Symbolic Collapse and Psychological Descent in King Lear: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Transformation and Abjection

Authors

  • Zoya Tariq M. Phil Scholar, Department of English, Riphah International University Faisalabad Campus, Faisalabad, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21015/vtess.v12i3.1951

Abstract

This research paper delves into King Lear through psychoanalytic lenses, examining themes of transformation, abjection, and the tension between symbolic and semiotic forces. Central to the analysis is Lear's quest for unconditional love, revealing his internal conflicts and repressed fears. The dynamic between Lear’s desire for flattery from Goneril and Regan, and Cordelia’s restrained yet genuine affection, illustrates his struggle with authority and vulnerability. Key psychoanalytic theories, including Pauncz's "Lear Complex," Freud's Elektra Complex, and Kristeva's theory of the abject, are applied to analyze Lear's psychological descent. The storm symbolizes the collapse of Lear's symbolic identity, while Cordelia’s return offers temporary solace but also underscores the cost of Lear’s flawed pursuit of love. This study illuminates how Shakespeare masterfully explores the complexities of human psychology, deepening our understanding of his characters' internal struggles.

References

Adelman, J. (1992). Suffocating mothers: Fantasies of maternal origin in Shakespeare’s plays, Hamlet to The Tempest. Routledge.

Bataille, G. (1979). The psychological structure of fascism. New German Critique, 19, 64–87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/487877

Bloom, H. (1999). Shakespeare: The invention of the human. Fourth Estate.

Bradley, A. C. (1924). Shakespearean tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (2nd ed., 17th impression). Macmillan.

Bradley, A. C. (1970). The rejection of Falstaff. In G. K. Hunter (Ed.), Shakespeare: Henry IV, Parts I and II (pp. 56–78). Macmillan.

Capriotti, G., Casamassima, F., Díez Platas, F., et al. (2023). Conspectu legar populi: An introduction to the iconic life of the Metamorphoses in Europe and beyond. Il Capitale Culturale, 9–30.

Casamassima, F., Platas, F. D., & Capriotti, G. (2024). Conspectu legar populi: An introduction to the iconic life of the Metamorphoses in Europe and beyond. Il Capitale Culturale: Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage, 9–30.

Dadabhoy, A. (2023). The unbearable whiteness of being (in) Shakespeare. In Critical Confessions Now (pp. 81–88). Springer.

Freud, S. (1960). Psychopathic characters on the stage. The Tulane Drama Review, 4(3), 144–148. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1124852

Freud, S. (2004). Totem and taboo: Some points of agreement between the mental lives of savages and neurotics (J. Strachey, Trans.). Taylor Francis.

Housden-Brooks, A. (2023). Transgressive fiction: The accuser theory. Kristeva’s abject woman. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 11(11), 1–31.

Kahn, C. (1975). The taming of the shrew: Shakespeare’s mirror of marriage. Modern Language Studies, 5(1), 88–102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3194204

Kahn, C. (1981). Man’s estate: Masculine identity in Shakespeare. University of California Press.

Karimov, D. (2021). The humanism in Shakespeare’s work: The humanism in Shakespeare’s work, 2(2).

Krims, M. B. (2006). The mind according to Shakespeare: Psychoanalysis in the Bard’s writing. Praeger.

Kristeva, J. (1982). Powers of horror: An essay on abjection (L. S. Roudiez, Trans.). Columbia University Press.

Kristeva, J. (1984). Revolution in poetic language (L. S. Roudiez, Trans.). Columbia University Press.

Kuchenhoff, J. (2023). Mutual impact: At the crossroads of psychoanalysis and literature.

Maccoby, E., & Jacklin, C. (1974). The psychology of sex differences. Stanford University Press.

Nardizzi, V. (2020). Budding Oedipus: The Oedipal family tree and King Lear. Criticism, 62(3), 347–366.

Oliver, K. (1993). Reading Kristeva: Unraveling the double-bind. Indiana University Press.

Pauncz, A. (1952). Psychopathology of Shakespeare’s King Lear. American Imago: A Psychoanalytic Journal for the Arts and Sciences, 9(1), 57–77.

Pet’ko, L., Turchynova, G., & Sokolov, T. (2020). The William Shakespeare rose and the rose in Shakespeare’s works.

Shakespeare, W. (2014). King Lear (R. A. Foakes, Ed.). Bloomsbury.

Stone, L. (1967). The crisis of the aristocracy, 1558–1641. Oxford University Press.

Williams, M. H. (2020). Dream sequences in Shakespeare: A psychoanalytic perspective. Routledge.

Wilson, J. D. (1979). The fortunes of Falstaff. Cambridge University Press

Downloads

Published

2024-09-30

How to Cite

Zoya Tariq. (2024). Symbolic Collapse and Psychological Descent in King Lear: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Transformation and Abjection. VFAST Transactions on Education and Social Sciences, 12(3), 40–48. https://doi.org/10.21015/vtess.v12i3.1951

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2024): July-September

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-By) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

                                      

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution  License CC BY