David, Nicolette (2014) Violence, desire and the body: a Kleinian reading of Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain". PsyArt 2 (5), ISSN 2123-4434.
Abstract
This article proposes a Kleinian reading of Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain"(1924). The work of psychoanalyst Melanie Klein (1882-1960) foregrounds the way in which visceral corporeal experience is transformed into phantasy. The article examines the representation of the body, violence and desire in the light of these insights. It begins with a discussion of greed and hypochondriacal symptoms manifested by the characters from a Kleinian perspective. Close analysis of the representation of desire in "The Magic Mountain" reveals the Kleinian longing to get inside the mother's body and inflict sadism upon it. The article subsequently explores the way in which this sadism surfaces through the theme of violence which recurs throughout the text. Finally, the article suggests that its reading of "The Magic Mountain" might offer a redemptive reading of the novel, one which focuses on the role of reparation in assuaging the destructive passions that have been exposed and which highlights the role of the reader. The article concludes by suggesting where reparation might be located in a Kleinian reading of "The Magic Mountain".
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication |
| Depositing User: | Sarah Hall |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Jun 2014 15:18 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Aug 2023 12:35 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/9845 |
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