Thesis (M.A.)--Lehigh University, 2009. / Adviser: Kate Crassons.

Part of Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1936.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1981. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 292-303).

Thèse--Lyons. / Bibliography: p. [823]-830.

Thesis (diploma in librarianship)--University of the Witwatersrand.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Florida, 2003. / Title from title page of source document. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 1999. Graduate Programme in English. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 357-372). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ56226.

The central conviction of this dissertation is that the tenets of the psychiatric medical category, pathological narcissism, explain, in a way other psychological interpretations have not adequately addressed, why the main characters in several important English Renaissance tragic dramas become enmeshed in difficulty and come to ruin. Evidence in the plays themselves invites the use of this particular interpretive category. William Shakespeare's Coriolanus in Coriolanus, Vindice in Cyril Tourneur's The Revenger's Tragedy, Edward in Christopher Marlowe's Edward II, and John Frankford in Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed with Kindness are representative of tragic characters who suffer from a lack of a psychologically integrated self--the least common denominator of narcissistic disturbance. Pathological narcissism is not a hedonistic orientation toward self-gratification, nor is it self-love, but rather, it refers to an impoverished state of being that is self-misconstrued in a special way. Lacking a stable self-configuration--a mental state that is experienced painfully and fearfully, narcissists engage in patterns of defensive, compensatory behaviors which include grandiose acting out, masochistic and sadistic functioning, aggressive and vengeful conduct, mental splitting, and inappropriate psychological mirroring. The terrible irony of these defensive strategies is that, because they are so offensive and alienating to others, they isolate the narcissist from relational contact and impel him back toward the sense of self-incohesion that he seeks to avoid. In each chapter, I examine how pathological narcissism manifests itself in the four tragic protagonists under consideration. Coriolanus's exaggerated focus on himself renders him a completely unsuitable candidate for the office of consul. Vindice revives himself from mental paralysis through narcissistic defensive activities which cause him self-destructively to collapse back onto himself. Edward II possesses a self that is so narrowly conceived that it cannot survive the rigors of monarchical office. John Frankford lives in the narcissistic psychological prison of perfectionism that will be his undoing. Also in each chapter, I suggest how Ovid's treatment of Narcissus in the Metamorphoses, for whom the psychological condition of pathological narcissism is named, provides a gloss on the disastrous course each protagonist's life takes.

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<p> There are places within nature which are imbued with magic and beauty. This dissertation explores the numinous or sacred within nature which creates such a hold upon the imagination. The images of enchantment from fairy-faith open the realms of nature as a threshold experience, explored through the research of W.Y. Evans-Wentz and Katherine Briggs. The concept of the invisibles in nature as "Other" is investigated through the ideas of Mary Watkins. </p><p> When one steps into these enchanted spaces, one may want to spontaneously sing, dance, or remember a story. Such an enchanted experience signals that the invisibles or fairy-folk may be present. The Irish poet W. B. Yeats wrote that " . . . the beautiful [fairies] are not far away when we are walking in pleasant and quiet places [. . .] I will explore every little nook of some poor coppice with almost anxious footsteps, so deep a hold has this imagination upon me" (<i>Mythologies</i> 64). </p><p> A relationship between the human and natural orders of being encourages the imagination of both worlds. As Gaston Bachelard argues, "The imagination gives more than things and actions, it invents new life, new spirit; it opens eyes to new types of vision" (<i>On Poetic Imagination and Reverie</i> 16). The poetic imagination provides a way to enter the mythical spheres of nature. The imagining psyche, as seen through the lens of alchemy, mysticism, and physics, is explored through the work of W. B. Yeats, Mary Oliver, and William Shakespeare. In their works, the poetic imagination creates stories that give visionary form to the invisibles of nature. This study also investigates the figures of Arthurian legend, Merlin and Vivien, in their fairy aspect. Their story of disappearance into the primeval forest provides metaphors for the workings of numinosity within nature, such as the "return to the forest," and the "sacred marriage," explored through the thought of Heinrich Zimmer, Mircea Eliade, C. G. Jung, and Marie Louise von Franz. </p><p> Finally, an accompanying creative component includes a journal of active/guided/shamanic imagination, a journal focusing on travel to Ireland, and a collection of poems, which, taken together, contribute to the exploration of the numinous qualities of nature.</p>