Agee and Shame: A Psychoanalytical Reading of the Autobiographical Fiction

Abstract

This thesis explores the autobiographical fiction of James Agee from the perspective ofKohut's self psychology and shame studies. Chapter One provides an outline of these psychological theories and draws connections between Kohut's narcissistic personality disorder and shame, makes reference to other scholars such as Joseph Adamson, J. Brooks Bouson and Barbara Ann Schapiro who have employed these theories with such effectiveness to other authors, and discusses Agee within these contexts. Chapter Two focuses on A Death in the Family and examines how Agee's autobiographical persona suffers from a narcissistic injury and excessive shame that precedes his father's death, and explores how other family members suffer from similar disturbances. Chapter Three examines Agee's first novel, The Morning Watch, and - discusses the shame dynamics that underlie Agee's ambiguous presentation ofreligion. Chapter Four explores Agee's short autobiographical fiction from the 1940's and discusses how Agee' s response to the modem world plays an integral role in his examination of the self and interpersonal conflicts.