This book has grown from a belief that the psychoanalytic exploration of literature and performances leads to a richer and fuller understanding of each individual’s internal reality. It includes an exploration of narcissistic fantasies from various protagonists of film and novels and focuses on the fantasy of the omnipotence of the self, which is a predominantly narcissistic desire to be a Master of the Universe, a deity, an omnipotent, immortal figure.
Key Features
- Psychoanalysis and art interact in exploring the individual's refusal to give up grandiose fantasies about the self.
- Examines the emotional truth that great artists convey through symbols, resonating with the audience.
- Focuses on narcissistic characters in opera, film, and contemporary fiction.
- Unique analysis of protagonists from the performing arts and literature.
- Of interest to psychoanalysts, therapists, and those interested in psychoanalytic theory with film and literature.
Additional Information
These narcissistic fantasies are often expressed through aggressive and self-destructive behaviour, including flirtation with death and destruction. Identifying with these figures, who place themselves above the law, may give us the illusion of omnipotence and immortality, which corresponds to a primary narcissistic fantasy, the traces of which exist in various degrees in all of us. Part of the popular International Psychoanalytical Association Psychoanalytic Ideas and Applications Series, this book is unique in its focus on the narcissistic fantasy of the omnipotence of the self by means of an analysis of a variety of protagonists from the worlds of the performing arts and literature, and on the exploration of their impact on the audience.
