Faulkner and Psychology

Jacket Description/Back: Characteristically, William Faulkner minimized his familiarity with the theories of psychology that were current during the years of his apprenticeship as a writer, especially those of Freud. Yet, Faulkner's works prove to be a trove for psychological study. These original papers from the annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference, held in 1991 at the University of Mississippi, vary widely in their approaches to recent psychological speculation about Faulkner's texts. In recent years psychological analysis of literature has shifted largely from investigation of a writer's life to a focus on the work itself. Whether applying the theories of Freud and Lacan, drawing upon theoretical work in women's studies and men's studies, or emphasizing the rigid determinacy of psychological pressure, the essays included in this collection show Faulkner's works to be unquestionably rich in psychological materials.

Contributor Bio:  Faulkner, William William Faulkner was an American writer, Nobel Prize laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner. A prolific writer, Faulkner is best known for his novels and short stories, including The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying, which are set in fictional Yoknapatawpha County, and the Snopes trilogy which includes The Hamlet, The Town and The Mansion. Along with Mark Twain, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Harper Lee, Faulkner is considered one of the most important writers of Southern literature and is known for his experimental style, including the use of "stream of consciousness." Faulkner died in 1962. Contributor Bio:  Kartiganer, Donald M Donald M. Kartiganer is the former William Howry Chair in Faulkner Studies in the Department of English at the University of Mississippi. Contributor Bio:  Abadie, Ann J Ann J. Abadie, Oxford, Mississippi, is the former associate director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi and is coeditor of many volumes in the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Series.