Psychoanalytic Perspectives on the Shadow of the Parent: Mythology, History, Politics and Art

268 Pages·2018·2.624 MB·English

by  Jonathan Burke

Psychoanalytic Perspectives
on the Shadow of the Parent
Psychoanalytic Perspectives on the Shadow of the Parent explores the
psychological challenges faced by the offspring of either famous or notorious
parents.
B eginning with parental legacies found in mythology and the Bible, the
book presents a series of case studies drawn from a range of narrative contexts,
selecting personalities drawn from history, politics, psychoanalysis and literature,
all viewed from an analytic perspective. The concluding section focuses on the
manifestation of this parental shadow within the fi eld of fi ne art, as written by
artists themselves.
This is a lively and varied collection from a fascinating range of contributors. It
provides readers with a new understanding of family history, trauma and reckoning
screened through a psychoanalytic perspective, and will appeal to psychoanalysts,
psychotherapists, counsellors and anyone interested in the dynamics of the family.
Jonathan Burke is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist working in private practice
in the UK. He previously edited T he Topic of Cancer: New Perspectives on the
Emotional Experience of Cancer (Karnac, 2013).

Psychoanalytic Perspectives
on the Shadow of the Parent
Mythology, History, Politics and Art
Edited by Jonathan Burke
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 selection and editorial matter, Jonathan Burke; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Jonathan Burke to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-32295-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-78220-547-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-45170-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To my parents, Jack and Marie Burke

Contents
About the editor and contributors x
Foreword xv
MARGOT WADDELL
Preface: a hard act to follow xviii
JONATHAN BURKE
Introduction 1
JONATHAN BURKE
PART I
Perspectives 5
In the Bible 7
1 In the shadow of violence: Isaac and Abraham 9
STEPHEN FROSH
In Greek mythology and opera 21
2 Hard acts hard to follow: Sophocles, Hofmannsthal,
Strauss and Elektra 23
CHRISTOPHER WINTLE
In Shakespeare 41
3 Under the shadow of silence: on speechless love in King Lear 43
STEVEN GROARKE
4 “Madness, yet there’s method in it”: the shadow of
the doctor in Hamlet’s mirror 58
PAUL HERITAGE
viii Contents
PART II
‘I’-witness accounts 71
In psychoanalysis 73
5 ‘Derealization’: in the shadow of the son 75
FAYE CAREY
6 Her mother’s footsteps 93
MARION BOWER
7 A tragic inheritance: the irresolvable confl ict for children
of perpetrators 105
COLINE COVINGTON
8 Making my way out of the shadow into the sun: a painful
confrontation with my past 127
MARTIN MILLER
In socio-political life 143
9 Closed doors 145
SYLVIA PASKIN – WITH CODA BY SARA COLLINS
10 Kafka: ‘parental superiority’ as the act that feels hard to follow 161
STEVEN MENDOZA
In philosophy 177
11 Attachment and doubt in the work of Stanley Cavell 179
ROBBIE DUSCHINSKY AND SERENA MESSINA
In religion and family life 193
12 The eye begins to see: personal refl ections on a fragmented
father–son relationship, and other related matters 195
HOWARD COOPER
Reflections in fine art 209
13 Shadow, colour, glass: the family I knew and the family
I never knew 211
ARDYN HALTER
Contents ix
14 Paddle your own canoe: negotiating the shadows 223
JANE MCADAM FREUD
Index 243