Justyna Rusak

Poe and Psychoanalysis: a Critical Overview of the Evolutionary Paths of Psychoanalytic Studies on Edgar Allan Poe Justyna Rusak

Although for almost two centuries Edgar Allan Poe has constantly attracted the attention of literary critics and scholars, interpretative possibilities with regard to his works still seem inexhaustible. As the relationship between Poe and psychoanalysis particularly intrigues with the mysterious, the hidden and the repressed, one feels tempted to uncover yet another dimension within the vast scope of existing criticism. The aim of the book is twofold. First, it presents a chronological overview of major interpretative approaches to the author's texts, with special emphasis on the evolutionary paths of psychoanalytic studies. Next, it explores the recurrent motifs of "love" and "death" of "a beautiful woman" in selected stories, along the lines of Freudian, Jungian and Lacanian schools of thought. Set against a rich historical and biographical background, this contrastive analytical interpretation combines two discourses: the discourse of literature and the discourse of biography. The work may be particularly useful for students of literature who wish to increase their critical awareness and map necessary spaces in the field of psychoanalytic studies on Edgar Allan Poe.