Psychoanalysis and the Patriarchal Tradition Augustine to Milton

<p><strong>A work of feminist psychoanalytic literary criticism that offers original readings of early canonical works of the Western tradition.</strong></p><p></p><p><span>In cogently argued and brilliant readings of texts ranging from St. Augustine''s </span><em>Confessions </em><span>to Milton''s </span><em>Paradise Lost</em><span>, </span><em>Paradise Regained </em><span>and </span><em>Samson Agonistes</em><span>,</span><em> Psychoanalysis and the Patriarchal Tradition </em><span>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.</span></p><p></p><p><span>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 </span><em>Tristan</em><span>, </span><em>Sir Gawain and the Green Knight</em><span>, More''s </span><em>History of King Richard III</em><span>, Shakespeare''s </span><em>Othello</em><span> and </span><em>King Lear</em><span>, 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.</span></p><p></p><p><span>Through synthesis of psychoanalysis, feminism, and literary criticism, </span><em>Psychoanalysis and the Patriarchal Tradition </em><span>sheds new light on old masterpieces even as it reveals the contours of an entire tradition.</span></p>