“If only we knew”: Repetition compulsion in Chekhov
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published 07/10/2008
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Summary
Although the examination of Chekhovian repetition can undoubtedly be explored through a method of means, no lens is more appropriate than that of Freud, not only the father of modern psychology but also the originator of the concept “repetition compulsion,” still a major component of clinical psychology to this day. Freud, in his groundbreaking 1920 essay “Beyond the Pleasure Principle,” defines repetition compulsion as a human’s unconscious drive toward self-destruction and his need to satisfy the “death instinct--” the human urge to “return to the inanimate state” (50). While he noted children’s inclination to repeat their actions in order to gain mastery over a situation, and thereby act in accordance with the pleasure principle, in adults Freud noticed the opposite phenomenon. Rather than serve or at least cooperate with the pleasure principle—the human drive to seek pleasure—repetition compulsion in adults often consists of a fixation on, and a repetition of, past negative experiences that the person knows to have caused nothing but unpleasure.
Table of Contents
- Introduction.
- The examination of Chekhovian repetition.
- Freud's argument that there are two primary types of repetition compulsion.
- The titular characters in The Three Sisters.
- The passage that appears at the end of the play.
- Passage as an example of Freud's concept of repetition compulsion.
- The best example of repetition compulsion from The Three Sisters - Chebutykin.
- Misail's belief that 'Nothing passes'.
- The central characters in The Lady with the Little Dog.
- Conclusion - Chekhov's writings and flawed characters possessing severe cases of repetition compulsion.
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