VERBAL OR VISUAL?: “PENELOPE” AND CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY
In: Joyce, "Penelope" and the Body
Author:
JOHN SMURTHWAITE
JOHN SMURTHWAITE
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Abstract
This paper examines the “Penelope” episode in the context of contemporary ideas in the field of cognitive psychology, with particular reference to the categorization of individuals as “verbal” or “visual” thinkers, developed in the work of Francis Galton and others, a version of which may have been known to Joyce through Freud. The common conception of “Penelope” as a mentally spoken monologue is challenged, and it is proposed that it might rather be seen as a mentally visualized written text.