On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear

Goetz Egloff; Trin Fuchs; Dennis M. Jacobson

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13

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On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear

Goetz Egloff, Trin Fuchs, Dennis M. Jacobson

Published in International Journal of European Studies (Volume 1, Issue 1)

Received: 16 March 2017 Accepted: 1 April 2017 Published: 18 May 2017

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Abstract

Ahab, the notorious captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s 1851 novel, Moby-Dick, is put in relation with King Lear, the desperate old regent from William Shakespeare’s eponymous play published in 1608. Its main character, apart from Macbeth, is considered to have had deep influence on Melville, especially in creating the character of Ahab. What ties them together is not only their overabundant quest for meaning, if ever, but their obsession with pursuing their targets. Whereas at the beginning of the seventeenth century conflicts are established on the inside of the protagonists rather than on the outside, the nineteenth century still sees Ahab’s monomanic escapism outside of his consciousness, the latter due to forces that he does not perceive as coming from within. However, in terms of psychopathology both characters show symptoms: the differences and parallels of their behavior are elaborated on in the context of their personal realities and of issues of existence.

Published in	International Journal of European Studies (Volume 1, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13
Page(s)	15-20
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Herman Melville, William Shakespeare, Moby-Dick, King Lear, Psychopathology, Existence

References

[1]	Chase R (1962). Melville and Moby-¬Dick. In: Chase R (ed.). Melville. A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall, p. 50.
[2]	Mansfield LS, Vincent HP (1962). Introduction. In: Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. Ed. Luther S. Mansfield & Howard P. Vincent. New York: Hendricks House.
[3]	Hoffman D (1977). Moby-Dick: Jonah’s whale or Job’s? In: Gilmore MT (ed.). Twentieth Century Interpretations of Moby-Dick: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall, p. 61.
[4]	Shakespeare, William (1608/1992). The Tragedy of King Lear. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Act IV, Scene VII.
[5]	King Lear, Act IV, Scene VII.
[6]	Murray HA (1962). ”In nomine diaboli.” In: Chase, Melville, p. 67.
[7]	For the technical terms see: Koenig K (1996). Abwehrmechanismen. Goettingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
[8]	Freud A (1936/1966). The Writings of Anna Freud. Vol. II. The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense. New York: International University Press.
[9]	cp. Weidle R (2009). Die Tragoedie als Ort des Scheiterns: Grenzsituationen und das Ich-Selbst in Shakespeares King Lear. In: von Engelhardt D, Gerigk HJ (eds.). Karl Jaspers im Schnittpunkt von Zeitgeschichte, Psychopathologie, Literatur und Film. Heidelberg: Mattes, pp. 169-185.
[10]	cp. Stanghellini G, Fuchs T (2013). Editors’ Introduction. In: Stanghellini G, Fuchs T (eds.). One Century of Karl Jaspers’ General Psychopathology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. XIII-XXIII.
[11]	The psychoanalytic psychopathology concept differs from the psychiatric psychopathology concept in using several different terms and approaches, yet it need not necessarily be that far from the latter as long as it provides space and openness, and as long as it does not make use of shortcut deterministic labeling that will suggest shortcut deterministic etiopathology concepts. Apart from the fact that fictional characters are not patients, from a perspective of psychoanalytic psychopathology the question of motifs in characters can heuristically play a crucial role not only in broadening the understanding of possible personal motivations but even in discovering an anthropological dimension in the characters’ dealings with obstacles, tribulations, and crises. All in all, the approach encompasses exploring of what von Matt terms the ‘psychodramatic substrate’ of a work of fiction (cp. von Matt P (2001). Literaturwissenschaft und Psychoanalyse. Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam).
