I mentioned Freud's concept of the Work of Mourning to explain Hamlet's procrastination of revenge in the following article:
Applying the theory of the Oedipus complex to Hamlet - Mutsuko Takahashi BLOG
The Freudian concept of the Work of Mourning is also mentioned in the article:
The Loss of Identity: Hemingway - Mutsuko Takahashi BLOG
In this article, I would like to explain in more detail the Work of Mourning.
- What is the Work of Mourning?
- Normal mourning and Pathological mourning (melancholia)
- The failure of mourning
- The Work of Mourning and its Application to literary works
What is the Work of Mourning?
Freud argues the Work of Mourning in his essay entitled, "Mourning and Melancholia". The Work of Mourning is the psychological process of patient's responses to loss.
Freud explains that either mourning or melancholia is motivated by not only the loss of a loved person, but also the loss of some abstraction, such as country, liberty, an ideal, etc. Freud states the importance of taking enough time for the process of mourning; otherwise, mourning can progress to the pathological state of grief which is called melancholia.
Normal mourning and Pathological mourning (melancholia)
Freud distinguishes mourning from melancholia: while mourning is the normal attitude by the loss, melancholia is the pathological state developed from mourning due to the failure of the work of mourning. The causes for normal grief develops to the pathological state is as follows:
- The mourner doesn't take enough time for the process of mourning.
- The mourner replaces the lost object with another object.
Let me explain the first case. The mourning will gradually be healing by experiencing a sufficient process of grief due to the loss of the loved one. On the other hand, however, if you try to forget about the grief without facing it, you would not basically get rid of the grief. It is because you would just gain temporary relief. Therefore, it is important for taking enough time for the process of mourning.
Now, to the explanation for the second case, I would emphasize that the "loss" is not always caused by death. Of course, death will bring the ultimate grief, but the target of the mourning could be derived from the breakup of a romantic relationship. Remember, as I mentioned at the beginning, either mourning or melancholia is motivated by not only the loss of a loved one, but also the loss of some abstraction, such as country, liberty, an ideal, etc.
For example, suppose that you broke up with your boyfriend, John, the subject of mourning you should overcome is John. However, given that you switched to a new boyfriend, Casanova, soon after the breakup without having enough time for the process of mourning, the mourning can progress to the pathological state of grief which is called melancholia. Freud considers that this is the worst way of treating loss. The target may not necessarily be the new boyfriend in this case. If you make up the empty space with something, such as hobbies, it will also be the case. It will be OK as long as you try to face your grief on the other hand of enjoying your hobby. However, deceiving grief by replacing it with another object as a substitute for the lost object is the problem.
The failure of mourning
As is mentioned thus far, the failure of mourning is caused by inadequate mourning and replacement of the object. Freud emphasizes that the worst way of treating loss is that the subject transfers his/her love for the lost object to another object. The transference of the object causes the subject's insatiable desire that can never be fulfilled. According to Freud, the mourner with insufficient mourning knows "whom he[she] has lost but not what he[she] has lost in him[her]". It causes the patient's lowering of self-regard, and thus the awareness of oneself and others is destroyed. Freud's theory explains that, in mourning, the mourner feels that the outside world becomes poor and empty, but the ego itself becomes poor and empty in the case of melancholia.
The Work of Mourning and its Application to literary works
I would discuss the detail of the application of the Work of Mourning to literary works in my future article. At this point, I would raise some examples. As is mentioned in another article of Hamlet's failure of mourning, Hamlet is obviously the patient whose grief developed into the pathological state.
As for other examples I can raise will be Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. Catherine is an example of melancholia, and Frederik can also be a mourner due to social loss.
I think that the colonial subjects as victims of colonialism might also be discussed in terms of the concept of the work of mourning.
Most of the pathological cases in literary works develop into symptoms like schizophrenia as a result of the failure of mourning.
