Finding Freedom Between the Lines of Duality
Zola Rowlatt
English Literature and Spanish
5th
5th
Abstract
Scotland’s most famous psychiatrist, R.D. Laing, declared that ‘no more fundamental fear exists than that for ourselves of each other’. It is this fear that makes Gothic literature so tantalising. Ruptured identities, a creeping sense of the familiar, and splintered narratives of smoke and mirrors lock readers of the Gothic in a labyrinth of duality.
Just as Laing made madness accessible by projecting it through the lens of human experience, I will make psychological duality recognisable by breaking it out of the pages of literature and demonstrating that it exists within each of us and therefore is not so scary after all. By situating it within psychoanalytical templates, I propose that duality is a natural, harmless condition of the human psyche. Psychological duality only adopts a more sinister complexion when subject to the external pressure of societal repression.
My research sits at the intersection between literature and psychology as I trace the impact of repression on psychological duality through two case studies of Scottish Gothic literature over a scope of 200 years.
Laing continues, ‘everyone in some measure wears a mask’. I will peel back this mask and reveal the truth about psychological duality. The more we understand each other the less there is to fear.
Bio
Literature is the mirror of society, and so can be used as a tool to improve how we interact with each other. I enjoy taking the study of literature out of the abstract and situating it in practical contexts; an interest sharpened by a dissertation in psychological duality and course on Literature and Medicine. Outside of academia, this skill is exhibited in my role as Editorial Director of the Glasgow University Magazine. I use the solid foundation of communication which I have gained from my degree to manage a team of editors as we work to encourage students to try their hand at journalism.
Full transparency: I have never attended an academic conference, let alone spoken at one. But I thoroughly enjoyed the process of researching and composing my dissertation, and I felt that my findings deserved to be shared. When I saw that LTA[X] were accepting applications, I leapt at the opportunity. It has been a pleasure to spend my final few months at the University of Glasgow sinking my teeth into the rich depths of the Scottish Gothic.