Open AccessRe-politicizing Mental Illness: Reflections on Boredom and Depression in American Post-postmodern Fiction
Author(s) -
Hossein Pirnajmuddin,
Kaveh Khodambashi,
Pyeaam Abbasi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ilha do desterro
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2175-8026
pISSN - 0101-4846
DOI - 10.5007/2175-8026.2021.e74087
Subject(s) - boredom , postmodernism , depression (economics) , mental illness , psychoanalysis , psychology , sociology , aesthetics , social psychology , literature , psychotherapist , art , mental health , macroeconomics , economics
Figurations of psychological problems, mental illness, boredom, depression, addiction and medication abound in post-postmodern fiction. David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest and The Pale King and Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections are cases in point. Apparently, what these works share in common are the material and psycho-biological explanations that they hint at or provide for the various mental problems and disorders experienced by the characters. These pertain to the specific socio-economic and cultural mode characterizing the contemporary scene. Drawing on the insights provided by Franco Berardi the present article tries to shed light on the significance of such figurations. Keywords: Davis Foster Wallace; Jonathan Franzen; Franco Berardi; boredom; depression.