The Burdens of Intimacy: Psychoanalysis and Victorian Masculinity

by Christopher Lane

Book Overview

Why does passion bewilder and torment so many Victorian protagonists? And why do so many literary characters experience moments of ecstasy before their deaths? In this original study, Christopher Lane shows why Victorian fiction conveys both the pleasure and anguish of intimacy. Examining works by Bulwer-Lytton, Swinburne, Schreiner, Hardy, James, Santayana, and Forster, he argues that these writers struggled with aspects of psychology that were undermining...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226468607
• ISBN13: 9780226468600
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Thoughtful and Engaging

We are often taught that intimacy is pleasurable. Mr Lane brings authority and wisdom to bear on the proposition that whilst intimacy may indeed be a source of pleasure, the opposite (pain) is just as true. In support, he calls on the Victorians and their ideas on the subject, and his book is an excellent read on both counts. Mr Lane's arguments about gender and fantasy are likewise most interesting. Throughout, his writing is clear, to the point, and refreshingly free of jargon.