The Chamber of Maiden Thought: Literary Origins of the Psychoanalytic Model of the Mind

Literature is recognized as having significantly influenced the development of modern psychoanalytic thought. In recent years, psychoanalysis has drawn increasingly on the literary and artistic traditions of Western culture, and moved away from its original medical-scientific context. "The Chamber of Maiden Thought" explores the seminal role of literature in forming the modern psychoanalytic model of the mind. The authors argue that psychoanalysis is a true child of literature rather than merely the interpretor or explainer of literature, illustrating this with examples from clinical experience and by close scrutiny of the dynamic mental processes presented in the work of Shakespeare, Milton and others.