"When I first encountered Walter Manstein, a distinguished-looking man in his late forties, he had just strangled his wife to death with the leash of her pet dog. He came into my orbit because he had been admitted to the prison mental hospital, of which I was the medical director, for a pre-trial psychiatric evaluation. As bizarre as his crime was, it was no more gruesome than the murders that had been committed by many of the other inmates and mental patients I had seen. But Walter was a prominent and respected member of society, a successful publisher in one of the largest cities in the state, the father of a daughter and the husband of a woman to whom he had been married for twenty years, and with whom, as he made clear, he had wanted to remain married - until the night of the murder. When I first met him, I found it almost impossible to understand why in God's name a person whose prior behavior gave every evidence of strong moral character and psychological stability, and who had so many advantages that it would seem he had everything to lose, would end his wife's life, ruin their daughter's life, and effectively end his own life as well?"--
Arvustused
'Whoever would have thought that William Shakespeare could help us prevent murder in the twenty-first century? In this extraordinary book, James Gilligan and David Richards shepherd their readers through a riveting and brilliantly written journey, explaining how the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon can offer unique insights into the origins of violence. I simply could not put this down!' Estela V. Welldon, Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Honorary Member, American Psychoanalytic Association, UK 'Were I able to persuade my political colleagues to imbibe the wisdom of one book, this is it. What Girard did with the novel, Gilligan and Richards do for Shakespeare, making him accessible and essential for understanding and responding to personal and political violence. It is both brilliant and transformational.' Lord John Alderdice, House of Lords, Westminster, UK 'James Gilligan and David Richards, an eminent psychiatrist and a distinguished legal scholar with vast experience dealing with violent men, brilliantly help us explore how Shakespeare's plays are among the most insightful sources for understanding human nature and human psychology. In the course of their work, they met men who were virtual reincarnations of Macbeth, Othello, Richard III, Timon and others, who felt so overwhelmingly shamed and humiliated that they did not know how to bring their emotional pain to an end except by destroying the world around them. Shame and its opposite, pride and honor, are the central themes Shakespeare uses to describe the motivations for violence. Gilligan and Richards show how Shakespeare enables us to understand not only what causes violence, but also how we can prevent it.' Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, founder of the Trauma Research Foundation, and Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University 'The depth of Jim Gilligan's knowledge of the murderous mind and his understanding of shame as a motivating force are matched only by Shakespeare's poetic insights about what drives Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and others. Psychoanalysis and great creative writing join in Holding a Mirror up to Nature and give unique insights to the problems of violence in our modern age. Gilligan's work together with the rational voice of law scholar David Richards offer to the practitioner of Shakespeare's theater a road map to understand the great tragic heroes. It is an exhilarating mix of scholarship and dramatic knowledge, which can only deepen our appreciation of the power and truth of the plays of William Shakespeare.' Tina Packer, Founding Artistic Director, Shakespeare & Company ' a compelling story about the differences between an ethic based on shame and one based on guilt. Recommended.' B. A. McGowan, Choice ' a compelling story about the differences between an ethic based on shame and one based on guilt. Recommended.' B. A. McGowan, Choice
Muu info
Shakespeare reveals the causes and consequences of violence more profoundly than any social or behavioural scientist has ever done.
Introduction: can we learn from Shakespeare about the causes and
prevention of violence?;
1. Shame and guilt in personality and culture;
2.
The cycle of violence in history plays;
3. Fathers and mothers: the
perversion of love in King Lear and Coriolanus;
4. Make war, not love:
Anthony and Cleopatra;
5. The motives and malignity: shame and masculinity in
Othello and Macbeth;
6. Moral nihilism and the paralysis of action: Hamlet
and Troilus and Cressida;
7. Apocalyptic vioence: Timon of Athens;
8.
Transcending morality, preventing violence: Measure for Measure, The Tempest,
The Winter's Tale, and The Merchant of Venice;
9. The form and pressure of
Shakespeare's time and ours: what Shakespeare shows us about shame, guilt,
love and violence; Acknowledgments.
James Gilligan, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, NYU, wrote Violence (1996), Preventing Violence (2001), Why Some Politicians Are More Dangerous Than Others (2011), a Times Literary Supplement 'Book of the Year', and co-authored The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump (2016), a New York Times best-seller. His advice has been sought by President Clinton, Tony Blair, Kofi Annan, the World Health Organization, and the World Court. David A.J. Richards is Professor of Law at New York University. He is the author of over 20 books including: Free Speech and the Politics of Identity (1999), Disarming Manhood: Roots of Ethical Resistance (2005), The Deepening Darkness: Patriarchy, Resistance, and Democracy's Future (Cambridge University Press, 2009, with Carol Gilligan), Why Love Leads to Justice: Love Across the Boundaries (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
