ABSTRACT
In perhaps the most complex chapter of the book, the author details her conceptual framework. Starting at the beginning of the concept of the death drive, she uses Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle to outline the drive’s structure, historical context and initial reception. Next, she critically assesses literature about Freud’s masterpiece. The question at the heart of this chapter is why the concept of the death drive remains so controversial. The contributions of post-Freudian and contemporary authors, in particular those of French psychoanalysis, are considered, as is Green’s work, particularly his revision of the drive theory and his concept of the death drive as “death narcissism.” Next, the author reflects on the uncanny relationship between the death drive and sublimation, a relationship that parallels that between Thanatos and Eros. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the death drive’s positive functions, in particular subjectivation.
