Psychoanalysis has traditionally viewed women as objects of desire. Rethinking the Relation between Women and Psychoanalysis uses a contemporary psychoanalytic view to resituate women’s place in the narrative as desiring subjects. Contributors to this collection raise questions about the status of woman in culture and society and contend with the theme of loss and mourning that has been associated with women since the beginning of psychoanalysis. The various configurations of mourning, pain, regret, and grieving in diverse societies and cultures are explored in order to reconstruct the role of women in modern psychoanalysis.

Rethinking the Relation between Women and Psychoanalysis: Loss, Mourning, and the Feminine uses contemporary psychoanalytic views to resituate women as desiring subjects within the psychoanalytic narrative. Contributors to this edited collection explore the various configurations of mourning, pain, regret, and grieving in diverse societies and cultures in order to reconstruct the role of women in modern psychoanalysis. They raise questions about the status of women in culture and society and contend with themes that psychoanalysts have associated with women since the late nineteenth century, such as loss and mourning, femininity and motherhood, and desire and sexuality. This book is recommended for students and scholars of psychology, gender studies, cultural studies, literature, and philosophy.