Overview

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.

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Reviews

Peter Rudnytsky’s writings on the history and theory of our field have consistently enlightened the psychoanalytic world with their penetrating insights and scholarly verve. In Psychoanalysis and the Patriarchal Tradition he turns his attention to canonical texts of Western literature and brings his unique blend of brilliance, moxie, and deep erudition to illuminate their underlying androcentric structures through a series of exemplary close readings. * Mitchell Wilson, M.D., Training and Supervising Analyst, San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, USA * Rudnytsky demonstrates the truth of Juliet Mitchell’s observation that psychoanalysis is an analysis of patriarchy rather than a recommendation for it. His elegant dissection of classic texts in the Western literary canon reveals their underlying oedipal – and patriarchal – dynamics. This book is an essential read for anyone who seeks to probe the unconscious structure of Western culture and civilization. * Madelon Sprengnether, Regents Professor Emerita of English, University of Minnesota, USA *

Author Information

Peter L. Rudnytsky is Professor of English at the University of Florida, USA, and Head of the Department of Academic and Professional Affairs of the American Psychoanalytic Association. A coeditor of Bloomsbury's Psychoanalytic Horizons series and editor of the History of Psychoanalysis series at Routledge, his most recent book is Mutual Analysis: Ferenczi, Severn, and the Origins of Trauma Theory (2022). He maintains a private practice in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy in Gainesville, Florida.

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