Justyna Rusak, PhD (University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland): "Poe and Psychoanalysis: A Psychoanalytical Interpretation of Recurrent Motifs in the Literature of Edgar Allan Poe"

Thursday, June 20, 2024, 2:15-3:45 p.m., U5/00.24

Although for almost two centuries Edgar Allan Poe has attracted the attention of literary critics and scholars, interpretative possibilities with regard to his works still seem inexhaustible. As the relationship between Poe and psychoanalysis particularly intrigues with the mysterious, the hidden, and the repressed, one feels tempted to uncover yet another dimension within the vast scope of existing criticism. In her talk, Justyna Rusak applied Freudian and Jungian theories to the analysis of such recurrent literary motifs as love, death, and a beautiful woman, which offered a glimpse into the mind of the writer himself and by means of biographical criticism allowed her to recreate the psychological portrait of the artist.

Justyna Rusak, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of English at University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. Her academic interests include American and British literature, existentialism, psychoanalysis, and the intersection of art and literature.