The Erotic Motive in Literature

"The Erotic Motive in Literature" by Albert Mordell is an early 20th-century literary work that uses psychoanalysis to explore erotic motives hidden within literature, suggesting these stem from the author’s unconscious. It looks at how an author's life impacts their work by digging out emotions and memories across different types of writing. The book starts by explaining the goal of using psychoanalysis to look at literature, pushing for a deeper search of texts to find aspects of the author's mind, saying that literature reflects the author, and shows hidden feelings and traumas that mold their stories. The author compares dreams to literary works, pointing out that they both can uncover unconscious desires and conflicts that influence human behavior and creativity, setting the stage for further investigations into the erotic currents in literary masterpieces.