[12]	cp. Kuechenhoff J (2000). Aesthetische Form und unbewusster Sinn – Selbstfuersorge und Identitaet in Moby Dick. In: Psyche 54 (1), pp. 51-72. Here the concept of identity is applied from a psychoanalytically informed, yet existential philosophy perspective.
[13]	Melville, Herman (1851/1967). Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. New York: Norton & Co., ch.119, "The Candles."
[14]	King Lear, Act III, Scene IV.
[15]	loc. cit.
[16]	King Lear, Act III, Scene II.
[17]	cp. Abend SM, Porder MS, Willick MS (1983). Borderline Patients: Psychoanalytic Perspectives. Madison CT: International University Press.
[18]	Leichsenring F (1996). Borderline-Stile. Bern: Hans Huber, chs. 3 & 4.
[19]	Moby-Dick, ch. 119.
[20]	Kutter P (ed.) (1997). Psychoanalyse interdisziplinaer. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, pp. 96-103.
[21]	cp. Kuechenhoff, Aesthetische Form und unbewusster Sinn, pp. 51-72.
[22]	cp. Haenssgen E (2003). Herman Melvilles Moby-Dick und das antike Epos. Tuebingen: Gunter Narr, p. 53.
[23]	Olson C (1977). Ahab and his Fool. In: Gilmore, Twentieth Century Interpretations, p. 56.
[24]	Moby-Dick, ch. 132, "The Symphony."
[25]	loc. cit.
[26]	King Lear, Act I, Scene IV.
[27]	loc. cit.
[28]	cp. Jung CG (1964). Ueber die Psychologie des Unbewussten. Zurich: Rascher.
[29]	On archetypal criticism see Chase R (1949). Herman Melville. A Critical Study. New York: Macmillan.
[30]	Dinzelbacher P (2001). Das erzwungene Individuum: Suendenbewusstsein und Pflichtbeichte. In: van Duelmen R (ed.). Die Entdeckung des Ich: Die Geschichte der Individualisierung vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Cologne: Boehlau, pp. 41-60. Conversely, Cynthia Marshall has conceptualized the depravation of the self as marker of early modern times (cp. Marshall C (2002). The Shattering of the Self: Violence, Subjectivity, and Early Modern Texts. Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins University Press).
[31]	Olson C (1977). Ahab and his Fool. In: Gilmore, Twentieth Century Interpretations, p. 58.
[32]	cp. Wandruszka B (2010). Kultur als ewige Krisis und ewige Chance. In: Nielsen B, Kurth W, Reiss HJ, Egloff G (eds.). Psychohistorie der Krise. Jahrbuch für psychohistorische Forschung 11. Heidelberg: Mattes, pp. 341-390.
[33]	Greiner N, Weidle R (2009). Die Struktur der tragischen Begebenheit im Lichte der „Grenzsituation“ von Karl Jaspers – mit Blick auf Hamlet. In: von Engelhardt & Gerigk, Karl Jaspers, pp. 187-203.
[34]	Fischer Lichte E (1999). Geschichte des Dramas: Epochen der Identitaet auf dem Theater von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Vol. 1. Tuebingen: Francke.
[35]	Weidle R (2009). Die Tragoedie als Ort des Scheiterns: Grenzsituationen und das Ich-Selbst in Shakespeares King Lear. In: von Engelhardt & Gerigk, Karl Jaspers, p. 179.
[36]	The Ishmaelean truth that “(…) things exist only in relation to other things (…),” (qtd. in Brodtkorb P (1986). The Nature and Forms of Despair. In: Quirk T, Barbour J (eds.). Romanticism. Critical Essays in American Literature. New York: Garland, p. 277) is not necessarily a Christian concept, though.
[37]	Murray HA (1962). “In nomine diaboli.” In: Chase, Melville, p. 68.
[38]	King Lear, Act V, Scene III.
[39]	Such an emancipatory position was partially implied in some very different literary context, namely in the domestic novel, at some very different point of time, just around when Moby-Dick was released (cp. Egloff G (2015). Ideology and Emancipation in Maria Susanna Cummins. International Journal of Literature and Arts 3 (6), 166-170).
[40]	Cavell S (1987). Disowning Knowledge: In Six Plays of Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 80.
[41]	Moby-Dick, ch. 132.

