The inability to mourn and the inability to love in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Full Abstract

The author discusses the special role played by Shakespeare's masterpiece Hamlet in the history of psychoanalysis. Freud and many of his followers have treated Hamlet as if he were a real person inhibited by the Oedipus complex. In this presentation, Hamlet is understood as the embodiment of a brilliant artistic endeavor aimed at both revealing and concealing the power of this complex. The author proposes that, if Hamlet is autobiographical, it expresses Shakespeare's inability to mourn and love until a childhood homosexual memory has emerged. Hidden in Hamlet is a cure through the recall of a childhood memory.

Author information

Author/s: Bergmann, Martin S (MS);

Affiliation: New York University Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, USA. ridibergmann(-atsign-)verizon.net

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article

Journal: The Psychoanalytic quarterly (Psychoanal Q), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Apr; vol 78 (issue 2) : pp 397-423

Dates: Created 2009/06/10; Completed 2009/06/18;

PMID: 19507446, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 6/18/2009, IMS Date: 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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