Unconscious Fantasies and the Relational World

by Danielle Knafo, Kenneth Feiner

Overview

What is the role of unconscious fantasies in psychological development, in psychopathology, and in the arts? In Unconscious Fantasies and the Relational World, Danielle Knafo and Kenneth Feiner return to these interlinked questions with a specific goal in mind: a contemporary appreciation of fantasy in its multiform relational contexts. To this end, they provide detailed examinations of primal scene, family romance, and castration fantasies, respectively. Each category of fantasy is pushed beyond its "classical" psychoanalytic meaning by attending to the child's ubiquitous concerns about sexual difference and feelings of incompleteness; her perception of the parental relationship; and the multiple, shifting identifications that grow out of this relationship.

Evocative clinical examples illuminate the manner in which patients and analysts play out these three core fantasies. They are balanced by chapters that explore the generative side of these same fantasies in the arts. David Lynch's film Blue Velvet provides an artistic rendering of the primal scene; Jerzy Kosinki's life and work illustrates the family romance; and French multimedia artist Orlan's "carnal art" recreates the trauma of castration. Unconscious Fantasies and the Relational World is a tightly woven study
•f broad and basic questions. It is in equal measure a contemporary re-visioning of the grounds of fantasy formation, a relationally informed guide to clinical techniques for dealing with unconscious fantasy, and an examination of the generative potential of unconscious fantasy in the arts. Out of the authors’ broadening and broad-minded sensibility emerges an illuminating study of the manifold ways in which unconscious fantasies shape lives and enrich clinical work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780881634204
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/21/2005
Series:	Relational Perspectives Book Series , #31
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Knafo, Danielle; Feiner, Kenneth

Table of Contents

Introduction. Unconscious Fantasies and Psychic Structure. Part I: Primal Scene Fantasies. The Primal Scene: Variations on a Theme. Blue Velvet: David Lynch's Primal Scene [cinema]. Part II: Family Romance Fantasies. Not in the Family: Family Romance Fantasies and Enactments in Psychoanalysis. Fact, Fantasy, and Fiction: Jerzy Kosinski's Family Romance and Imposture [literature]. Part III: Castration Fantasies. Castration Fantasies, Sexual Difference, and Mind-Body Matters. Now You See It, Now You Don't: A Case Study of Castration and "Omnisexuality." Art on the Cutting Edge: Orlan's Medusan Female [visual/performance art].

Editorial Reviews

"'Unconscious Fantasies and the Relational World' is a tightly woven study of broad and basic questions. It is in equal measure a contemporary re-visioning of the grounds of fantasy formation, a relationally informed guide to clinical techniques for dealing with unconscious fantasy, and an examination of the generative potential of unconscious fantasy in the arts. Out of the authors' broadening and broad-minded sensibility emerges an illuminating study of the manifold ways in which unconscious fantasies shape lives and enrich clinical work."
—SirReadaLot.org

"...a strong and needed addition to clinical practice and is highly recommended. The book ends with a brilliant analysis of the visual media renderings of the French artist Olan. This critical biographical and artistic section powerfully presents the manner in which unconscious fantasies inform and shape the self and productions in the world."
—PsycCRITIQUES

“Knafo and Feiner have done a masterful job of reinvigorating the concept of unconscious fantasy. Their erudition is worn so lightly that we are carried along by the sheer pleasure of seeing how the false dichotomy between fantasy and reality dissolves into a mutually interpenetrating dialectic. By combining modern classical and relational theory, they bridge a one-person emphasis on imagination and desire with a two-person focus on relationality and social context. The resulting synthesis not only attests to the centrality of fantasy as a problem-solving mode of thought; it also reestablishes the critical importance of fantasy for contemporary psychoanalysis.”
—Virginia Goldner, Ph.D.
Founding Editor, Studies in Gender and Sexuality

"Through an interwoven mix of the clinical, the theoretical, and the psychology of the arts, Knafo and Feiner explore the crossroads where unconscious fantasy meets relational processes. They have produced an informed, highly readable, and stimulating book - a book at the center of current theoretical debates that will reward readers at all levels."
—Fred Pine
Private Practice, New York City

From the Publisher

"Knafo and Feiner have done a masterful job of rehabilitating and reinvigorating the concept of unconscious fantasy. Their erudition is worn so lightly that we are carried along by the sheer pleasure of seeing how the false dichotomy of fantasy and reality dissolves into a mutually interpenetrating dialectic. By combining modern classical and relational theory, they bridge a one-person emphhsis on imagination and desire with a two-person focus on relationality and social context. The resulting synthesis not only attests to the centrality of fantasy as a problem-solving mode of thought; it also reestablishes the critical importance of fantasy for contemporary psychoanalysis."
—Ph.D., Founding Editor, Studies in Gender and Sexuality

Virginia Goldner

"Through an interwoven mix of the clinical, the theoretical, and the psychology of the arts, Knafo and Feiner explore the crossroads where unconscious fantasy meets relational processes. They have produced an informed, highly readable, and stimulating book -- a book at the center of current theoretical debates that will reward readers at all levels."
—Ph.D., Private Practice, New York City

Fred Pine