Dreams of Perfection

The life of Emily Brontë, as well as her siblings', was very affected by the loss of her mother and although the presence of Aunt Branwell was very significant, she never really took on the role of a mother in the conventional sense. Emily's biography and her later literary achievements are used as material in the recently published book (September, 30):

"Memories of Loss and Dreams of Perfection: Unsuccessful Childhood Grieving and Adult Creativity" written by Dr. Delmont Morrison and Shirley Linden Morrison. Published by Baywood Publishing in its Imagery and Human Development Series.

Memories of Loss and Dreams of Perfection is a study of the development of imagination in childhood, the effects on that development of the early loss of a psychologically important member of the family, and unsuccessful grieving. For the child, unsuccessful grieving is the result of anxiety and unresolved conflict related to the deceased, who is known not through ongoing experience but through compensatory memory. Unacceptable thoughts about the deceased person generate internal anxiety; repression occurs, and the unconscious develops. The child's major defense is identification with the idealized lost sibling or parent. Disruptions occur in the development of representational, reflective, and autonomous thought. In this book, the authors illustrate the clinical issues related to unsuccessful grieving in childhood with a presentation of the play therapy of two children. Because of issues related to development, unsuccessful grieving in childhood is different from that in adulthood. The enduring effects of such conflicts established during childhood are seen in the adult whose preoccupations with death and loss result in chronic feelings of low self-esteem, depression, and incompleteness. This results in repeated attempts to enter into romanticized relationships with idealized individuals who temporarily mitigate the feeling of low self-esteem and the memories of loss. For the creative individual, these relationships produce stories that attempt to master death with conclusions that are more supportive of their wished-for relationships and sense of self. The authors use the lives and writings of Emily Brontë, J. M. Barrie, Isak Dinesen, and Jack Kerouac to illustrate the relationship between unsuccessful grieving in childhood and imagination and creativity.

The chapter devoted to Emily is the sixth: "Chapter 6: Emily Brontë and Her Visitant: Lost Love and Creativity".

You can read the introduction of the book (Experience and imagination) here.

Categories: Books, Scholar, Emily_Brontë