Imagined human beings : a psychological approach to character and conflict in literature / Bernard J. Paris.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Paris, Bernard J.

Series:

Literature and psychoanalysis

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Literature--Psychological aspects.

Literature.

Psychology in literature.

Psychoanalysis and literature.

Characters and characteristics in literature.

Motivation (Psychology) in literature.

Physical Description:

xv, 286 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York ; London : New York University Press, [1997]

Summary:

One of literature's greatest gifts is its portrayal of realistically drawn characters -- human beings in whom we can recognize motivations and emotions. In Imagined Human Beings, Bernard J. Paris explores the inner conflicts of some of literature's most famous characters, using Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theories to understand the behavior of these characters as we would the behavior of real people.

When realistically drawn characters are understood in psychological terms, they tend to escape their roles in the plot and thus subvert the view of them advanced by the author. A Horneyan approach both alerts us to conflicts between plot and characterization, rhetoric and mimesis, and helps us understand the forces in the author's personality that generate them. The Horneyan model can make sense of thematic inconsistencies by seeing them as the product of the author's inner divisions. Paris uses this approach to explore a wide range of texts, including Antigone, "The Clark's Tale", The Merchant of Venice, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Wutbering Heights, Madome Bovary, The Awakening, and The End of the Road.

Contents:

Applications of a Horneyan approach

Horney's mature theory

A doll's house and Hedda Gabler

The end of the road

"The clerk's tale"

The merchant of Venice

Antigone

Great expectations

Jane Eyre

The mayor of Casterbridge

Madame Bovary

The awakening

Wuthering heights.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-280) and index.

ISBN:

0814766552

0814766560