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Beyond Lacan
Traces the development of Lacanian theory, and its possible future.
In Beyond Lacan, James M. Mellard traces psychoanalytic literary theory and practice from Freud to Lacan to Zizek. While Freud effectively presupposes an unconscious that is textual, it is Lacan whose theory all but articulates a textual unconscious as he offers the epoch a cutting-edge psychoanalytic ideology. Mellard considers this and then asks, “Which Lacan? Is there one or many? Early or late?” As Zizek counters the notion of a single, unitary Lacan, Lacanians are asked to choose. Through Lacanian readings of various texts, from novels like Ellison’s Invisible Man and O’Connor’s Wise Blood to short stories by Glaspell and Fitzgerald, Mellard shows that in critical practice Lacanians produce a middle Lacan, between early and late.
Mellard concludes by examining why Zizek has perhaps transcended Lacan. More than any other, it is Zizek who has constructed early and late Lacan, making possible that middle Lacan of praxis, but in the process he has also claimed an independent authority. Ultimately, Mellard explains how Zizek offers a post -Lacanian critique—one built on a pervasive philosophy of paradox—that opens new avenues of analysis of contested cultural and literary issues such as subjectivity, political economy, multiculturalism, and religious belief.
“Mellard is courageous in applying French and Freudian concepts to a literature that openly disavows the psychoanalytical, making his approach the kind of eye-opening exercise that makes teaching criticism so important and worthwhile. As Mellard integrates advances in criticism with specific readings of the texts he treats, we must recognize that this is no small task, and others have found it more than daunting and done it less thoroughly.” — Juliet Flower MacCannell, author of Figuring Criticism and the Cultural Unconscious
In Beyond Lacan, James M. Mellard traces psychoanalytic literary theory and practice from Freud to Lacan to Zizek. While Freud effectively presupposes an unconscious that is textual, it is Lacan whose theory all but articulates a textual unconscious as he offers the epoch a cutting-edge psychoanalytic ideology. Mellard considers this and then asks, “Which Lacan? Is there one or many? Early or late?” As Zizek counters the notion of a single, unitary Lacan, Lacanians are asked to choose. Through Lacanian readings of various texts, from novels like Ellison’s Invisible Man and O’Connor’s Wise Blood to short stories by Glaspell and Fitzgerald, Mellard shows that in critical practice Lacanians produce a middle Lacan, between early and late.
Mellard concludes by examining why Zizek has perhaps transcended Lacan. More than any other, it is Zizek who has constructed early and late Lacan, making possible that middle Lacan of praxis, but in the process he has also claimed an independent authority. Ultimately, Mellard explains how Zizek offers a post -Lacanian critique—one built on a pervasive philosophy of paradox—that opens new avenues of analysis of contested cultural and literary issues such as subjectivity, political economy, multiculturalism, and religious belief.
“Mellard is courageous in applying French and Freudian concepts to a literature that openly disavows the psychoanalytical, making his approach the kind of eye-opening exercise that makes teaching criticism so important and worthwhile. As Mellard integrates advances in criticism with specific readings of the texts he treats, we must recognize that this is no small task, and others have found it more than daunting and done it less thoroughly.” — Juliet Flower MacCannell, author of Figuring Criticism and the Cultural Unconscious
300 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2006
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August 13, 2018
Although this book was published in 2006, James M. Mellard does not belong to the new generation of "new" Lacanians. Rather, his early work, Using Lacan, Reading Fiction, shows him to be a typical proponent of the kind of psychoanalytic literary criticism that dominated the 1980s and 1990s. Beyond Lacan finds itself caught half-way between this bygone period and the "new" Lacanians.
The text itself can be divided into three parts. The first, comprising the opening two chapters, examines the notion of the "beyond." As such, Mellard begins by examining how it is that Lacan moves beyond Freud, a topic that is hardly fresh and to which he brings little new insight. The second chapter, however, focuses on the far more tantalizing question of "which Lacan?" - that is to say, which version of Lacan is what makes his work of ongoing interest? Is it the early work on the imaginary, the middle work on the symbolic, or the later work on the real? Or are such periodizations problematic in themselves? This chapter is the highlight of the book.
The second section of the book reverts, unfortunately, to the earlier tradition of Lacanian literary criticism. Mellard examines texts by Ralph Ellison, Flannery O'Connor, Susan Glaspell, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Josephine Hart. Unless you are particularly interested in these authors, this part of the book is not of much value.
The last section of Beyond Lacan examines the work of Slavoj Žižek, who is presented as *possibly* representing the "beyond" of Lacan, in the same way that Lacan is the "beyond" of Freud. Mellard's treatment is thorough and well-argued, but I remain skeptical as to whether Žižek really is the "beyond" of Lacan. Certainly he is something *other* than just a disciple of Lacan, and maybe that is enough.
Overall, Mellard's book is somewhat disappointing. The second and final chapters are certainly worth reading, but the other parts, especially the literary interpretations that take up so many pages in the middle, feel like padding.
The text itself can be divided into three parts. The first, comprising the opening two chapters, examines the notion of the "beyond." As such, Mellard begins by examining how it is that Lacan moves beyond Freud, a topic that is hardly fresh and to which he brings little new insight. The second chapter, however, focuses on the far more tantalizing question of "which Lacan?" - that is to say, which version of Lacan is what makes his work of ongoing interest? Is it the early work on the imaginary, the middle work on the symbolic, or the later work on the real? Or are such periodizations problematic in themselves? This chapter is the highlight of the book.
The second section of the book reverts, unfortunately, to the earlier tradition of Lacanian literary criticism. Mellard examines texts by Ralph Ellison, Flannery O'Connor, Susan Glaspell, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Josephine Hart. Unless you are particularly interested in these authors, this part of the book is not of much value.
The last section of Beyond Lacan examines the work of Slavoj Žižek, who is presented as *possibly* representing the "beyond" of Lacan, in the same way that Lacan is the "beyond" of Freud. Mellard's treatment is thorough and well-argued, but I remain skeptical as to whether Žižek really is the "beyond" of Lacan. Certainly he is something *other* than just a disciple of Lacan, and maybe that is enough.
Overall, Mellard's book is somewhat disappointing. The second and final chapters are certainly worth reading, but the other parts, especially the literary interpretations that take up so many pages in the middle, feel like padding.
Displaying 1 of 1 review