Voltaire's tormented soul : a psychobiographic inquiry
"The historic giant of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, has attracted the attention of literary critics, historians, and philosophers for over two centuries. The products of his brilliant mind, collected in over seventy volumes, have been scrutinized in a plethora of literary essays, while his extraordinarily eventful life has become the subject of a score of biographies. But the roots of perplexing inconsistencies - both in behavioral conduct and in some of his writings - run deeper than the ground generally plowed by literary critics or historians. Constructs for understanding the layered mechanisms of personality (and the methods appropriate for their investigation as developed in the social/behavioral sciences) became necessary. Fortunately, ample material for such an inquiry is available: the poet's vast, emotion-laden correspondence; observations of behavioral peculiarities by friends and chroniclers of the time (cross-verifiable, due to multiple sources); the highly expressive imagery of his poetry and prose - the contes in particular; and his Memoirs." "The findings, in essence, reveal a person of dual identity, with unconscious forces playing a prominent role and holding the key to Voltaire's paradoxical character. His conscious, rational, and cognitively astute self - the standard-bearer of the philosophes in their epochal struggle for freedom - was also responsible for sealing off the subconscious portion of the self associated with traumatic experiences. The elaborate characterological structure erected to ward off consciously unacceptable impulses and, simultaneously, to obtain satisfaction of frustrated needs, is the subject of this study. The price he had to pay for the drastic disconnect between the two selves was formidable. In this volume, much attention is devoted to the unconventional ways and phantasmal stratagems adopted for dealing with the internal pressure of repressed impulses and a perpetual quest for affectional support. Some of these maneuvers show tenuous contact with social reality, as do his bizarre psychosomatic symptoms and bold rationalizations in the Memoirs." "Fortunately for the Western world, Voltaire's prodigious mind was put to use in rattling the cage of the intolerant and rigidly backward theocratic/political system. Due to his immense popularity as a playwright, and his agile participation in current events through a flood of pamphlets, leaflets, and occasional pieces, together with the gigantic volume and engaging style of his correspondence, the name Voltaire became synonymous with the Age of Enlightenment. The dual identity did not interfere with his effectiveness as a humanist. In fact, there is reason to believe that the energy invested in fighting l'infame, the oppressive authority of Church and State, was augmented by a dynamic driving force of the hidden self: the never verbalized and consciously never processed bitter resentment of paternal coercion. Principles and methods of depth psychology, as applied in the study, are elucidated and illustrated."--Jacket
Biographies
359 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
9780934223928, 0934223920
122309571
Part I: Innate Disposition and Mental Power
The Dionysian extrovert
Frantically active from cradle to grave
Speculator and entrepreneur
Inexhaustible energy
Intellect and emotions
inseparably intertwined
Cognitive faculties
The emotional factor
"Free-floating ideation"
Genesis of a freethinker
Early environment
School years: Le College Louis-le-Grand
Introduction to adulthood at La Societe du Temple
The English interlude
Part II: Scars of Early Injuries
Chere maman
The wife of the notary
The "bastard" of Rochebrune
"Always ill"
A socially licensed outlet: the stage
The art of circumventing subconscious defenses
Inflated self-esteem
Vanitatum vanitas
"Marginal man"
Egocentric impulse in conflict with ideology
Affair incomplete: impaired masculine self-image
First puppy love, then gallantry
Discomfort with "passionate" love
Preference for "simple friendship"
Missing: proper role models
Part III: Motivational Forces
A conflict never resolved: father and son
The tug of war
Guerrilla skirmishes by the pen
The supernatural father
The archetypal father
Le Petit Volontaire ("Master Willful")
young and old
Manipulator par excellence
Choice of a pseudonym
The Calas case
Miscarriage of justice
Voltaire in action. Part IV: Relationships of Adulthood: Their Dynamics
"Divine Emilie"
Idyll in the life of a restless soul
A defaulted friendship
The poet and the king: alike, yet so different
A paradise shattered
Doctor Akakia
Core-conflict highlighted by the Maupertuis affair
An enduring bond
Curious attachments
Friend or parasite?
The magic of vicarious need-fulfillment
The niece: incest and avarice
Part V: Moral Censor and the Core
Fluidity of conscience
Morality
an inborn property?
Voltaire's code of ethics
The issue of hypocrisy
A truly "happy" man?
The optimism-pessimism dimension
The Narcissistic shield
Unmet affectional needs
When defenses falter
"Sad thoughts" and resilience
A clinical overview: life on the outer edge of consciousness
Vagaries of the aggressive impulse
Regressive features: stunted emotional growth
Paradoxical Voltaire: "monsieur le multiform"
Rescue operations
real and imaginary
Appendix A: the "splendid isolation" of the humanities
Appendix B: psychobiography today
Appendix C: behavioral clues as used in depth psychology