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Goetz Egloff, Trin Fuchs, Dennis M. Jacobson. (2017). On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear. International Journal of European Studies, 1(1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13

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Goetz Egloff; Trin Fuchs; Dennis M. Jacobson. On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear. Int. J. Eur. Stud. 2017, 1(1), 15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13

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AMA Style

Goetz Egloff, Trin Fuchs, Dennis M. Jacobson. On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear. Int J Eur Stud. 2017;1(1):15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13,
  author = {Goetz Egloff and Trin Fuchs and Dennis M. Jacobson},
  title = {On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear},
  journal = {International Journal of European Studies},
  volume = {1},
  number = {1},
  pages = {15-20},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijes.20170101.13},
  abstract = {Ahab, the notorious captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s 1851 novel, Moby-Dick, is put in relation with King Lear, the desperate old regent from William Shakespeare’s eponymous play published in 1608. Its main character, apart from Macbeth, is considered to have had deep influence on Melville, especially in creating the character of Ahab. What ties them together is not only their overabundant quest for meaning, if ever, but their obsession with pursuing their targets. Whereas at the beginning of the seventeenth century conflicts are established on the inside of the protagonists rather than on the outside, the nineteenth century still sees Ahab’s monomanic escapism outside of his consciousness, the latter due to forces that he does not perceive as coming from within. However, in terms of psychopathology both characters show symptoms: the differences and parallels of their behavior are elaborated on in the context of their personal realities and of issues of existence.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear
AU  - Goetz Egloff
AU  - Trin Fuchs
AU  - Dennis M. Jacobson
Y1  - 2017/05/18
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T2  - International Journal of European Studies
JF  - International Journal of European Studies
JO  - International Journal of European Studies
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Author Information

Goetz Egloff

Practice for Psychoanalysis, Mannheim, Germany
Trin Fuchs

Chemnitz, Germany
Dennis M. Jacobson

Inst Cultural Studies, Budapest, Hungary

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APA Style

Goetz Egloff, Trin Fuchs, Dennis M. Jacobson. (2017). On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear. International Journal of European Studies, 1(1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13

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ACS Style

Goetz Egloff; Trin Fuchs; Dennis M. Jacobson. On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear. Int. J. Eur. Stud. 2017, 1(1), 15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13

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AMA Style

Goetz Egloff, Trin Fuchs, Dennis M. Jacobson. On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear. Int J Eur Stud. 2017;1(1):15-20. doi: 10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13,
  author = {Goetz Egloff and Trin Fuchs and Dennis M. Jacobson},
  title = {On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear},
  journal = {International Journal of European Studies},
  volume = {1},
  number = {1},
  pages = {15-20},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijes.20170101.13},
  abstract = {Ahab, the notorious captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s 1851 novel, Moby-Dick, is put in relation with King Lear, the desperate old regent from William Shakespeare’s eponymous play published in 1608. Its main character, apart from Macbeth, is considered to have had deep influence on Melville, especially in creating the character of Ahab. What ties them together is not only their overabundant quest for meaning, if ever, but their obsession with pursuing their targets. Whereas at the beginning of the seventeenth century conflicts are established on the inside of the protagonists rather than on the outside, the nineteenth century still sees Ahab’s monomanic escapism outside of his consciousness, the latter due to forces that he does not perceive as coming from within. However, in terms of psychopathology both characters show symptoms: the differences and parallels of their behavior are elaborated on in the context of their personal realities and of issues of existence.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - On Psychopathology and Existence: Ahab and Lear
AU  - Goetz Egloff
AU  - Trin Fuchs
AU  - Dennis M. Jacobson
Y1  - 2017/05/18
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13
T2  - International Journal of European Studies
JF  - International Journal of European Studies
JO  - International Journal of European Studies
SP  - 15
EP  - 20
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-9562
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijes.20170101.13
AB  - Ahab, the notorious captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s 1851 novel, Moby-Dick, is put in relation with King Lear, the desperate old regent from William Shakespeare’s eponymous play published in 1608. Its main character, apart from Macbeth, is considered to have had deep influence on Melville, especially in creating the character of Ahab. What ties them together is not only their overabundant quest for meaning, if ever, but their obsession with pursuing their targets. Whereas at the beginning of the seventeenth century conflicts are established on the inside of the protagonists rather than on the outside, the nineteenth century still sees Ahab’s monomanic escapism outside of his consciousness, the latter due to forces that he does not perceive as coming from within. However, in terms of psychopathology both characters show symptoms: the differences and parallels of their behavior are elaborated on in the context of their personal realities and of issues of existence.
VL  - 1
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download