About (the Lack of) a Certain Category in the Psychological Novel of the Interwar Period on the Example of "Zazdrość i medycyna" by Michał Choromański

Abstract

This article discusses Michał Choromański’s novel Zazdrość i medycyna. I focus on the category of reflective thinking, which is fundamental for a genre of psychological novel. First, I discuss the reception of the novel and recall the most important interpretations. Second, I describe a theory of British Psychoanalyst Wilfred Ruprecht Bion and its elements (alpha function and beta function, reverie). In Bion’s theory, these elements are necessary in the process of thinking to reformulate primitive drives into elements of thinking. Third, I use some categories of Bion’s theory to interpret the novel. The analyses show that the protagonists, Wismar and tamten, are not capable of creative thinking – i.e. reflection – in their lives. In short: they don’t think. In effect, subconscious, unprocessed drives cause their madness.