Book Description
Jean-Michel Rabaté offers a systematic genealogy of Lacan's theory of literature, reconstructing an original doctrine based upon Freudian insights and revitalized through close readings of authors as diverse as Poe, Gide, Shakespeare, Plato, Claudel, Sophocles, Sade, Genet, Duras, and Joyce. Not simply an essay about Lacan's influences or style, this book shows how the emergence of terms like the "letter" and the "symptom" would not have been possible without innovative readings of literary texts. Lacan's critique of "applied psychoanalysis" entails a new practice of psychoanalysis understood as a type of textual reading of the Unconscious.
About the Author
Jean-Michel Rabaté is Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of Pennsylvania.
Jacques Lacan: Psychoanalysis and the Subject of Literature FROM THE PUBLISHER
"French theorist Jacques Lacan has always been called a 'literary' theoretician. Here, for the first time, is a complete study of his literary analyses and examples, with an account of the importance of literature in the building of his highly original system of thought. Rabate offers a systematic genealogy of Lacan's theory of literature, reconstructing a doctrine based upon Freudian insights, and revitalised through close readings of authors as diverse as Poe, Gide, Shakespeare, Plato, Claudel, Genet, Duras and Joyce. Not simply an essay about Lacan's influences or style, this book shows how the emergence of key terms like the 'letter' and the 'symptom' would not have been possible without innovative readings of literary texts. Lacan's critique of 'applied pscyhoanalysis' (especially in the domain of literary studies) entails a new practice of psychoanalysis understood as a type of textual reading of the Unconscious."--BOOK JACKET.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Though British and American psychoanalysts have tried to produce Lacanian readings of literary texts and discussed the literary style of his writing, Rabat (English and comparative literature, U. of Pennsylvania) says no one has yet focused on his theory of literature. He explores systematically what Lacan has brought to the understanding of poetry, plays, and novels, highlighting such issues as the letter, the symptom, and . Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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