Zlotnick-Woldenberg C
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA.
Am J Psychother. 1999 Summer;53(3):403-12. doi: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1999.53.3.403.
This paper argues that Poe's short story "Ligeia," in which the narrator experiences the death of his adored first wife (Ligeia), a second marriage to the despised Rowena, and ultimately the death of Rowena and the revivification of Ligeia, is not a supernatural tale, but rather a psychological one. According to this reading, the poisoning of Rowena and the revivification of Ligeia are hallucinated by the narrator in the course of an opium-induced psychotic break. The antecedents to this break are explored in light of object relations theory, with particular emphasis placed on the way in which the two women function as part objects. Ligeia represents the narrator's romantic and spiritual side and is associated with the good mother, while Rowena, who represents his more mundane and materialistic side, is associated with the rejecting mother. It is argued that the narrator, functioning primarily in the schizoid position and employing such defense mechanisms as splitting and projection--which already require a high degree of fantasy--is not an unlikely candidate for such a break.
本文认为，坡的短篇小说《丽姬娅》并非一个超自然故事，而是一个心理故事。在该故事中，叙述者经历了他深爱的第一任妻子（丽姬娅）的死亡、与遭人鄙夷的罗伊娜的第二次婚姻，以及最终罗伊娜的死亡和丽姬娅的复活。根据这种解读，罗伊娜被毒死以及丽姬娅复活是叙述者在鸦片引发的精神错乱过程中产生的幻觉。结合客体关系理论对这种精神错乱的前因进行了探究，特别强调了两位女性作为部分客体所起作用的方式。丽姬娅代表叙述者浪漫和精神的一面，与好母亲相关联；而罗伊娜代表他更世俗和物质的一面，与拒绝型母亲相关联。有人认为，叙述者主要处于精神分裂状态，并运用诸如分裂和投射等防御机制——这些机制本身就需要高度的幻想——因此他很有可能出现这种精神错乱。
