[From the preoedipal to the oedipal: Kafka as an example of the problems of transition from dyadic to triangular relationships]

Abstract

In early childhood, the mother is the primary object of the child's dyadic relationship, and mother and child form a unity together. In the oedipal period, however, the father enters this dyadic unity, and it is with his entry that the dyad becomes triangular and begins to incorporate features of a triangular relationship. In some cases the father may even replace the mother, thereby reducing the mother's relevance. Kafka is an interesting example of this unusual case. In addition, a close look at Kafka's psychopathology facilitates a better understanding of the interdependency of preoedipal, oedipal and adolescent stages. A psychoanalytic approach to Kafka reveals severe disturbances of these major developmental steps, which, on their part, impede the development of Kafka's individual identity. It is against this background that Kafka's author identity will be analysed in greater detail, by regarding representations of separatedness, continuity, and originality in his literary work to be expressions of his author identity. One further assumption of this paper is that Kafka's ideal self and superego are not separate from each other. His feelings of guilt, shame and fear demonstrate that these instances are very much intertwined and not distinct from each other. The reader's emotional agony while reading some of Kafka's work signalizes that Kafka's ideal self and superego form a unity together. Psychoanalysts, however, commonly accept that, in normal development, ideal self and superego should become separate entities, and continue their activities separately. It seems as though Kafka's ideal self and superego have not gained sovereignty yet, and likewise, it is difficult to separate the son's superego or ideal self from his father's.