The Purloined Poe: Lacan, Derrida, and Psychoanalytic Reading » (1st Edition)

In 1956 Jacques Lacan proposed an interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe's "Purloined Letter" that at once challenged literary theorists and revealed a radical new concept of psychoanalysis. Lacan's far reaching claims about language and truth provoked a vigorous critique by Jacques Derrida, whose essay in turn spawned further responses from other writers. "The Purloined Poe" brings Poe's story together with these readings to provide a structured exercise in the elaboration of text interpretation.

Library Journal

Lacan's reading of Poe's ``The Purloined Letter'' has become both notorious and seminal. It is one of the rare texts where Lacan demonstrates his theoretical position in terms of a literary work, a feature that highlights some of the more egregious assumptions of his approach. Jacques Derrida's critique set the stage for a debate that has drawn out some of the leading critics allied to psychoanalytic and deconstructionist thought. This anthology provides Poe's tale, Lacan's and Derrida's texts, and a generous sampling of essays spawned by the debate. A fascinating volume for both the fledgling and the besotted amateurs of contemporary criticism. Alexander Gelley, Univ. of California, Irvine