Lacanian Psychoanalysis and Literature

Volume 3 Issue 1 Winter Edition 2023

Abstract

Abstract: Aim: This paper explores in detail the psychoanalytic turn in literature. Psychoanalysis originates with the works of Sigmund Freud and was later developed by many psychologists including Jacques Lacan. We shall do a psychoanalytical reading of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. This would necessitate a ‘psychoanalytic’ mode of reading that attends to a specific dynamic of the literary relation, rather than merely ‘importing’ knowledge from another field.Methodology and Approach: This study is based on Jacques Lacan’s concept of psychoanalysis. It also traces some elements found in Sigmund Freud’s works and uses them to approach the novel Wuthering Heights through a psychoanalytical lens.Outcome: A psychoanalytic reading expands the horizon of literary criticism and explores the state of mind of the characters as well as the author who created them. Conclusion and Suggestion: In Wuthering Heights we get to witness all three orders of Lacanian psychoanalysis: the Imaginary, the Symbolic, and the Real. Psychoanalysis can further be applied to explore the changes in literary history.