dial v for violence: reading karoly kisfaludi's the invisible wound as a ...

IRJC
International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research
Vol.1 Issue 11, November 2012, ISSN 2277 3630
and calm of mind thereby releasing the accumulated heated feelings, tension and unrest paving
the sufferer towards insight and realization.
The role of catharsis in healing, cleansing, rumination and transforming experiences is quite
common in the history of psycho-somatic treatment and has been used in cultural healing
practices, literature, drama, religion, medicine, and psychological treatment. The term
„catharsis,‟ which has been defined by Aristotle as "purging of the spirit of morbid and base
ideas or emotions by witnessing the playing out of such emotions or ideas on stage" 1 is generally
accompanied by the emotions of pity and fear aroused in the minds of the audience. Catharsis is
a feeling of calm disposition of the self after the release of tension and fear in a person suffering
from a prolonged psycho-somasis. Breuer and Freud described catharsis as an involuntary,
instinctive body process, for example crying. 2 Schultz and Schultz followed the psychodynamic
tradition and defined catharsis as "the process of reducing or eliminating a complex by recalling
it to conscious awareness and allowing it to be expressed" 3 The American Psychological
Association also associates catharsis with the psychodynamic theory and defines it as "the
discharge of affects connected to traumatic events that had previously been repressed by bringing
these events back into consciousness and re-experiencing them" 4
Literature, a mirror of the society, is a classic ground to study the phenomenon of catharsis
plying in characters under different abnormal psycho-social circumstances and thus paves a way
to appreciate a patient‟s psyche and the treatment required. Scheff defines catharsis as the release
of any of the four basic emotions through physical reactions to stimulus. The repressed emotions
like grief, anger, fear, and embarrassment find physical manifestations through catharsis with the
outlet of the emotions like crying, laughter, cold chills and frisson respectively. Outcome
measures associated with catharsis include a sense of control over the release of emotion, a
clarity of thought after release, and a generally pleasant sense of well-being during and after
catharsis has taken place. 5
It is interesting that Literature talks about instances in lives of the characters very much as a
representation of the reality. In fact, the psychological reactions in one‟s mind are thoroughly
represented in literature in form of dialogues, actions or soliloquies. The characters portrayed in
a literary piece often find similar projections in human beings in real life and this makes
literature more acceptable and closer to the heart. Through literature cases can be studied in
comparison to reality and thus, it automatically becomes a potent source of study of
psychological derivations. The situations that the characters face are interesting and can serve as
case studies to provide an insight into different psychological estimations as they equally
undergo the release of emotions of pity, embarrassment or fear through the emotions of crying,
laughter, cold chills and frisson, and laughter respectively. 6 The idea of catharsis in medicine is
similar to that of literature. It means 'purging', 'purification', although in a medical sense this
implies a physical release, for example, expectoration of the sputa implies healing of cold. 7 This
paper takes Karoly Kisfaludi‟s short story The Invisible Wound and analyses it as a fit case study
to measure the effect of catharsis in a person thereby leading him to insight and penance.
Karoly Kisfaludi‟s short story, The Invisible Wound is a thriller that keeps one engrossed till its
last sentence. The story is not only interesting for its plot but also for its style of presentation.
The story is important for analysis as it highlights a very crucial aspect of catharsis that is
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