Psychoanalysis and the Patriarchal Tradition
Augustine to Milton
Psychoanalysis and the Patriarchal Tradition
Augustine to Milton
Description
A work of feminist psychoanalytic literary criticism that offers original readings of early canonical works of the Western tradition.
In cogently argued and brilliant readings of texts ranging from St. Augustine's Confessions to Milton's Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, Psychoanalysis and the Patriarchal Tradition shows the ongoing cultural value of psychoanalytic approaches-flexibly and critically applied-to the interpretation of major literary works. Peter L. Rudnytsky makes a persuasive and striking case for tracing significant connections between the Judeo-Christian story of the Fall and the Greek myth of Oedipus: Proposing that the Oedipus complex can be viewed as the “latent content” of the Fall, Rudnytsky at once respects the explanatory power of these master-myths while he interrogates their claims to universality.
Drawing above all on Freud, Klein, Winnicott, and Lacan, Rudnytsky integrates a range of psychoanalytic perspectives with deconstruction, new historicism, and psychobiography to highlight issues of gender and sexuality not only in Augustine and Milton but also in Gottfried's Tristan, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, More's History of King Richard III, Shakespeare's Othello and King Lear, as well the poetry of Marvell and other 17th-century writers who exhibit the “dissociation of sensibility” Rudnytsky links to the execution of King Charles I.
Through synthesis of psychoanalysis, feminism, and literary criticism, Psychoanalysis and the Patriarchal Tradition sheds new light on old masterpieces even as it reveals the contours of an entire tradition.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- EPUB 3.0
- Conforms with the requirements of EPUB Accessibility Spec v1.1
- WCAG level AA
- WCAG v2.2 compliant
- accessibility@bloomsbury.com
Hazards
The publication contains no hazards
Support for non-visual reading
- No accessibility features offered by the reading system, device or reading software are disabled or otherwise unusable with the product
- Has alternative text descriptions for images
Visual adjustments
Appearance of the text and page layout can be modified according to the capabilities of the reading system (font family and size, spaces, as well as color of background and text)
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
- Content is enhanced with ARIA roles to optimize organization and facilitate navigation
- Purposes of all links are made clear
Rich content
Language tagging provided
Table of Contents
2. Incest and the Fall in Gottfried's Tristan
3. “Where th'Offense Is”: Oedipal Temptation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
4. More's History of King Richard III as an Uncanny Text
5. The Purloined Handkerchief in Othello
6. “The Dark and Vicious Place”: The Dread of the Vagina in King Lear
7. Dissociation and Decapitation
8. “Here Only Weak”: Sexuality and the Structure of Trauma in Paradise Lost
9. Milton, Marriage, and Blindness
10. “What Once I Was, and What Am Now”: Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 18 Sep 2025 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 9798765131152 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Series | Psychoanalytic Horizons |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Reviews
ONLINE RESOURCES
Bloomsbury Collections
This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.
Related Titles
