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

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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 127
IRJC International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research Vol.1 Issue 11, November 2012, ISSN 2277 3630 violence. We have already found in real life how a person undergoes a cathartic revelation through the feelings of crying, fear, laughter but we very interestingly find in this story how a person takes violence as a means of cathartic revelation. The story tells us of a gentleman who suffers from the pangs of an invisible wound on his hand and finds it impossible to survive with the pain. He visits the doctor once and again with the same problem and get the invisible wound operated but the pain oscillates back within few weeks. Finally, we find him disclose the truth behind such a strange disease which is purely psychological and moral in nature. The plot of the story revolves around a patient whose name is not revealed. We only come to know that he is a man of noble disposition, educated and is wealthy enough to maintain a promising estate. The story starts in a doctor‟s clinic where this gentleman comes in, with his right hand tied in a sling, suffering from tremendous pain in his hand. The doctor who is a perfect gentleman and is endowed with professional ethics, refuses to operate his wound despite the former‟s request as he fails to detect any scar or mark of injury in the patient‟s hand that was causing him unbearable pain. The fact that the patient was experiencing unbearable pain for an invisible wound makes the readers curious. He explains: “I haven‟t been able to sleep for a week. There is some trouble with my right hand. I cannot make out what it is. It may be cancer or some other terrible disease. At first it did not bother me much, but lately it began to burn. I have not had a moment‟s relief. It pains me terribly. The pain increases hourly becoming more and more agonizing and unbearable. I have come to town to consult you. If I have to bear it another hour, I shall go mad. I want you to burn it out or cut it out. or do something with it” (1). It is interesting that the patient wants not just a cure for his wound but a considerable amount of blood loss from his hand; this he demands would bring him relief. His desperateness to create violence on his healthy hand is indeed a psychological repercussion of some hidden feelings that he tries to give vent to through such a violent action. Here fear and pain are elements that the protagonist of the story expects, which can provide him with the cathartic relief. Despite several consultations with the doctor, the protagonist turns a deaf ear and insists on for an operation. The doctor finding him desperate operates his mysterious wound cutting out a chunk of flesh and a good amount of blood from his body. “The stranger took the operation stoically and was helpful with his directions. His hand never even trembled and when the round spot had been carved out he sighed a sign of happy relief, as if a load had been taken of his shoulders” (5) It is important to analyse the reaction of the patient after the operation as we see him relieved not of pain only but of a load. This is where the psychological interventions are necessary to understand the psyche of the patient. ““You don‟t feel any pain now?” asked the surgeon. 128
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