The Psychological Fictions of J.G. Ballard Samuel Francis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Francis, Samuel T., author.

Series:

Continuum literary studies.

Continuum Literary Studies Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ballard, J. G., 1930-2009--Criticism and interpretation.

Ballard, J. G.

Psychology in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (209 pages).

Place of Publication:

London New York Continuum 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

J. G. Ballard self-professedly 'devoured' the work of Freud as a teenager, and entertained early thoughts of becoming a psychiatrist; he opened his novel-writing career with a manifesto declaring his wish to write a science fiction exploring not outer but 'inner space', and declaring the need for contemporary fiction to be viewed 'as a branch of neurology'. He also apparently welcomed a reader's report on Crash (1973) condemning him as 'beyond psychiatric help' as confirming his achievement of 'total artistic success'. Samuel Francis investigates Ballard's engagement with psychology and the psychological in his fiction, tracing the influence of key figures including Sigmund Freud, C.G. Jung and R.D. Laing and placing his work in the context of the wider fields of psychology and psychiatry. While the psychological preoccupations of his writing are very clear - including his use of concepts such as the unconscious, psychopathology, 'deviance', obsession, abnormal psychology and schizophrenia - this is the first book to offer a detailed analysis of this key conceptual and historical context for his fiction.

Contents:

A host of furious fancies

Unconscious catastrophes

Insane modernities

Trauma, psychoanalysis, autobiography

Contemporary psychopathies

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. A Host of Furious Fancies

2. Unconscious Catastrophes

3. Insane Modernities

4.Trauma, Psychoanalysis, Autobiography

5. Contemporary Psychopathies

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index

ISBN:

9781472542854

1472542851

9781441141712

1441141715

OCLC:

855692710