Living Through the Boarders of the Illusory Real: The Psychological Interpretation of Joyce’s A Painful Case in the Context of Lacan’s Theories

Abstract

The Lacanian reading of A Painful Case provides a foundation for James Joyce’s characterization. It explains clearly some details within the story which reveal the fact that the reason behind Mr. Duffy’s engagement in an ideal fantasy world is his obsession with “ideal ego”. This easy aims at reading A Painful Case – a short story from Dubliners – through employing terminology from Lacanian psychoanalysis. It will show how the protagonist’s interactions, reactions and in general life style is affected by the intricate tensions between his experience of the imaginary order, the symbolic order and the Real.

Key words: James Joyce; A Painful Case; Psychoanalysis; Lacan