Narcissus on the Liffey: Image and Identity in the Modern Irish Novel

This course explores the theme of Narcissism in the work of six Irish novelists of the late 19th and 20th Century. The story of Echo and Narcissus provides the coordinates for a reflection on the nature of images, on the triad of death, desire and unrequited love, and on the role of repetition in producing and maintaining identity. We will consider the implications of pitting a Modernist (i.e. cosmopolitan and international) notion of Self against a specifically Irish treatment of the Narcissus myth. The authors included in the syllabus are Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Flann O’Brien and John Banville.

Primary Sources

  • John Banville, Mefisto
  • Samuel Beckett, “Film”
  • Samuel Beckett, “First Love”
  • Sigmund Freud, On Narcissism: An Introduction
  • James Joyce, Dubliners
  • James Joyce, Ulysses I-III
  • James Joyce, Finnegans Wake (excerpts)
  • Flann O’Brien, The Third Policeman
  • Flann O’Brien, “John Duffy’s Brother”
  • Flann O’Brien, “Two-in-One”
  • Ovid, “The Story of Echo and Narcissus” from The Metamorphoses
  • Bram Stoker, Dracula
  • Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Recommended Reading Schedule

  • 1st Week: Ovid, "The Story of Echo and Narcissus"
  • 2nd Week: Sigmund Freud, "On Narcissism--An Introduction"
  • 3rd Week: Sigmund Freud, "On Narcissism--An Introduction"
  • 4th Week: Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray; "The Disciple"; "The Artist"
  • 5th Week: Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray; "The Disciple"; "The Artist"
  • 6th Week: Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray; "The Disciple"; "The Artist"
  • 7th Week: Bram Stoker, Dracula
  • 8th Week: Bram Stoker, Dracula
  • 9th Week: Bram Stoker, Dracula
  • 10th Week: Gilles Deleuze and the Cinematic Image
  • 11th Week: James Joyce, Ulysses (Chapters 1-3)
  • 12th Week: James Joyce, Ulysses (Chapters 1-3)
  • 13th Week: Julia Kristeva, "Approaching Abjection"
  • 14th Week: James Joyce, "The Sisters"; "The Dead"; Finnegans Wake (excerpts)
  • 15th Week: James Joyce, "The Sisters"; "The Dead"; Finnegans Wake (excerpts)
  • 16th Week: James Joyce, "The Sisters"; "The Dead"; Finnegans Wake (excerpts)
  • 17th Week: Samuel Beckett, First Love
  • 18th Week: Samuel Beckett, First Love
  • 19th Week: Samuel Beckett, First Love
  • 20th Week: Samuel Beckett, Film
  • 21st Week: Flann O’Brien, “John Duffy’s Brother”
  • 22nd Week: Flann O'Brien, The Third Policeman
  • 23rd Week: Flann O'Brien, The Third Policeman
  • 24th Week: Presentation or roundtable discussion (theme to be announced)
  • 25th Week: John Banville, Mefisto
  • 26th Week: John Banville, Mefisto

Semester: 

N/A