The Oedipal complex in tragedy

If the purpose of psychoanalysis is to reveal the hidden aspects of meaning, then this book by Andre Green is one of the finest examples of its kind. Taking as its starting point the study of the Oedipal complex in tragedy, it presents, in a thorough and original manner, the dynamics of its connections with narcissism, castration, masochism and perversion. By embodying these theoretical and clinical perspectives through characters and situations from ancient tragedy (the Oresteia, the Bacchae) and classical (Othello, Iphigenia), he analyses the transformations in the writing and structure of tragic themes (sacrifice, murder, passion, jealousy, justice, identity) at pivotal moments in civilisation (ancient tragedians, Shakespeare, Racine). The correlation between internal fantasies and the symbolic inscriptions in the image and the word of private and public discourse is explored through an analysis of the model of theatrical performance. Psychoanalytic, dramaturgical and philosophical reflection combine to form a text which, originally written in French and translated into English and Portuguese, is regarded internationally as a key reference for the study of the relationship between psychoanalysis and theatre. The book is part of Ikaros’s Psychoanalytic series, edited by Athanasios Alexandridis