“Because I’m Struggling”Psyche, Hysteria, and Therapy in David Ireland’s Cyprus Avenue
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/67h5ym86Keywords:
Psychotherapy , the Irish question, social identity, sectarian hatredAbstract
This essay examines David Ireland’s 2016 play Cyprus Avenue, exploring the role of therapy in unravelling both the mind of the patient, a man named Eric and his socio-cultural context. It investigates how social hysteria gives birth to personal and social hysteria and the role of history in this process. It also investigates the social, political and cultural questions facing Northern Ireland both in the past and today and how therapy has been used as an effective device for not just psychological but also social and political commentary. The essay inspects how the play helps the reader and the audience to delve into the mind of a mentally disturbed man and empathize with his mental illness, which is deeply rooted in his historical and social background.
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