Psychoanalysis
and Discourse
Patrick Mahony
The following review was published in The Journal of Analytical Psychology
for APRIL 1988 Vol No 2
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND DISCOURSE
Published by
Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group)
0-422-61720-2 1987 pbk
This wide-ranging collection of papers focuses on both written and spoken discourse
from a psychoanalytic perspective. The book is divided into two parts: discourse and
the clinical context, and non-clinical discourse and psychoanalysis. The first part
begins with a detailed discussion of the significance of translation as a critical concept
in psychoanalysis. This is followed by an examination of 'Free Association’ as the
cornerstone of the psychoanalytic method. Free association is then considered in
relation to scientific, rhetorical, expressive and literary discourse. Certain aspects of
Freud’s 'Interpretation of Dreams' are examined along with issues involved in the oral
reporting of dreams. Freud’s own writing is analysed with particular attention given
to 'Totem and Taboo'. The second part of the book applies the psychoanalytic ideas
discussed in the first part to literary works by Villon, Shakespeare. Kafka and
Jonson. The concluding chapter looks at the question of nature versus culture with regard to
women’s discourse and literature.
Copyright
© 2001 British Psychoanalytical Society &
Institute of Psychoanalysis, London
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