| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 英語學系 === 94 === Abstract
The study explores the narcissistic destruction which is caused by challenging the Name-of-the-Father. In Renaissance, the concept of the king’s divine right indicates that the king is unable to be challenged. Under the patriarchal monarchy, the king’s body politic is indestructible. Usurpers, who own the narcissistic characteristics, over-estimate their ability to overthrow the legitimacy and lead to self-destruction. The plays I discuss in details are Shakespeare’s Richard III and Macbeth. I would like to focus on who the narcissists are, how they usurp and what retributions they suffer from challenging the Name-of-the-Father.
This thesis begins with an introduction to Lacan’s theory of the narcissism and the Name-of-the-Father to set up the theoretical framework for the discussion. Next, a survey of the theme of usurpation in Richard III and Macbeth is given to supply a condensed overview of the critical effort in usurpation.
Chapter One discusses the concepts of narcissism and the Name-of-the-Father from Freudian perspective to Lacanian viewpoint. Freud considers narcissism and the concept of the Father in a biological perspective. By extension, Lacan applies these two concepts in his mirror stage and sustains that the Name-of-the-Father functions as a paternal metaphor.
The second chapter defines Richard III and the Macbeths as narcissists in Richard III and Macbeth. Because the narcissists infatuate with the illusory images, they misrecognize their power and challenge their Kings.
Chapter Three depicts the retributions of the narcissists. Lacan argues that extreme self-love causes the narcissists to be excluded from the symbolic order. The exclusion then triggers narcissists’ psychological problems.
Finally, the last chapter concludes the thesis in two points: first, Richard III’s and the Macbeths’ extreme self-loves cause their self-destruction; second, in Richard III and Macbeth, the Name-of-the-Father can be overthrown, but it also can be reconstructed.
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