THE AVATAR IN PANAMA - Theses - Flinders University

1.1 Double, Double, Toil and Trouble The Avatar in Panamapatient to re-experience a portion of their forgotten life so they canrecognise that what seems to be real is only a reflection of a forgottenpast. As the individual is not aware of everything that has beenrepressed, the repressed material is repeated instead of beingremembered as belonging to the past. 40 Paradoxically, the repetition ofideas, gestures, situations and dreams which may be unpleasant isbrought about by compulsive repressed desires over which there is nocontrol. The innate dualism upon which the compulsion to repeat isfounded, that it can be both painful and pleasurable simultaneously,contributes to the contradictory stances and conduct assumed byliterary characters especially in their often obsessional behaviourpatterns.As its name suggests, repetition-compulsion is a type ofneurosis often accompanying obsessive behaviour and taking the formof repeated ruminations and repetitive actions. These appear to be themost commonly depicted personality traits of characters who, in manyshort stories, are not only at odds consciously or unconsciously with adouble but may also feel tortured and pursued by a relentless unknownentity they cannot accurately discern. Often protagonists of literature ofthe double are swayed by the influence of invisible forces at work,causing them to deviate from their preferred course of action. Thecharacters’ comportment might suddenly reveal marked changes,inconsistent with usual personality traits, yet they may still exhibitcoherent patterns of behaviour. Their affect may seem incongruous,given their surrounding unremarkable circumstances, and charactersmight display dissociative behaviour such as automatism andobsessive-compulsive actions.In Two Minds: Dissociative PersonalityThe idea of a person being possessed by an unidentified powerdates back to superstitious and primitive beliefs about physical andmental illness. 41 The metaphorical ‘split’ or dual personality indicated theexistence of two souls in one person and conditions such as epilepsyand madness were considered materialisations of both a demonicpresence and previously unsuspected involuntary behaviour. TheBrazilian philosophy of Kardecismo teaches the doctrine ofreincarnation and holds that people suffering from multiple personalitydisorder are either possessed by spirits or possessed by their previous40 Freud, “Beyond the Pleasure Principle,” The Standard Edition of the CompletePsychological Works of Sigmund Freud trans. James Strachey. ed. James Strachey incollaboration with Anna Freud and assisted by Alix Strachey and Alan Tyson, vol. 18(London: Hogarth, 1953 – 1974) 18-19.41“In naïve cultural settings the dissociative phenomena may give rise to a belief thatthe victim has been possessed by an alien spirit.” Kaplan, Freedman and Sadock1007.25