THE THINKER: Ancestor Syndrome

In the preface to her book The Ancestor Syndrome, the psychotherapist Anne Ancelin Schutzenberger cites an entry from Roman Law to explain the theory and practice of transgenerational psychotherapy:  “The dead pass down to the living”(xii). 

The approach is historically rooted in Sigmund Freud’s study of the unconscious and its manifestations.  On “the archaic heritage of human beings” Freud said, “not only dispositions but also subject matter” such as “memory-traces of the experiences of earlier generations” can be transmitted transgenerationally (Schutzenberger ,5).  It is, then, the work of the transgenerational psychotherapist to go beyond what is transmitted consciously in a family from one generation to another and to bring to light what is transmitted unknowingly (Schutzenberger, 3-4).  By discovering and expressing a repressed family secret, for example, the patient can be freed from a neurosis that has been inherited. 

In an article for The New York Times, Dr. Darold A. Treffert explains the phenomenon of genetic memory with the following analogy:  “In the animal kingdom, we accept without question migration patterns that birds are born with which they never learned.  The monarch butterfly makes a trip from Canada to Mexico to a 23-acre spot, and they take three generations to get there” (Carvajel, 3).  Essentially, the author of the article goes on to say, “genes have memory” and the “lives of our grandparents --- what they breathed, saw and ate --- can directly affect us decades later” (Carvajal, 2). 

According to Transgenerational Theory then, present day behaviours can be linked to ancestors in an individual’s family tree.  By discovering those links, the individual uncovers the source of impelled repetitions that continue down the generational chain.  Through understanding an individual’s ancestral past, the theory argues, the individual acquires ownership of both their experience of that past as well as their own present.

"My ancestors were gentry...All I'm hardwired to do is ride horses and the occasional housemaid!"

Carvajal, Doreen. “In Andulalusia, on the Trail of Inherited Memories.” 

            The New York Times, 17 August 2012. Early Ed.: Science. Online.

Schutzenberger, Anne Ancelin.  The Ancestor Syndrome: Transgenerational  

            Psychotherapy and the Hidden Links in the Family Tree. London:

            Routledge, 1998.

THE ANTIQUARIAN: The Last Earl of Barrymore, Henry "Cripplegate" Barry

When John R. Robinson created his chronicle The Last Earls of Barrymore, the author pointed out that his aim was not to glorify the behaviour of the infamous earls but rather to provide an exposé against what he called their “disastrous example of extravagance and folly”(5).   As part of the Prince of Wales’ Carlton House Set, the last Earls of Barrymore epitomized the indulgence of England’s Regency Period (c1811 – 1821); in an aristocratic world of privilege, debauchery and extravagance, they came to be known as some of the most notorious rakes of their age. 

One of the earliest known members of this illustrious family was a nobleman of the early 12^th century named William de Barry who married Hangaret the daughter of Gerald of Windsor by his wife Nesta, the beautiful princess of South Wales.  In 1169, members of the Barry family participated in the invasion of Ireland and became so powerful that they were called “the Great Barrys” or Barry more.  The chief of this family held the titles Lord of Olethan, Viscount of Buttevant and in 1627 advanced to the dignity of Earl of Barrymore.

The family of Richard, 6^th Earl of Barrymore, moved to London after their father’s death in 1773 and as part of the Regency Rakes (so named after the swearing in of George, Prince of Wales, as Regent in 1811) earned the following nicknames:  Richard “Hellgate” Barry, who was notorious for racing teams of horses through London streets and squares, and who, dying at the early age of twenty-four, squandered over 300,000 pounds in six short years; Augustus “Newgate” Barry, so named because Newgate was the only penitentiary he had never been incarcerated in; Lady “Billingsgate” Barry, whose obscene language resembled the kind associated with the Billingsgate Fish Market and Henry “Cripplegate” Barry who, after the death of his more famous elder brother Richard, became the 8^th and last Earl of Barrymore.

Having received the nickname “Cripplegate” due to his clubfoot, Henry Barry began his notorious career as the youthful companion of his elder brother Richard.  As boys, the pair indulged in such pranks as changing signposts, propping coffins containing dummy bodies against doorways then ringing the bell to terrify the maid who answered, and imitating the cries of a woman in distress only to knock the watchman down who had come to her rescue. 

