Delusion and Dream in Jensen's Gradiva
Encyclopedia
Delusion and Dream in Jensen's Gradiva (1907) is an essay by Sigmund Freud
that subjects the novel Gradiva
by Wilhelm Jensen
, and especially its protagonist
, to psychoanalysis
.
The novel is about a young archaeologist, Norbert Hanold, who comes to realize his love for his childhood friend through a long and complex process, mainly by associating her with an idealized woman in the form of the Gradiva
bas-relief.
Freud considered the novel as providing a prime example of 'something which might be called "cure by seduction" or "cure by love"', as well as evidence 'that the Oedipus complex
is still active in normal adults, too'.
After a dream about "Gradiva" and the destruction of Pompeii
, Hanold 'leaves for Pompeii, where he meets a young woman, very much alive, whom he takes for Gradiva. In the course of the meetings that follow, he organizes his mania, stalking and interpreting signs (Gradiva appears at noon, the ghost hour, and the like). "Gradiva" seeks to cure him by gradually revealing her identity to him'.
The woman is of course Hanold's childhood sweetheart, Zoë; and 'fortunately his "Gradiva" is as shrewd as she is beautiful. Zoë, the "source" of his malaise, also becomes the agent of its resolution; recognizing Hanold's delusions for what they are, she restores him to sanity, disentangling his fantasies
from reality' - it 'is only Zoë who can tell him that his archeological interest is sublimated desire for her'.
With respect to 'the final paragraph, in which Jensen has Hanold asking Zoë to walk ahead of him and she complies with a smile, Freud put, "Erotic...oot fetishism|foot interest"'...By walking ahead of him in imitation of "Gradiva" on the plaque, she finds the key to his therapy'.
or psychosis
, some emphasizing 'the way Freud offers psychoanalysts a model which shows "how to address the 'mad' part of our patients without neglecting the rest of their person"'.
references Freud's use of Jensen's Gradiva in his own book-length essay Archive Fever
: A Freudian Impression (1995).
Hélène Cixous
emphasises the way 'Zoe is the one who brings to life Norbert's repressed love in a kind of feminine transfer
'.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
that subjects the novel Gradiva
Gradiva (novel)
Gradiva is a novel by Wilhelm Jensen, first published in Germany in 1903. It was inspired by a Roman bas-relief of the same name and became the basis for Sigmund Freud's famous 1907 study Delusion and Dream in Jensen's Gradiva...
by Wilhelm Jensen
Wilhelm Jensen
Wilhelm Hermann Jensen was a German writer and poet.-Biography:Wilhelm Jensen was born at Heiligenhafen in Holstein , the natural son of Swenn Hans Jensen , the Mayor of the city of Kiel, later administrator of the German/Danish island of Sylt, who came of old patrician Frisian stock...
, and especially its protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, to psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
.
The novel is about a young archaeologist, Norbert Hanold, who comes to realize his love for his childhood friend through a long and complex process, mainly by associating her with an idealized woman in the form of the Gradiva
Gradiva
Gradiva is a neo-Attic Roman bas-relief in the manner of Greek works of the fourth century BCE, depicting a young robed woman who lifts the hems of her skirts to stride forward. The relief is in the Vatican Museums...
bas-relief.
Freud considered the novel as providing a prime example of 'something which might be called "cure by seduction" or "cure by love"', as well as evidence 'that the Oedipus complex
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...
is still active in normal adults, too'.
Analysis
An isolated, unworldly individual, Hanold has 'repressed the memory of a girl, Zoë Bertgang, with whom he has grown up and to whom he had been affectionately attached'; but is unconsciously reminded of her by 'a bas-relief depicting a young, lovely woman with a distinctive gait. He calls her "Gradiva," which means "the woman who steps along"'.After a dream about "Gradiva" and the destruction of Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
, Hanold 'leaves for Pompeii, where he meets a young woman, very much alive, whom he takes for Gradiva. In the course of the meetings that follow, he organizes his mania, stalking and interpreting signs (Gradiva appears at noon, the ghost hour, and the like). "Gradiva" seeks to cure him by gradually revealing her identity to him'.
The woman is of course Hanold's childhood sweetheart, Zoë; and 'fortunately his "Gradiva" is as shrewd as she is beautiful. Zoë, the "source" of his malaise, also becomes the agent of its resolution; recognizing Hanold's delusions for what they are, she restores him to sanity, disentangling his fantasies
Fantasy (psychology)
Fantasy in a psychological sense is broadly used to cover two different senses, conscious and unconscious. In the unconscious sense, it is sometimes spelled "phantasy".-Conscious fantasy:...
from reality' - it 'is only Zoë who can tell him that his archeological interest is sublimated desire for her'.
With respect to 'the final paragraph, in which Jensen has Hanold asking Zoë to walk ahead of him and she complies with a smile, Freud put, "Erotic...oot fetishism|foot interest"'...By walking ahead of him in imitation of "Gradiva" on the plaque, she finds the key to his therapy'.
Later criticism
Post-Freudians vary widely on whether Hanold suffers from neurosisNeurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms. It is also known as psychoneurosis or neurotic disorder, and thus those suffering from it are said to be neurotic...
or psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
, some emphasizing 'the way Freud offers psychoanalysts a model which shows "how to address the 'mad' part of our patients without neglecting the rest of their person"'.
Poststructuralism
Poststructuralist philosopher Jacques DerridaJacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
references Freud's use of Jensen's Gradiva in his own book-length essay Archive Fever
Archive Fever
Mal d'Archive: Une Impression Freudienne is a book by philosopher Jacques Derrida first published in 1995 by Éditions Galilée. An English translation, Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression by Eric Prenowitz, was published in 1996....
: A Freudian Impression (1995).
Hélène Cixous
Hélène Cixous
Hélène Cixous is a professor, French feminist writer, poet, playwright, philosopher, literary critic and rhetorician. She holds honorary degrees from Queen's University and the University of Alberta in Canada; University College Dublin in Ireland; the University of York and University College...
emphasises the way 'Zoe is the one who brings to life Norbert's repressed love in a kind of feminine transfer
Transference
Transference is a phenomenon in psychoanalysis characterized by unconscious redirection of feelings from one person to another. One definition of transference is "the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person's childhood." Another definition is "the...
'.