Abstract

RABELO, Fabiano Chagas  and  MARTINS, Karla Patrícia Holanda. The Uncanny, the Fantastic Literature and the Psychoanalytic Theory of Anguish. Analytica [online]. 2022, vol.11, n.20, pp. 1-24. ISSN 2316-5197.

Inspired by the premise that the uncanny (Unheimliche) prepared the transition from the first to the second freudian theory of anguish, this article questions the connection between these two conceptual moments, emphasizing the importance of referring to fantastic literature for its final articulation. It is argued that the Freudian commentary on the short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann seeks to isolate in literary fiction the ways in which the uncanny is evoked in the reader. Thus, the outbreak of this feeling is related to a specific form of modulation of anguish: originally an automatic and unspecified process, the anguish becomes a sign of threat to the narcissistic integrity of the Self. This change entails a broader reconfiguration, which culminates in formulation of the second topic. After this, the categories of anguish and uncanny participate in the definition of fantastic literature in the field of literary theory, contributing to its distinction from other nearby literary territories, as the terror and suspense literature. In the end, it is suggested that the problematization of anguish avatars in the literature may contribute to a more accurate metapsychological description of the uncanny.

Keywords : Uncanny; Fantastic literature; Psychoanalysis; Anguish; Narcissism.

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