Called in one literary vignette of the time a paragon of debauchery, the earl was also known for his beautiful singing voice and his passion for drama and music.  Described as having the consummate bearing of the aristocrat, he was reputedly a man of great wit and so his company was much sought after; it was said that as the constant companion of the Prince of Wales the two men participated in “many disgraceful orgies.” It was, in fact, the Earl’s unrestrained propensity for humour that led to the many quarrels and duels that became part of his legend---the duels becoming a cause célèbre because, as some records report, the Earl fought them in the nude. 

On one occasion he mocked the General Sir James Alured Clarke, who claimed to be an expert on Native tribes of North America, by creating fictitious tribal names for Clarke to pontificate on at a gathering.  The General fell for the ruse and as the interview continued each tribal name became more fantastical then the last. By the time the Earl asked the veteran soldier to give a description of the Fol-lol-di-riddle-low tribe, both the Earl and the entire gathering had burst into great laughter.  On another famous occasion while dining at Windsor Castle, the Earl challenged a Colonel Cowper to create a better plan than he for assaulting the Castle.  The two men proceeded to draw lines of attack and defence over a tablecloth.  When Cowper’s plan began to outstrip the Earl’s, Henry calmly took up a tumbler of water and then just as calmly threw it into the Colonel’s face, saying, “your plan is full of faults, for you have forgotten the Thames.”

In 1795, contrary to acceptable practice, Earl Henry “Cripplegate” Barry married a commoner, Anne Coghlan, the extremely beautiful daughter of a tavern keeper (Melville, 71).  Twenty-eight years later, the last Earl of Barrymore died of stroke related symptoms on December 18, 1823 in Faubourg Saint-Germain, Paris at the age of fifty-four.  He was penniless.



"What do you mean, you find it too distracting?!"

Melville, Lewis.  The Beaux of the Regency.  London: Hutchinson & Co., 1908.

Robinson, John Robert.  The Last Earls of Barrymore.  London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1894.

EXERCISE: Gestalt & Groupings

Gestalt therapy entered prominence in the 1960s with its most popular proponent Fritz Perls.  As mentioned in an earlier posting, Gestalt therapy focuses on the here and now and its examinations into the patient’s psychological past are viewed, most specifically, with the patient’s reactions in the present.

Another interesting hallmark of this particular school of psychology is its understanding of the way individuals perceive their world.  The origin of the word “Gestalt” is German and is defined by Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary as “a structure, configuration, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable by summation of its parts.”  To put it simply, the human mind categorizes visual stimuli into a functional whole that can be readily perceived by the viewer.   As an example, consider the following exercise:

  

What does (A) depict?

A

 What does (B) depict?

B

The truth of both representations is that each of them simply illustrates dots on a page.  Individuals familiar with the English alphabet, however, view (A) as the letter “M” and this is not because it is truly represented but because their minds have grouped the dots into the recognizable form of a familiar English letter.  The individual’s mind connected the dots automatically, where no actual connection existed (see figure [C]).  

C

  

Contrarily, because the mind could not find a familiar grouping in depiction (B) the individual perceives that depiction as a random congregation of dots or may view it in dissimilar ways, such as a snake or winding road etc. 

In everyday life, the Gestalt of human perception can be encountered everywhere.  With some variation, examples include proximity groupings in phone numbers, paragraphs in essays or the infamous branding of French Connection with their logo “FCUK.”



"I think creating two groups here should be fairly easy."



THE THINKER: Ecclesiastes & the Humility of Humankind

Ecclesiastes has been called one of the strangest books in the Bible.  For many Christians and Jews it is a difficult book to place.  Attributed to King Solomon, the book initially appears pessimistic; its author approaches his understanding of the world from what seems a fatalistic point of view.  He employs reason and logic to trace out a worldview that does not shy away from the kinds of existence questions that agnostics and atheists grapple with aggressively.  In this way, its philosophical nature seems to diverge from the more traditional books that surround it. 

The King James’ version of the book is considered by many as the greatest example of prose ever written in the English language.  Calling it that great book Ernest Hemingway claimed that “he read it aloud to all who would listen” (89).  Throughout the ages, for both its content and lyricism, Ecclesiastes has inspired.

