James Joyce and the Problem of Psychoanalysis [Hardcover]

Luke Thurston explores psychoanalytic readings of Joyce, in particular those of Jacques Lacan.Psychoanalytic readings of Joyce abound, despite Joyce's deliberate attempts to resist them. Luke Thurston argues that this very antagonism holds the key to how psychoanalytic thinking can still produce new directions in Joycean criticism and literary theory. Jacques Lacan attempts to understand how Joyce's writing presents an unreadable signature that defies translation into discourse. Thurston imaginatively builds on Lacan's work to illuminate Joyce's place in a literary hierarchy that includes Shakespeare, Hogg, Stevenson and Wilde. This study should be essential reading for all students of Joyce, literary theory and psychoanalysis.Psychoanalytic readings of Joyce abound, despite Joyce's deliberate attempts to resist them. Luke Thurston argues that this very antagonism holds the key to how psychoanalytic thinking can still produce new directions in Joycean criticism and literary theory. Jacques Lacan attempts to understand how Joyce's writing presents an unreadable signature that defies translation into discourse. Thurston imaginatively builds on Lacan's work to illuminate Joyce's place in a literary hierarchy that includes Shakespeare, Hogg, Stevenson and Wilde. This study should be essential reading for all students of Joyce, literary theory and psychoanalysis.Psychoanalytic readings of Joyce abound, despite Joyce's deliberate attempts to resist them. Luke Thurston argues that this very antagonism determines how psychoanalytic thinking can influence Joycean criticism and literary theory. Thus, Jacques Lacan attempts to understand how Joyce's writing presents an unreadable signature that defies translation into discourse. Thurston imaginatively develops Lacan's work to illuminate Joyce's position in a literary hierarchy that includes Shakespeare, Hogg, Stevenson and Wilde.Prologue: Groundhog Day; Part I. On Traduction: 1. An encounter; 2. Freud's mousetrap; 3. The pleasl"