NARRATING DEVIANCE: A PSYCHOANALYTICAL STUDY OF SELECTED PRE- AND POST-PANDEMIC FICTION BY CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD

Abstract

This is a psychoanalytical study based on the fictional constructs of a renowned thriller writer Catherine Ryan Howard, of the contemporary world. It works on the theory of psychoanalysis, which is the study of unconscious mental processes and is described as depth psychology. It was proposed by the Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud at the start of the twentieth century. Under the broad spectrum of this theory, and the selected crime fiction, Firstly, this research investigates the two parallel spheres; pre- and post-pandemic fiction, to analyze deviance that is the root of crimes and criminal mindsets, to further investigate how Catherine Ryan Howard engages with the lockdown and its effects on the human psyche, and how it has filled the minds of her characters with frustration, fear, conflicts, and anxiety that has led them to get involved in brutal acts. Secondly, it studies how Howard’s characters become more insecure and paranoid. Thirdly, this research performs a comparative study of the characters of both novels to validate the stance that the urge to commit crimes rises during the period of lockdown as it brings social distancing, zero physical interaction, loneliness, despair and fear of dying through hunger or by contracting the disease. It further analyzes the effects of lockdown on the fictional selves, with contemporary fiction's role in registering the pandemic's impacts on the human psyche. Furthermore, through close reading, this research reflects Freud's psychoanalysis that the conflict between id, ego, and super-ego causes individuals to commit atrocious criminal acts, and later, due to the fear of punishment, they behave like pseudo-moralists. Finally, the role of societal institutes is also looked upon as they play their part in suppressing crime-involved activities for restoring social order in society.