Shadow of the Other: Intersubjectivity and Gender in Psychoanalysis [Paperback]

Jessica Benjamin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0415912377 | ISBN-13: 978-0415912372 | Edition: 1

Shadow of the Other is a discussion of how the individual has two sorts of relationships with an "other"--other beings, other individuals. The first regards the other as an entirely different being from oneself, but one which is still recognizable. The second understands and recognizes this other by its function as a repository of characteristics cast from oneself.

In recognizing how this dual relationship is reconciled within the self, and its implications in male/female relations, Jessica Benjamin continues her exploration of intersubjectivity and gender, taking up questions of contemporary debates in feminist theory and psychoanalysis.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Jessica Benjamin's latest effort to bring critical theory and psychoanalysis into a dynamic conversation results in many splendid insights. She defends her provocative claim that psychoanalysis is an extension of the Enlightenment, clarifies her own relational contribution to object-relations theory, and insists that harboring alterity within the self remains the ideal for psychic life. Along the way, she emphasizes the importance of undoing repudiations, of rewriting the oedipal and pre-oedipal in relation to gender polarity, and reminds us of the oscilliation of gender categories. In calling for a reintegration of the preoedipal into the postoedipal, she makes the matter of intersubjective recognition at once complex and urgent. -- Judith Butler, University of California, Berkeley
Shadow of the Other extends Benjamin's groundbreaking and influential studies of gender, intersubjectivity, love and aggression. Her original elaboration of intersubjectivity serves to intertwine feminism and relational psychoanalysis into a tightly woven and richly textured intellectual tapestry. What really sets Benjamin's work apart is her brilliant utilization of a systematic dialectical approach to her subject, always maintaining the delicate balance between opposing tensions: masculinity and femininity, subjectivity and objectivity, passivity and activity, love and aggression, fantasy and reality, modernism and postmodernism, the intrapsychic and the intersubjective. Benjamin's capacity to creatively play with intellectual ideas is unsurpassed as she continually spins concepts around, moving in new, unexpected, and surprisingly useful directions. -- Lewis Aron, Ph.D., ABPP New York University Postdoctoral Program
The Shadow of the Other... is an impressive effort at building and integrating theory in the domain of feminism, gender, object relations theory, and intersubjectivity. -- Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
...tightly written and carefully argued. --Journal of Feminist Family Therapy
A timely volume for gender studies programs, and for graduate programs with psychoanalytic components. -- Choice
[Benjamin] champions a sophisticated view of the way we internalize the other, while seeking to avoid the danger of allowing talk about mutual recognition and caring to become a way to trap women back into their traditional role as the sole caring ones. This is an important book. -- Tikkun
In this tightly written and carefilly argued essay, she addresses the problem of the Other's consciousness. -- Journal of Feminist Family Therapy
Shadow of the Other has much to offer the sophisticated reader who is willing to work a little to appreciate the complex ideas contained within it. Its intellectual and esoteric qualities make it well suited to academe. -- Psychoanalytic Books
While many of Benjamin's points in this book are not new within psychology, many of her specific formulations of themare, as well as her drawing together of these points with support from apparently divergent schools of thought. -- Transformations

About the Author

Jessica Benjamin is a psychoanalyst in New York City, where she is on the faculty of the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. She is the author of Bonds of Love (1988) and Like Objects, Love Objects (1995).

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 5, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415912377
• ISBN-13: 978-0415912372
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and compelling -- not for the feeble-minded or the faint of heart, February 12, 2008

By 

Egrain (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow of the Other: Intersubjectivity and Gender in Psychoanalysis (Paperback)

As are all of Benjamin's books, Shadow of the Other is a brilliant work singular in its economy. Her insights into the intersections of power, gender, and the psyche are nothing short of spectacular. As ever, she avoids jargon; her vocabulary is precise and meaningful. I highly recommend this book.

0 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not very clear..., December 14, 2007

By 

Michael Garfinkle (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadow of the Other: Intersubjectivity and Gender in Psychoanalysis (Paperback)

Benjamin's Shadow of the Object is filled with philosophical and psychoanalytic jargon that leaves one with the impression of being distracted from the absence of cogent argumentation. Not recommended.