A psicanálise na obra de David Foster Wallace: uma análise de caso do conto “Adult World”

Abstract

O presente artigo tem como objetivo estabelecer uma relacao entre o conto “Adult World”, de David Foster Wallace, e alguns conceitos psicanaliticos de Freud e da psicologia social, a luz da definicao de conto de Ricardo Piglia, proposta em suas “Teses sobre o conto”. A partir da constatacao de que Wallace retrata o mundo interno da personagem protagonista, levantamos a hipotese de que essas teorias da psicanalise sao definidoras nao so do funcionamento da mente dessa personagem, mas da propria estrutura da narrativa. Atraves de uma serie de exemplos, demonstramos como algumas nocoes freudianas – o conceito de “repressao”, a presenca do “inconsciente” e estudos sobre o investimento libidinal, para citar alguns – estao fortemente presentes na trama da narrativa. Dessa forma, torna-se possivel oferecer uma contribuicao aos estudos que relacionam literatura e psicanalise, evidenciando as contribuicoes que essa influencia mutua pode exercer sobre a cultura. Psychoanalysis in the work of David Foster Wallace: an analysis of the short story “Adult World” The aim of this article is to establish a relation between the short story “Adult World”, by David Foster Wallace, and some Freudian psychoanalytic concepts, as well as social psychology, in light of the definition of short story by Ricardo Piglia, as proposed in his “Theses on the Short Story”. Bearing in mind that this is a narrative which portraits the protagonist’s internal world, it becomes possible to defend the hypothesis that such psychoanalytic theories define not only the way the character’s mind works, but also the narrative itself. Through a series of examples, we demonstrate that some Freudian notions – the concept of “repression”, the presence of the “unconscious”, and studies regarding libidinal investment, to name a few – are present in the narrative. Therefore, it is possible to offer a contribution to the studies that seek to establish the relations between literature and psychoanalysis, as well as to demonstrate that such mutual influence could contribute to the cultural field. Keywords: David Foster Wallace. Literature. Short story. Psychoanalysis DOI: 10.28998/2317-9945.2019n63p292-305