One of its most intriguing passages examines humankind’s place in the universe:

                        I also thought, “As for men, God tests them so that they

                        may see that they are like the animals.  Man’s fate is like

                        that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As

                        one dies, so dies the other.  All have the same breath; a

                        man has no advantage over the animal…All go to the same

                        place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.  Who knows

                        if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal

                        down into the earth?”

                                                                                    (Eccl., 3: 18-22)

                       

This passage follows the Preacher’s continued observations made under the sun, where the writer essentially asks questions that have never ceased to be asked:  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why does God allow it?  The questions themselves, the Preacher admits, can never be definitively answered for the human mind cannot truly fathom God, but he does provide a tantalizing suggestion:  “As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals” (Eccl., 3:18).

"I am sorry, but you'll just have to take your turn behind the slug and the beetle!"

The Holy Bible: New International Version.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.

Hemingway, Ernest.  Ernest Hemingway on Writing.  Ed. Larry W. Phillips. 

       New York: Simon & Shuster,1999.

LITERARY CORNER: Character Names

In my book The Literary Detective, I teach the method behind expert reading.  In brief, I argue that “becoming a good reader is essentially the method involved in becoming a good detective of literature. Just as a detective is trained to find clues at a crime scene, so too can the reader be trained to detect clues left by the author” (Hammond, 23).

The following is an excerpt from the chapter Staples of Interpretation, which outlines common techniques that many diverse writers employ:

Names:

The name an author gives to a character is also an access point into meaning. Caricatures meant to represent types are often given satirical names. This indicates the author’s attitude toward a recognized group of people.

The famous heroine of William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair is called Becky Sharp. Known for her ability to manipulate others, Becky Sharp is highly intelligent and cunning. In a word, she is sharp.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the crude and ugly sounding names of Gatsby’s guests to allude to the unsavoury nature of the people who frequent his parties. As caricatures, they too are meant to suggest types rather than actual individuals. Along with being crude, many of the names evoke racist or sexually explicit slang words.

…Hornbeams…Willie Voltaires, and a whole clan named Blackbuck…and Edgar Beaver…and the Ripley Snells…

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman uses the name of the playwright’s main character (Willy Loman, or “Low man”) to suggest his low social status as well as his low self-worth. As Biff Loman later states, the Lomans are examples of the average American – they are a dime a dozen. The play’s social statement is clear: the average American is viewed and treated in a low, demeaning way. This fact is made more tragic by the realization that average Americans also share this demeaning view of their own social class.

The name of Willy’s youngest son is also full of meaning.  Following the logic behind the oft quoted phrase Ignorance is Bliss, Happy Loman’s happiness in Death of a Salesman is attributed to his unawareness:

He, like his brother [Biff], is lost, but in a different way, for he has never allowed himself to turn his face toward defeat and is thus more confused and hard-skinned, although seemingly more content.

The name Happy, then, is an ironic one. The author means to show that happiness based on lies is a false happiness. Since he has purposely remained unaware of his failures and shortcomings, he does not have to deal with the negative feelings attached to them. As a consequence, Happy Loman will never make an attempt to improve his life situation.

Another character whose name is significant in Miller’s play is Dave Singleman. Dave Singleman, unlike Willy Loman, is a successful salesman. Willy Loman longs to “be remembered and loved and helped” the way Dave Singleman is by his clientele. However, as Singleman’s name suggests, Willy is remembered, loved, and helped in a way that Dave Singleman is not:  by both a wife and family. The argument of Dave Singleman’s marital status is made solely on the character’s last name. It takes time and hard work to become a successful salesman, time away from family and friends. Arthur Miller illustrates that Willy Loman is a success where Dave Singleman is not – in his personal life. It is for the reader to decide which kind of success is better: professional or personal.

Exercise:

1.  Match each lettered descriptive sentence with its corresponding name below:

 _____  Jake Barnes

 _____  Mr. Gradgrind  

 _____  Jack Thriftless        

 _____  Cheeryble Brothers 

 _____  Mrs. Mantrap           

          

A. a woman who ensnares men like prey

B. a man who owes money in every capital in Europe.

C. a cruel schoolmaster

D. always looking on the good side of things

2.  Which of the above names did you not select?  Why?



"Travelling again, Mr. Wanderlust?"



Hammond, Glen Paul.  The Literary Detective: A Guide to the Study of Great Literary

     Works.  Blurb, 2011