Guilt: Revenge, Remorse and Responsibility After Freud

Guiltoffers an original, closely argued look at the opposition between guilty man and tragic man. Considering the work of Freud and major pioneers of psychoanalysis, and focusing on the debate between Klein and Winnicott, the author attempts to remove blame and the essence of guilt from religion, morality and law. The author provides a new understanding of familiar material drawing on a range of sources -- literary, historical and philosophical, illustrated by study of diverse characters ranging from Bach, Beethoven and Shakespeare to Woody Allen, and covering a range of topics including the concept of guilt used within the law, and the analyst's contribution to the client's sense of guilt. Previously unavailable in the English language this book will be of interest to psychoanalysts, forensic psychiatrists and all those interested in the ramifications of guilt.

Roberto Speziale-Bagliacca is a professor of psychiatry at the Medical School of the University of Genoa, a Training Analyst of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society and a full member of the IPA.