About (the Lack of) a Certain Category in the Psychological Novel of the Interwar Period on the Example of "Zazdrość i medycyna" by Michał Choromański Cover Image

Czas niemyślenia. O (braku) pewnej kategorii w powieści psychologicznej dwudziestolecia międzywojennego na przykładzie Zazdrości i medycyny Michała Choromańskiego
About (the Lack of) a Certain Category in the Psychological Novel of the Interwar Period on the Example of "Zazdrość i medycyna" by Michał Choromański

Author(s): Jan Zdunik
Subject(s): Polish Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej
Keywords: Michał Choromański; Wilfred Ruprecht Bion; psychoanalsis; reverie

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses Michał Choromański’s novel Zazdrość i medycyna. I focus on the category of reflective thinking, which is fundamental for a genre of psychological novel. First, I discuss the reception of the novel and recall the most important interpretations. Second, I describe a theory of British Psychoanalyst Wilfred Ruprecht Bion and its elements (alpha function and beta function, reverie). In Bion’s theory, these elements are necessary in the process of thinking to reformulate primitive drives into elements of thinking. Third, I use some categories of Bion’s theory to interpret the novel. The analyses show that the protagonists, Wismar and tamten, are not capable of creative thinking – i.e. reflection – in their lives. In short: they don’t think. In effect, subconscious, unprocessed drives cause their madness.

  • Issue Year: 40/2022
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 95-110
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish