The Possession

Annie Ernaux’s “The Possession” was such a great book because it moved me through each phase of a woman’s jealousy. In this reading, passion leads this woman to become obsessive over a woman who takes her place in a past relationship. I was able to relate to the woman because I myself have ended relationships and have became curious about what was going on without me around. The only difference about this woman and I is that I would never go to the extremes that she went to to find out every detail about this woman. She let her take control of her life because she was fixed on this woman throughout the whole book. This woman lost total control of her emotions. She went as far as searching for this woman on the internet and calling multiple possible numbers to get a chance to hear her voice. The woman wanted to know everything and anything about her and she claimed she would do anything to get the information she wanted. She was possessed by this other woman and could not get her out of her mind. I found it crazy how she left W. and after learning about this woman she suddenly wanted him back. I guess envy makes us do weird things.

Triangulating Love

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

While reading the Triangular Theory of Love, all I kept thinking about was my five year relationship with my boyfriend. This really made me take into account the many ways that we express our love. The three components of love, according to this theory are: intimacy, passion, and decision/commitment. There has to be a common balance present between all three sides of the triangle when in a relationship because the amount of love may be right, but the kind of love may not, which can ultimately cause unhappiness and strains. In my relationship, I noticed that we love each other in our own personal way and sometimes we may fight about the love we are receiving in return. This reading scared me when Sternberg mentioned, “Without expression, even the greatest loves can die.” I now see flaws in my relationship and realize that my boyfriend has a problem communicating and expressing himself towards me. He needs to work on the liking side of the triangle, but the question will be if he will be open to change. I have to be responsible and guide him to make this relationship the best that it can be. We all want a chance at reaching consummate love even though it is hard to attain. I want the passion in my relationship to last forever and I now know that I will be faced with many challenges where I will have to maintain and watch over all three sides of this triangle. Why does love have to be so difficult?

Specialization as Monomania

In Chapter 3, Davis explains how modernity was a period where monomania, or obsession, was intertwined with specialization. He says, “Thinking too much is the symptom and cause of mental distress.” When one becomes totally absorbed with a certain topic for a long amount of time, there is a great possibility of an obsession developing. The reading shows how scientists were more inclined to developing monomania because they were constantly involved with specialized fields, where they had no choice, but to study and give all of their attention to their experiments. Being specialized and focused in one area alone, as we went over in our last class, led to the development of an obsession. The example pertaining to Sir Francis Galton becoming obsessed with measuring, I found to be very interesting. He started off with measuring his breathing time and then going as far as wanting to measure the Hottentot Venus’s shape. Davis explains how a fixed idea in anyone’s work or daily life ultimately runs the risk of obsession.

The Emergence of Obsession

In Chapter 2, Davis goes over the term monomania and how it is responsible for paving the way of obsessive diseases, obsessive practices, and a general culture of attention, focus, and specialization. Monomania was the first diagnosis specifically defining what we now call obsession. In the 19^th Century, monomania was the notion that the mind could be imbalanced or made unsound by a single idea or train of thought. It was defined as a disease in which monomaniacs are aware of the wrongness or inappropriateness of their behavior while being able to resist the specific action of thought. Around 1810, monomania was introduced by Jean Esquirol. Before then, Philippe Pinel’s term “partial insanity” was used to imply that only a single idea of the mind had been affected inside of a patient’s head. The diagnosis of monomania opened the doors to the idea of insanity to the population. After Esquirol invented the term, monomania became the most frequently made diagnosis for patients entering asylums. The number of considered mentally ill people with monomania increased dramatically, but was soon dismissed and replaced toward the middle of the century by the newly redefined hysteria, neurosis, neurasthenia, and neurotic obsession/OCD. Esquirol thought of monomania as a hybrid of melancholia and mania. Melancholia is allowing a self-awareness of one’s depressed mood, as we discussed in class. Monomania became integrated inside of our culture, where it was present in trails and even literature, such as “Frankenstein.” I found it crazy how monomania was viewed as a lifestyle for people back then! Monomaniacs’ lives were devoted to an idée fixe or a preoccupation with a single idea, passion, or train of thought. If you ask me, monomania and obsession sound exactly the same between then and now.