LE VÉCU AMOUREUX ENTRE JALOUSIE ET ENVIE – UNE APPROCHE PSYCHANALYTIQUE
THE EXPERIENCE OF LOVE BETWEEN JEALOUSY END ENVY – A PSYCHOANALYTICAL APPROACH

Summary/Abstract: This paper takes as its starting point the autobiographical novel L'Occupation by Annie Ernaux. It is about how the author's previous lover's new partner occupies her thoughts to the point of obsession. We suggest employing a psychoanalytical interpretation grid to investigate the autobiographical transposition of this mental invasion, which is presented with astonishing sincerity and clarity. We will examine how jealousy and envy are portrayed in the novel in an effort to comprehend how these intensely human emotions can consume a person from the inside out. With the aid of theoretical references from Freudian, post-Freudian and contemporary psychoanalysis, we will examine how this inner barbarism is conquered and distinguish between normal and pathological jealousy. These feelings have not gotten much attention from experts in traditional psychoanalysis. But modern psychoanalysts are particularly interested in them. They play a crucial and important function in a person's early development and this should not be disregarded. Starting from the premise that jealousy and envy are fundamentally human emotions from which we are powerless to escape, we will attempt to comprehend - with the aid of the narrative provided by Annie Ernaux in L'Occupation- what might be the best way to live these painful emotions without them having a negative impact on the one experiencing them.The French writer succeeds in illustrating in her book the Freudian concept of normal jealousy. She displays the frailty of the self when jealousy and envy strike it with amazing maturity and tenderness. The author attempts to conquer them by first allowing herself to feel and experience them fully, without for a second denying them. Additionally, she makes her readers spectators of this journey, which may seem embarrassing or pitiful. The truth of painful experiences is accurately captured.The psychoanalytic approach normalizes these traumas, which are frequently ignored or suppressed due to the harm they do to the (narcissistic) ego of the individual. While envy and jealousy can definitely be used to weaken the ego in their most extreme forms, they can also be used to build it. The work by the French author serves as an example of this desirable and happy circumstance.

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