Inspired by Athanasius' The Temptations of St. Anthony in which the protagonist is repeatedly beset by desert demons, My Claustrophobic Happiness offers La Betty, a wealthy condo inhabitant whose cloistered consumer object worship provides her with fragile protection against supernatural visitations of representatives from a reality outside.
Psychoanalyst Jeanne Randolph approaches La Betty's psyche with distinctively transcendental wit, unveiling an unstable and absurdly fragile existence of repetition in denial. Lush and playful descriptions of La Betty's objects and her surreal psychological space enfold a series of complex conundrums around identity's relationship to consumerism.
My Claustrophobic Happiness' crafted vignettes present a satiric and prophetic depiction of the isolated mind and body that is hauntingly prescient.Book details
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Publisher
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Original text
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Language
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Page count
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About the author
Jeanne Randolph
Jeanne Randolph is one of Canada's foremost cultural theorists. She is the author of the influential book Psychoanalysis & Synchronized Swimming (1991) as well as Symbolization and Its Discontents (1997), Why Stoics Box (2003), and Ethics of Luxury (2007). Dr. Randolph is also known as an engaging lecturer and performance artist. In universities and galleries across Canada, England, Australia, and Spain, she has spoken on topics ranging from the aesthetics of Barbie to the philosophy of Wittgenstein.