FREUD AND LITERATURE
Lionel Trilling
S. Sreekumar
Trilling
was an American literary critic and teacher who brought psychological,
sociological, and philosophical methods and insights into criticism. His
critical writings include studies of Matthew
Arnold (1939) and E.M. Forster
(1943), as well as collections of literary essays: The Liberal Imagination (1950), Beyond
Culture: Essays on Literature and Learning (1965).
Trilling
maintained an interest in Freud and psychoanalysis throughout his career.
However he never based his criticism on any one system of thought. His attitude
to criticism was similar to that of Matthew Arnold: (the) “disinterested endeavor
to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world.” Therefore,
Trilling brought a wide range of ideas and positions to his criticism. He always
remained loyal, like E. M. Forster, to the tradition of humanistic thought. His
goal was to educate and stimulate the enlightened middle classes.
