Paradox Lost and Paradox Regained: An Object Relations Analysis of Two Flannery O'Connor Mother-Child Dyads

Paradox Lost and Paradox Regained: An Object Relations Analysis of Two Flannery O'Connor Mother-Child Dyads

by Sherry Lynn Lebeck
Paradox Lost and Paradox Regained: An Object Relations Analysis of Two Flannery O'Connor Mother-Child Dyads

Paradox Lost and Paradox Regained: An Object Relations Analysis of Two Flannery O'Connor Mother-Child Dyads

by Sherry Lynn Lebeck

Paperback

$19.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
    Choose Expedited Shipping at checkout for delivery by Thursday, April 4
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

This study uses two short stories by Flannery O'Connor to explore D. W. Winnicott's theory of early childhood development. This thesis proposes that the "inherited potential" of the individual is determined by the quality of the early maternal environment, especially during the period of Winnicott's first two paradoxical stages of development: Absolute Dependence and Relative Dependence. The mother-adult/child relationships in O'Connor's two short stories "Good Country People" and "The Enduring Chill" serve as case studies to examine the ramifications of "not good-enough" mothering on the infant's psychological state during these first two stages of development. The concepts of mirroring, impingement, true and false self development, illusion, transitional phenomenon, and aggression are considered in the context of the mother-child relationship to demonstrate how maternal inadequacy undermines all aspects of the child's "going-on-being."

In "The Enduring Chill" it was determined that protagonist Asbury Fox is psychologically fixated at the stage of Absolute Dependence because he exhibits symptoms indicative of repetitive early environmental impingement: He is maternally dependent, has little or no sense of self, exhibits primitive omnipotence and thwarted creativity. Conversely, Joy/Hulga Hopewell in "Good Country People" achieves the developmental stage of Relative Dependence based upon her ability to physically and psychologically separate from her mother, forge her own identity, accomplish educational goals, and make use of transitional objects.

In conjunction with the observation of mother-infant dyads, the impact of the absent father is further assessed to determine the level of impairment and quality of the adult-child's achievement of independence. It was concluded that Asbury Fox was unable to complete passage of the Oedipus complex, because his father died when he was five. Divorce, when Joy/Hulga is ten, leaves her without a father to mediate between mother and daughter. Thus, these two angry adult children experience either dependency, like Asbury Fox who searches for fathers in life, or rejection of maternal closeness like Joy/Hulga who attempts to forge a father in the creation of a name.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781581120868
Publisher: Dissertation.Com
Publication date: 05/20/2000
Pages: 192
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.44(d)

Table of Contents

Abstractiv
Acknowledgementsvi
Chapter 1.Introduction15
Literature as Teaching Tool
Synthesis of Psychoanalytic Theory and Literature
About the Authors
D. W. Winnicott
Flannery O'Connor
Preview
Chapter 2.Methods37
Winnicott's Theory
The Paradoxical Process: Negotiating the Three Stages of Development Within the Holding Environment
Stage 1Absolute Dependence
Role of the Father
Mother-Infant Relationship
Mirroring
Aggression
Summary of Stage One
Stage 2Relative Dependence
Transitional Object and Transitional Space
The False Self
Summary of Stage 2
Stage 3Toward Independence
Conclusion
Chapter 3."The Enduring Chill"67
Maternal Impingement
Psyche-Soma Connection
Creativity Thwarted
The Letter
Priest as Father
Home: Entrapment, Fusion, and Emotional Infanticide
In the Name of the Father
The Dream within a Dream
Death of Potential: Annihilation of the Psyche
Summary
Chapter 4."Good Country People"112
Mother: Mrs. Hopewell
Daughter: Joy/Hulga Hopewell
Adult Joy/Hulga Rejects Mother's Conventions
Absent Father
Creation of a Name
Hulga: The Personification of an Internalized State
Name: As Transitional Object
Naming: A Means of Incorporating the Father
Hulga's Wooden Leg: A Connection to her father and The External World
Joy/Hulga and Deformity
Joy/Hulga's Epiphany
Summary
Chapter 5.Conclusion158
Literature vs. Case Studies
Mother's Face
Extreme Impingements
Mothers and Fathers
Writing What One Knows
Psychic Orphans
Limitations of This Study
Art and Science
Chapter 5.References179
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews