Cat's Core Collective

Revenge is a topic that comes up often when exploring ancient texts and literature. Almost every Shakespeare drama has an act of revenge written into its plot. The trilogy of Oresteia is filled to the brim with revenge. When reading these stories, we can ask why these characters are so driven to attain revenge. An opinion offered by Dana Tor dives into the psychoanalytic viewpoint of desire in her article, “The Oresteia and the Act of Revenge: of Desire and Jouissance.” This article looks at several texts, including the Oresteia, Hamlet, and Oepidus Rex. Through the analysis of the plays, Tor is able to derive a variety of psychoanalytic connections from the teachings of both Freud and Lacan. She does this by first detailing the works and findings of Freud and Lecan. The article begins with a focus on how both of these psychological scholars approached the idea of femininity and moves further into the concepts of jealousy and how that is simply part of a woman’s nature. This psychological introduction is a good start while also semi-problematic at the same time. Freud is the father of psychoanalysis and therefore, his teachings are essential information that needs to be known by the audience. However, there has been recent debate over the accuracy and legitimacy of his work. However, the topics reviewed in the article are different from the ones being primarily questioned. Take a look at what psychology today says is the basis of revenge.

This video provides an excellent and accurate description of the biological basis of revenge. This kind of explanation going hand in hand with the intense psychoanalysis of both Freud and Lecan. It would have been a great point for Tor to include some more expansive views on revenge from other areas of psychology. She could have even offered differing opinions. Psychology is a science, we cannot just make assumptions about psychology. We need hard data collected from experiments, not just feelings said in a lecture.

Following this, Tor gives essential background information to ensure the audience knows enough about the plays discussed to understand the psychological application. A deeper dive into revenge and the female ideal of jouissance follows. The argument mainly focuses on the killing of Clytemnestra and how both Orestes and Electra desire to avenge their father’s death by killing his killer. Tor’s main point is that Clytemnestra has given up everything for the sake of seeking jouissance, and she even refers to it hyper specifically as feminine jouissance. This source provides a multitude of analyses and opinions on the psychoanalytical elements of ancient text. As a scholarly source, this source is somewhere in between successful and unsuccessful. The author is obviously very knowledgeable and has the background to evaluate such topics. Dana Tor is a practicing psychoanalyst in Tel Aviv, and is knowledgeable in the field of psychology, law, and english literature. Though she is a knowledgeable author, she fails to establish her knowledge in the source and does not provide connections to her work or things she has observed. This would have allowed for the source to have a larger connection to the present.

The source as a whole seems to have too wide of a topic to be covered in the amount allotted for this source. The lack of subject focus leaves the paper seeming to be skimming over important parts. This is shocking as psychoanalysis is a very in-depth process, not just something that could be covered in a few paragraphs. Though wide-ranging, the text is written in a way that a semi-knowledgeable audience would be able to engage. This makes it far easier for someone without complex psychological knowledge the ability to understand and interpret the source and its arguments. While the text allows for a multiplicative view in the sense that it draws on examples and situational comparisons through several texts that are covered in the source. However, the source does fail to include an outside connection to say history. Without this additional perspective, the argument can seem very one-sided and weak. It comes across as an argument that is only applicable to the text referred to. This limits the source so much, and lessens the quality of the source overall. 

The article does a great job comparing and contrasting the texts from one another. Tor took time to look at the difference between patricide and matricide, when comparing the psychology of the children in both Oedipus and Electra. Her further investigation in the complexes, Oedipus complex and Electra complex, provided great psychological insight into ancient text that is necessary to have a fully informed reader. This information being included clearly shows that the author knew how to successfully draw parallels between text. Altogether this a a very comprehensive source that allows for many questions to be asked, but does not answer all of them as thorough as they may need.

Check out the article:

Tor, Dana, 2022, “The Oresteia and the Act of Revenge: of Desire and Jouissance,” PsyArt 27, pp. 58-73.