChildhoodTrauma 7777
7 MisreadingCressida 8899
8 Love’sLostLabor inLove’sLabour’sLost 110055
9 Sonnet#129:TheJoysandTrialsofMakingLove 111177
10
KingLear’sInabilitytoGrieve:‘‘OrEreI’llWeep.
OFool,IShallGoMad!’’ 112299
11
CorrespondencebetweenanElizabethanWoman
andHerPsychoanalyst:BeatriceontheCouch 114455
12 Epilogue 117777
Notes 119955
Bibliography 221111
Index 221177
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Preface
T
HE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP between psychoanalysis and literature has a
long history, dating back to the late nineteenth century when Sig-
mund Freud worked on his most important book, The Interpretation of
Dreams. At that time, when psychoanalysis was in its infancy and was
rejected by most of the important minds in fin de siecle Vienna and by
the rest of the world, Freud turned to classical literature to bolster
the shaky claims of psychoanalysis to authenticity. It was the
Sophocles rendition of the Oedipus tale that Freud leaned on to
‘‘confirm’’ (as he optimistically termed it in The Interpretation of
Dreams) to a disbelieving world the eternal, universal nature of his
‘‘scandalous’’ discovery—revealed first in the course of his own self-
analysis—that children wish to rid themselves of one parent to obtain
exclusive intimacy with the other. Today, of course, psychoanalysis
has advanced and no longer requires literature to support its case.
Now it has come full circle, as writers use psychoanalytic theory to
deepen understanding of texts and people’s emotional responses to
the literary experience. Although we always need to keep in mind
what literature teaches us about the psyche, we should also recognize
that in some ways the psychoanalytic child has become an equal
companion to the literary man. The relationship between literature
and psychoanalysis has matured into one of reciprocity.
We should also bear in mind that although Freud probably chose
the Oedipal tale—first inscribed nearly three millennia ago—to sup-
port his claim of the validity of lusty wishes in small children, he also