Irene Redfield AO5 Flashcards
(4 cards)
Sigmund Freud
**(1917) concept of the “narcissism of small differences,”
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From the Lacanian perspective, the “narcissism of small differences” operates within the realm of the Imaginary, where envy and rivalry thrive
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Link to Film production, when camerawork obfuscated Irene’s vision of Clare & Brian as much closer than they actually were**
Relation to Passing
-Internal Conflict and Jealousy
-Racial Identity and Moral Ambiguity
The “narcissism of small differences” is a concept originally introduced by Sigmund Freud in 1917 (in his essay “Taboo of Virginity” and later more fully in “Civilization and Its Discontents”). It describes the phenomenon where communities or groups that are largely similar to each other tend to engage in disproportionate levels of animosity and ridicule over their minor distinctions. Think of rivalries between neighboring towns, different academic departments, or even slight variations within a political movement.
Your statement then connects this to a Lacanian perspective:
Lacanian Perspective: Jacques Lacan, a prominent psychoanalyst who reinterpreted Freud’s work through a structuralist lens, has his own framework for understanding the psyche. Key to this is his tripartite division of the psyche into the Real, the Symbolic, and the Imaginary.
The Imaginary: This is the realm of images, identifications, and ego formation. It’s characterized by dual relationships, mirroring, and a fundamental misrecognition (méconnaissance) of the self through the other. In the Imaginary, the self and the other are constantly engaged in a struggle for recognition and dominance, often fueled by identification and alienation.
Where Envy and Rivalry Thrive: This is precisely why the “narcissism of small differences” is placed in the Imaginary from a Lacanian view.
Envy: In the Imaginary, individuals often identify with an idealized image of another, leading to envy of what the other possesses or appears to be.
Rivalry: Because the Imaginary operates through dual, often combative, relationships (e.g., the ego versus the other ego), any perceived similarity that threatens one’s unique identity can escalate into intense rivalry. If two groups are very similar, their small differences become crucial markers of distinction, creating a heightened sense of rivalry and a need to assert superiority over the slightly different “other” in order to solidify one’s own sense of self within that mirroring relationship.
In essence, the Imaginary realm, with its focus on fragmented images, identifications, and the constant struggle for ego recognition, provides the perfect psychological ground for the “narcissism of small differences” to flourish, turning minor distinctions into major battlegrounds due to underlying envy and rivalry.
Alice Dunbar-Nelson : (Contemporaneous)
(1929)
“Irene, the ordinary woman, afraid of life, wrapped in home, child, husband, gone Berserker when these latter are threatened.”
Claudia Tate: Nella Larsen’s Passing: A Problem of Interpretation
1980
“The real impetus for the story is Irene’s emotional turbulence, which is entirely responsible for the course that the story takes and ultimately accountable for the narrative ambiguity.”
“In fact, Larsen seems to have deliberately avoided narrative clarity by weaving ambiguity into Irene’s every thought and expression.”
Richard Bernstein, “Books of the Times; Anguish Behind the Harlem Renaissance” (More Modern)
2001
“**Irene’s strength is in her security in identity **and Clare’s in her defiance and recklessness, both of which are a source of some anguish to the other.”
Link to Narcissism of Small Differences
