Abstract
Derrida has asserted that the main problem encountered by psychoanalysis is the existence of cruelty, a question that has never been solved. Touria Mignotte has responded to these criticisms and queries in Cruelty, Sexuality, and the Unconscious in Psychoanalysis by deploying a concept of cruelty that is not simply cultural but psychoanalytical. Following Mignotte’s lead, I attempt to situate the investigation at a foundational level that looks at the body. Derrida’s argument about psychoanalysis is compared with Deleuze’s essay on sadism and masochism, after which I outline points of convergence in their approaches, which leads to discussions of texts by Freud, Nietzsche and Hegel. I conclude by tackling Kafka’s rethinking of cruelty via a short text on Prometheus.
First Page
36
Last Page
47
Recommended Citation
Jean-Michel, Rabaté. 2021. "Cruelfictions of Psychoanalysis: from Freud to Kafka; from Derrida to Mignotte." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 41, (5): pp.36-47. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol41/iss5/5
