A Lacanian Analysis of Paul Auster's New York Trilogy
Fragmented selves: A Lacanian Reading of Auster’s The New York Trilogy
Abstract:
The concept of fragmented self was first introduced by Freud through his model of three part psyche, namely ego, id and super-ego, and later modified by Jacque Lacan, the famous postmodern psychoanalyst. The split of subject is one of the most appealing concepts in the postmodern literature. By assimilating the structure of unconscious to that of language, Lacan bridges between psychoanalysis and linguistics and hence makes a new interdisciplinary field of study. The splitting of self that Freud was considered to be merely psycho-physical is in Lacanian term an alienation that occurs in language. This alienation happens as a consequence of the relation of the subject to the symbolic order. Paul Auster, is a famous American postmodern writer whose The New York Trilogy is the story of fragmentation and unknowable selves, it is also a desperate attempt to yoke these selves into a unity through language. The form of the three interwoven stories, City of Glass, Ghosts and The Locked Room which culminates into a trilogy under the name of New York, is a tableau which shows the fear of the loss of identity within a megalopolis. The subjects in the novel are shown in their inessential nature, fluid and without sticking to any specific place, fading into the signifying chain. The identities merge and the borders between self and the other are marred in the unconscious of the characters. The aim of the present study is to apply Lacan’s theory of Self and Other and the notion of Identity to Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy.
Key words: Lacan, The New York Trilogy, fragmented selves, identity.
An Introduction to Lacan’s Theory Jacques Lacan (1901-1981) was the famous French psychoanalyst who made a great contribution to both psychology and linguistics by proposing that unconscious is structured like language. He followed Freud’s psychoanalysis and related it to
Abstract:
The concept of fragmented self was first introduced by Freud through his model of three part psyche, namely ego, id and super-ego, and later modified by Jacque Lacan, the famous postmodern psychoanalyst. The split of subject is one of the most appealing concepts in the postmodern literature. By assimilating the structure of unconscious to that of language, Lacan bridges between psychoanalysis and linguistics and hence makes a new interdisciplinary field of study. The splitting of self that Freud was considered to be merely psycho-physical is in Lacanian term an alienation that occurs in language. This alienation happens as a consequence of the relation of the subject to the symbolic order. Paul Auster, is a famous American postmodern writer whose The New York Trilogy is the story of fragmentation and unknowable selves, it is also a desperate attempt to yoke these selves into a unity through language. The form of the three interwoven stories, City of Glass, Ghosts and The Locked Room which culminates into a trilogy under the name of New York, is a tableau which shows the fear of the loss of identity within a megalopolis. The subjects in the novel are shown in their inessential nature, fluid and without sticking to any specific place, fading into the signifying chain. The identities merge and the borders between self and the other are marred in the unconscious of the characters. The aim of the present study is to apply Lacan’s theory of Self and Other and the notion of Identity to Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy.
Key words: Lacan, The New York Trilogy, fragmented selves, identity.
An Introduction to Lacan’s Theory Jacques Lacan (1901-1981) was the famous French psychoanalyst who made a great contribution to both psychology and linguistics by proposing that unconscious is structured like language. He followed Freud’s psychoanalysis and related it to
Cited: Auster, Paul. The New York Trilogy. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2006. Bertens, Hans. Literary Theories: The Basics. New York: Rutledge, 2001. Bloom, Harold. Bloom’s Modern Critical Views: Paul Auster. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. New Jersey: Pearson, 2007. Routledge, 2005. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2005. Department of Language and Culture School of Humanities and Social Sciences Osaka Prefecture University, 2009.