TITLE:
Psychological Disorders and Object-Loss in Anita Brookner’s Fraud: A Psychoanalytic Interpretation
AUTHORS:
Seynabou Ndiaye
KEYWORDS:
Psychoanalysis, Object-Loss, Anxiety, Melancholia, Anita Brookner
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Literary Study,
Vol.14 No.2,
April
8,
2026
ABSTRACT: This paper examines the psychological disorders depicted in Anita Brookner’s novel Fraud through the lens of psychoanalytic theory. Drawing primarily on the works of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, the study analyzes the origins and manifestations of the protagonist Anna Durrant’s psychological disturbances. The analysis focuses on two main dimensions: anxiety-related disorders and psychological disturbances generated by object-loss. First, the article explores how anxiety produces behavioural symptoms, such as anorexia and insomnia, revealing the role of repression, desire, and unconscious conflict. Second, it investigates the effects of actual loss, particularly the loss of parental figures, and demonstrates how these experiences generate melancholia and difficulties in interpersonal relationships. By examining Anna’s relationship with her mother and father, the paper shows how unresolved emotional attachments shape her identity and behaviour. Ultimately, the study highlights the intricate relationship between literature and psychoanalysis, demonstrating how Brookner’s narrative offers a compelling illustration of psychoanalytic concepts related to loss, desire, and identity.