Abstract
A revised editon of an earlier popular essay on the novelist Ian McEwan by C. Byrnes, author of 'The Work of Ian McEwan: a psychodynamic approach'.
Throughout his career Ian McEwan has often been mis-understood and plagued by controversy. The BBC first commissioned a play by him and then in March 1979, four days before he was due to record it, the management called a halt. McEwan was told the play was 'untransmittable' and the BBC put out a press notice that announced the ban and referred to 'grotesque and bizarre sexual elements in the play' In fact, Solid Geometry is the least bizarrely sexual of McEwan's early work and he was hugely disappointed that he was not given a fair trial. McEwan was labelled as 'dirty' and it is this reputation that many people still recall when his name is mentioned.
In this essay Bernie C. Byrnes (author of The Work of Ian McEwan: a psychodynamic approach) discusses McEwan's use of sex and sexuality to portray various aspects of relationship, inter-personal communication, closeness and distance, status and the acting out of erotic fantasy. There is in McEwan's work, a gradual development in his characters from infantile to mature sexual functioning, through the recognised stages of psycho-sexual development. Far from being 'dirty' or gratuitous, McEwan's treatment of sexuality is a powerful and vital comment on society. McEwan holds a mirror up for us to view ourselves and we should be careful not to condemn him too vehemently because we don't like what we see.
Throughout his career Ian McEwan has often been mis-understood and plagued by controversy. The BBC first commissioned a play by him and then in March 1979, four days before he was due to record it, the management called a halt. McEwan was told the play was 'untransmittable' and the BBC put out a press notice that announced the ban and referred to 'grotesque and bizarre sexual elements in the play' In fact, Solid Geometry is the least bizarrely sexual of McEwan's early work and he was hugely disappointed that he was not given a fair trial. McEwan was labelled as 'dirty' and it is this reputation that many people still recall when his name is mentioned.
In this essay Bernie C. Byrnes (author of The Work of Ian McEwan: a psychodynamic approach) discusses McEwan's use of sex and sexuality to portray various aspects of relationship, inter-personal communication, closeness and distance, status and the acting out of erotic fantasy. There is in McEwan's work, a gradual development in his characters from infantile to mature sexual functioning, through the recognised stages of psycho-sexual development. Far from being 'dirty' or gratuitous, McEwan's treatment of sexuality is a powerful and vital comment on society. McEwan holds a mirror up for us to view ourselves and we should be careful not to condemn him too vehemently because we don't like what we see.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | UK |
| Publisher | Paupers' Press |
| Number of pages | 46 |
| Edition | 2nd |
| ISBN (Print) | 094665087X, 978-0946650873 |
| Publication status | Published - 24 Nov 2004 |