The Rise of the “New Depression” in the Harper’s essay and in The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

Simona Porro

doi:10.13136/2281-4582/2025.i25.1546

Autori

Simona Porro University of Florence https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4663-4888

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13136/2281-4582/2025.i25.1546

Parole chiave:

Jonathan Franzen, Harper's essay, The Corrections, Realismo depressivo, realismo tragico

Abstract

Nel suo saggio del 1996 "Perchance to Dream. In the Age of Images, a Reason to Write Novels,” Franzen ha lanciato un accorato appello affinché la letteratura di alto profilo creasse le condizioni per rispondere alla sfida rappresentata dalla cultura forzatamente 'terapeutica' del tardo ventesimo secolo. Tale cultura, spiega Franzen, si caratterizza per la tendenza a medicalizzare problemi psicologici ed emotivi che, un tempo, sarebbero stati considerati unicamente sul piano spirituale. Al contrario, nella cultura descritta da Franzen, essi sono considerati come sintomi da curare, preferibilmente attraverso un rimedio biochimico dagli effetti istantanei. Questo fenomeno ha finito per determinare un'eccessiva dipendenza da antidepressivi di nuova generazione, in primo luogo il Prozac. Tali circostanze sono al centro del terzo romanzo di Franzen, The Corrections, testo attraverso cui l'autore non solo realizza un'efficace parodia delle tendenze culturali predominanti nella temperie, ma illustra, altresì, i concetti di "realismo depressivo" e "realismo tragico" che caratterizzano la sua Weltanschauung.

Biografia autore

Simona Porro, University of Florence

Simona Porro teaches Anglo-American literature at the University of Florence

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The Rise of the “New Depression” in the Harper’s essay and in The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

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