Eros in Mourning: From Homer to Lacan

by Professor Henry Staten

Eros in Mourning begins with a reading of the Iliad that shows how Homer, not yet influenced by the ideology of transcendence, analyzes the structure of unassuageable mourning in a way that is as up-to-date as the latest poststructuralism. Then, in readings of Dante, Hamlet, La Princess de Clèves, Heart of Darkness , and Lacan, Staten depicts the "thanato-erotic" hysteria that is set off by the specter of the dead and decomposing body that is also the body of sexual love and which, in the "transcendentalizing" tradition, is more female than male. Yet, St. John, certain troubadours, and Milton offer glimpses of a more affirmative relation to "eros in mourning."

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Leif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, if you're onboard with (post) Lacanian psychoanalysis this will be up your alley. Otherwise this study of the "thanatoerotophobic tradition" might not be your cup of tea, and remember that, in advice Staten gives to readers of Lacan which applies equally well to Staten's own work, "One might wish to follow him when he does so, but at least one should know to what metaphysics one is declaring allegiance" (182).