ABSTRACT
Aristotle’s theory of tragic katharsis has been ‘the most celebrated concept in the entire field of literary criticism’ (Golden, 1976: 437) and the subject of discussion and dispute at least since the rediscovery of the Poetics during the Renaissance and well into the twentieth century. Brecht took it as a point of reference for his condemnation of conventional theatre, in the context of his concern with the social and political function of this art. In doing so, he drew on the prevailing interpretation of katharsis as purgation without questioning its validity. This had profound implications for his theory of spectatorship: katharsis indicated a hypnotic experience supposed to induce the spectator into a passive state and to inhibit his capacity for critical distance. Accordingly, Brecht’s assumptions excluded the possibility that unconscious dynamics may contribute productively to theatre reception. In this chapter, I will challenge the interpretation of katharsis which formed the basis of Brecht’s understanding of spectatorship, and against which he framed his reform. By applying Freud’s theory of transference to the analysis of katharsis , I will show that unconscious aspects of spectatorship are central to theatre reception.
