A Psychoanalytic Reading of A Monster Calls: Biblical Congruencies and Theological Implications

This essay offers a psychoanalytic reading of Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls, an award-winning novel (which recently has been made into a film) about a 13-year-old boy whose mother is dying of cancer. I use Sigmund Freud's 'On Dreams' to interpret several scenes from the novel, i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Carlin, Nathan (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science Business Media B. V. [2017]
In: Pastoral psychology
Year: 2017, Volume: 66, Issue: 6, Pages: 759-777
IxTheo Classification:CD Christianity and Culture
HC New Testament
ZD Psychology
Further subjects:B Paradox
B Fred Rogers
B Wishes
B EMOTIONS (Psychology)
B Dreams
B Ambivalence
B NESS, Patrick, 1971-
B Sigmund Freud
B Psychoanalysis
B FICTION & psychology
B Patrick Ness
B Stories
B MONSTER Calls, A (Book)
B Cancer
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This essay offers a psychoanalytic reading of Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls, an award-winning novel (which recently has been made into a film) about a 13-year-old boy whose mother is dying of cancer. I use Sigmund Freud's 'On Dreams' to interpret several scenes from the novel, interspersed with lessons from the life of Jesus. I argue that such a reading can help persons of all ages take the emotional lives of teenagers more seriously, specifically by witnessing the depth and complexity of ambivalence as represented in the novel. Also, an important feature in the novel (and a vital congruence between psychoanalysis and the teachings of Jesus) is the transformation of emotional ambivalence into paradoxical truth.
ISSN:1573-6679
Contains:Enthalten in: Pastoral psychology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11089-017-0777-x