Who gives testimony for the witnesses? Trauma and sublimation in Primo Levi

This article intends to analyze the relations between trauma and sublimation based on the analysis of the testimonial, literary, poetic and autobiographical production of Primo Levi. Using Freud's proposition of distinction between the positive and negative effects of trauma as a starting point, the study of Primo Levi's work - including his interviews - shows that it is possible to sublimate from traumatic experiences, therefore articulating trauma and sublimation. At the same time, it is acknowledged that the scope of Primo Levi's sublimation during the decades were insufficient, stressing a hiatus that signalizes the return to the traumatic real. The work comes to an end with questionings about the role of psychoanalysis in the reading of human phenomena that go beyond the human capacity of significance.Résumé Dans cet article, nous prétendons analyser les rapports entre le traumatisme et la sublimation à partir de la production testimoniale, littéraire, poétique et autobiographique de Primo Levi. En partant de la distinction, proposée par Freud, sur les effets positifs et négatifs du traumatisme, il est démontré par l'étude de l'œuvre de Primo Levi et de ses entretiens qu'il est possible de sublimer à partir des expériences traumatiques, de façon que traumatisme et sublimation se sont articulés. Cependant, il est admis que la portée de la sublimation de Primo Levi au long des décades a été insuffisante, et souligne un hiatus qui marque le retour du ré...

Source: Psicologia USP - April 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research