Imagined Human Beings

A Psychological Approach to Character and Conflict in Literature

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Imagined Human Beings by Bernard Jay Paris, NYU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Bernard Jay Paris ISBN: 9780814768853
Publisher: NYU Press Publication: October 1, 1997
Imprint: NYU Press Language: English
Author: Bernard Jay Paris
ISBN: 9780814768853
Publisher: NYU Press
Publication: October 1, 1997
Imprint: NYU Press
Language: English

One of literature's greatest gifts is its portrayal of realistically drawn characters--human beings in whom we can recognize motivations and emotions. In Imagined Human Beings, Bernard J. Paris explores the inner conflicts of some of literature's most famous characters, using Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theories to understand the behavior of these characters as we would the behavior of real people.
When realistically drawn characters are understood in psychological terms, they tend to escape their roles in the plot and thus subvert the view of them advanced by the author. A Horneyan approach both alerts us to conflicts between plot and characterization, rhetoric and mimesis, and helps us understand the forces in the author's personalty that generate them. The Horneyan model can make sense of thematic inconsistencies by seeing them as the product of the author's inner divisions. Paris uses this approach to explore a wide range of texts, including Antigone, "The Clerk's Tale," The Merchant of Venice, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Wuthering Heights, Madame Bovary, The Awakening, and The End of the Road.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

One of literature's greatest gifts is its portrayal of realistically drawn characters--human beings in whom we can recognize motivations and emotions. In Imagined Human Beings, Bernard J. Paris explores the inner conflicts of some of literature's most famous characters, using Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theories to understand the behavior of these characters as we would the behavior of real people.
When realistically drawn characters are understood in psychological terms, they tend to escape their roles in the plot and thus subvert the view of them advanced by the author. A Horneyan approach both alerts us to conflicts between plot and characterization, rhetoric and mimesis, and helps us understand the forces in the author's personalty that generate them. The Horneyan model can make sense of thematic inconsistencies by seeing them as the product of the author's inner divisions. Paris uses this approach to explore a wide range of texts, including Antigone, "The Clerk's Tale," The Merchant of Venice, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Wuthering Heights, Madame Bovary, The Awakening, and The End of the Road.

More books from NYU Press

Cover of the book God Hates Fags by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Fast-Food Kids by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Scheherazade's Children by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Critical Rhetorics of Race by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Renegade Revolutionary by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book We Will Shoot Back by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Christianity and the Holocaust of Hungarian Jewry by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Electric Dreams by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Chicana/o Remix by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book The Price of Progressive Politics by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book A Great Conspiracy against Our Race by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book American Cool by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Whiteness on the Border by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Embracing the Other by Bernard Jay Paris
Cover of the book Marriage Proposals by Bernard Jay Paris
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy