Father Figure Research Articles

A Northern Blast: Sir John Pringle — Medicine, Mentoring … and Manslaughter?

The Scottish physician Sir John Pringle (1707–1782) was known as the father of modern military medicine. This was due to his 1752 book, Observations on the Diseases of the Army in Camp and Garrison, which arose out of his experience as physician-general to the forces in Flanders during the 1740s, where he made significant advances to medical practice. After moving to London, he had also published, in 1750, an influential work on fevers in hospitals and in prisons. Pringle was friends with several significant people beyond the medical world, including Benjamin Franklin and the Scottish Law Lord James Burnett, Lord Monboddo. Above all, Pringle was regarded as a mentor and father figure by James Boswell, who looked to him for advice on matters of health and on personal issues like his career, relations with his father, and even the choice of a wife. In April 1752, Pringle married Charlotte, daughter of Bath physician William Oliver. She died in December 1753. In 1754, Oliver wrote a poem, Myra: A Pastoral Dialogue, in which a shepherd, ‘Philemon’, is grieving for the loss of his daughter. He tells of the marriage he promoted for her to ‘a cruel spoiler’ whose ‘native fierceness’ caused her death in the face of the ‘Northern Blast’. Charlotte and Pringle had indeed separated in May 1753, with Charlotte writing her husband out of her will. Quite clearly, Oliver regarded his fellow physician as effectively murdering his daughter. This essay develops these issues: medicine, mentoring and (suspected) manslaughter.

Review: Premka: White Bird in a Golden Cage. My Life with Yogi Bhajan, by Pamela Saharah Dyson; The Inner Circle—Book One: My Seventeen Years in the Cult of the American Sikhs, by Peter Macdonald Blachly

Review: <i>Premka: White Bird in a Golden Cage. My Life with Yogi Bhajan</i>, by Pamela Saharah Dyson; <i>The Inner Circle—Book One: My Seventeen Years in the Cult of the American Sikhs</i>, by Peter Macdonald Blachly

Migrantenkinder auf den Spuren ihrer Väter in literarischer Darstellung

The article aims at the analysis of one of the fundamental phenomena of modern societies, namely the comparison between father and son, or differences between tradition and ideas of innovators, presented in the so-called intercultural literature. The starting point is the theorem of a fatherless society and various father images, which is deliver not only in the literary performances. In the article the author also analyses the prose of selected German language works by the female authors of Turkish origin, e.g. Saliha Scheinhardt, Serap Çileli, Alev Tekinay and Aysel Özakin. The analysis focuses on the following questions: which father images are presented in this literature, what role the father figures play in it, how they are pictured, and whether the conflict between father and son or father and daughter is of importance in such narratives.

The Symbolic Dimension of Mahfouz’s Novel, al-Ṭarīq, The Search (1964): From the Symbol of God/Spirituality to Social Problems

This article intends to examine whether al-Ṭarīq's novel, The Search is a philosophical symbolic novel, especially whether it contains symbols of God/spirituality and social symbols of contemporary Egyptian problems. The article builds on a qualitative research method based on a literature review and Roland Barthes' semiotic theory. The novel is also studied based on other scientific literature studies, not only literary, but religious and social. The article finds that al-Ṭarīq's novel, The Search is Mahfouz's philosophical symbolic novel. Saber's father figure is a symbol of God/spirituality, with much evidence in the novel that shows this. Among them, in Arabic, God is called sayyed, the name of Saber's father; moreover his father's name is Sayyed, which means the lord of the lords, and his last name is ar-Rahi&gt;mi&gt;, the name of God, meaning Most Merciful. In addition, the novel reflects/on and symbolizes Egypt's social problems, both politically, economically, and culturally. Saber, among other things, reflects a corrupt Egyptian character raised by his pimp mother and Karimah, the woman he loves who exploits Saber's innocence to do evil (kill), a symbol of Western colonialism and other local influences, the power of local capitalism and complicated bureaucracy. Other elements explored in the novel include contemporary Egyptian psychological problems, represented in dream material, and figures who have divided personalities.

The French Reception of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Belated Consecration

The French Reception of <i>Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i>: A Belated Consecration

Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King

Reviewed by: Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King Adam McConville King, Amy Sarig Attack of the Black Rectangles. Scholastic, 2022 [272p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781338680522 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781338680546 $18.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-7 Mac Delaney's sixth-grade teacher, Ms. Sett, has become notorious in their small Pennsylvania town for her moral crusades, which include pushing for stricter curfews, stringent dress codes, and identical house colors. When she assigns Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic in class but hands out copies of the book with black rectangles covering passages she deems inappropriate, socially-conscious Mac and his friends decide it's time to protest. King frames the conversation about censorship around institutional abuse of power, based on a real example from her town in which Yolen's books were censored. For the community-focused premise, though, this is largely a character-driven story about Mac embracing healthy expressions for anger and fear. A constant need to fight the ills he sees makes Mac file his emotions away without processing them, from his developing crush on his friend Marci to his complicated relationship with his largely absent, mentally unstable father. It's Mac's grandfather, a Vietnam veteran, who takes the role of a father figure, helping Mac channel his emotions into protests and activism as he does and creating a positive outlet for Mac's blunt and preachy tendencies. Ms. Sett, meanwhile, is unrepentant throughout, and despite some efforts to round her character, she remains a distillation of authority who is easy to root against. The story wraps abruptly, with the censorship plotline fizzling out after an admittedly eventful school board meeting, but Mac's satisfying emotional journey gets the closure it deserves. Hand this book to social justice-minded readers who may not yet be ready for Dave Connis' Suggested Reading but are nonetheless looking to push back against educator-instigated censorship. [End Page 53] Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Patriarchal Traces in Japanese Girls’ Fiction: Beyond the Loss of the Father to Patriarchal Mothers and Resistant Daughters

As World War II ended and a new democratic society was beginning in Japan, significant changes were made to the patriarchal system, changes such as the recognition of women’s rights and the dismantling of the Japanese family system which in turn affected youth culture. Against this backdrop, particularly within the genre of shōjo shōsetsu (girls’ fiction), new representations of the father, mother and shōjo (girl) emerged. Portrayals reflected not only the loss of power experienced by patriarchal figures after the defeat, but also the rise of new patriarchal mothers and resistant daughters. This article traces how changes in depictions of patriarchal authority in the genre reflect not only masculine humiliation around the war defeat, but also a contemporaneous rise in mothers whose intervention in their daughters’ life decisions saw an increase in less compliant daughters. It demonstrates how, although post-war shōjo fiction was founded on the loss of the autocratic patriarch and has since struggled to depict a more co-operative family man, as reflected through the genre, the loss of the father figure also helped sow the seeds of new forms of womanhood, and of girlish resistance and independence. These elements reveal a continued fight for democratic freedoms in post-war Japan.

Handicap als narratieve prothese in het werk van Kader Abdolah

Kader Abdolah, a Dutch author of Iranian origin, repeatedly sketches father and mother characters who can be seen as representations of his own parents. As they are handicapped in their ability to communicate (the father is deaf and the mother suffers from deteriorating dementia) the son takes upon himself the task to tell their stories. This article presents an analysis of Abdolah’s works in which father and mother figures feature prominently, Spijkerschrift [Cuneiform] (2000) and Het gordijn [The Curtain] (2017). Referring to theoretical studies about the representation of proximate others in autobiographical writing, an attempt is made to answer the question about the character of these representations and their role. Because both parents are disabled, the analysis presented here is based furthermore on theoretical studies concerning representations of disability in (autobiographical) literature. As it turns out, disability is often being used as a narrative prosthesis that serves the author to catch the readers’ attention and to frame his or her story. As a result, disabled others are often being ‘absented’: their stories are being subordinated to the author’s own purpose, presenting themselves to their readership in a particular way.

Aaron T. Beck (1921-2021).

Memorializes Aaron T. Beck (1921-2021). Beck was the founder of cognitive therapy (CT), the father figure of the cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) movement, creator of the Beck Depression Inventory, champion of the manualized treatment protocol that kept psychotherapy in the game in the era of drugs and randomized clinical trials, and inspiration behind the U.K.'s National Health Service Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program. Beck trained in psychiatry at the height of the influence of psychoanalysis. Beck's psychiatric training was exclusively of the liberal-analytic bent. At Cushing Veterans Administration Hospital (Boston), he trained under Felix Deutsch and Jacob Finesinger, both of whom advocated brief psychoanalytically informed therapies. In 1994, he and his daughter Judith Beck founded the Beck Institute, a CBT training center. In his later years, he studied hatred (Prisoners of Hate) and schizophrenia. Beck garnered many honors including a public meeting with the Dalai Lama (2005) and the Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research (2006). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Antonio’s Inwardness and Foreclosure in The Merchant of Venice

This article discusses the ambiguous representation of the merchant Antonio in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Antonio’s relationship to his father figure is projected through the hatred and sadness in Shylock’s figure. However, Antonio's father figure is completely absent in the play. Thus, his inexplicable anger towards Shylock may reveal primitive feelings towards his father figure. His masochistic desire and fear of castration, which can potentially be fulfilled by Shylock, increase his anxiety to his father figure. He accepts the idea of castration and imagines himself a castrated ram. However, the cause of such anxiety is constantly denied by Antonio, but projected into the play’s texture in verbal slips and contradictions. Thus, the other characters are depicted as Antonio’s correlate figures, mirroring similar feelings felt by him.

Young Single Widow, Dynamics of In-Laws Interference and Coping Mechanisms: Simplicity-Parsimony Approach.

The incidence of short marital duration due to the demise of a husband that often exposes young widows to in-laws’ exploitation of the asset of the deceased spouses, without regard for negative health consequences and potential vulnerability to poverty has not been exhaustively investigated, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where 16% of adult women are widows. The study examined the coping mechanisms among the young widow (aged ≤ 40) who have experienced short conjugal relationships (≤5 years) and burdensome from in-laws. The research design followed a qualitative approach with the aid of semi-structured in-depth interviews among 13 young widows selected through snowballing and informant-led approaches in the purposively selected communities. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and a thematic approach. The findings, among others, shows the median age of young widow as 29 years. All participants, except one, have faced exploitation from their in-laws over their husbands’ assets. All the participants desired to re-marry in order to: have a father figure for their children, have their own children or have more children. There is an absence of government support, but a few have received support from religious organisations. The author proposed attitudinal-change campaigns targeting the in-laws through accessible media and legislature that could challenge the exploitation of widows and unhealthy widowhood rites.

부모의 퍼빙(phubbing)행동에 따른 청소년의 동그라미 중심 부모자녀 그림(PSCD) 반응특성

This study explores the relationship between parental phubbing and adolescents’ reactive characteristics to Parents-Self-Centered Drawing (PSCD). The participants included 130 students from middle and high schools in Gyeonggi, Korea. We conducted chi-square tests to explore the differences in PSCD between the higher and lower parental phubbing groups. Results indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the omission of body parts, drawing order, positioning of figures and facial expressions for father figures between the higher and lower father phubbing groups. Second, there were statistically significant differences in the omission of body parts, drawing order for mother figures between the higher and lower mother phubbing groups. Third, we found significant differences in the omission of body parts, drawing order and facial expressions for self-figures between the groups according to father phubbing, while we found significant differences in the omission of body parts, drawing order and positioning of figures for self-figures between the groups according to mother phubbing. The findings of this study suggest that the possibility of PSCD as an indicator of parental phubbing for adolescents.

Two Ways of Looking at the Father: Sharon Olds’ The Father and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home

This article explores a series of visual-textual devices used in the representation of father figures in the poetry collection The Father (Sharon Olds, 1992) and the graphic memoir Fun Home (Alison Bechdel, 2006). I argue that literature can contribute to undo the conflation of paternity and patriarchy by portraying fathers as complex, fallible, and above all real individuals, as opposed to the disembodied abstract principle that has been prevalent in Western cultures. I will contend that the subsuming qualities of the dominant fiction can be subverted via a series of formal mechanisms related to the visual field that seek to foster reader engagement. In doing so, both The Father and Fun Home provide alternatives to traditional representations of the father figure.

Parent-Child Attachment Security and Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescence: The Mediating Roles of Gratitude and Forgiveness.

Although greater parent-child attachment security is linked with children's lower levels of depressive symptoms, little research has evaluated potential explanatory mechanisms. We investigated whether dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness explain the relation between attachment security with parents and early adolescents' depressive symptoms. Early adolescents (N = 105; M age = 12.3 years; 51% girls) completed questionnaires assessing their attachment security to mother and father figures, depressive symptoms, and dispositional gratitude, and an interview assessing interpersonal forgiveness. Results revealed that greater attachment security to mothers and fathers was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and greater levels of dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness. Further, dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Dispositional gratitude emerged as a mediator between attachment security with each parent and depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that greater parent-child security may promote early adolescents' appreciation of positive events, which in turn may relate to fewer depressive symptoms.

Atomic Fatherhood: ‘Uncle Louis’, ‘Ike’ and the Electoral Politics of Paternalism in Canada and the United States, 1949–53

AbstractLouis St Laurent and Dwight Eisenhower came to power during one of the most intense periods of the Cold War. The Soviets had recently developed a nuclear bomb, touching off an arms race, while both the Canadian and American governments ran desperate investigations to purge their ranks of suspected communist sympathisers. St Laurent's victories in 1949, and again in 1953, as well as Eisenhower's in 1952, are often seen as inevitable. This interpretation is rooted in the fact that both men managed to stir overwhelming support from the hearts of their citizens. However, this viewpoint often fails to examine how their campaigns did this – through the projection of a reassuring, paternalistic image that spoke to hegemonic masculine norms in the era. Elaine Tyler May argues that the nuclear family, with the father at the helm, was seen as a form of ‘domestic containment’ against external ills. This article extends that theory upwards and explores how voters responded positively to the projection of a fatherly image from St Laurent and Eisenhower. At the same time, it examines how their campaigns actively deployed masculine image‐making to discredit opponents and depict them as outside the hegemonic masculine ideal. By voting instead for St Laurent and Eisenhower, citizens could be reassured that their families would come under the protection of a calm father figure, who would guide the nation through the current period of intense instability.

Misfits and Troubled Men. Masculinity and Violence in Romanian Socialist Cinema

This paper is part of an ongoing research project that aims at identifying types of masculinities in Romanian socialist cinema, by using gender studies and other contributions on the topic of masculinity in order to provide a sociological reading of Romanian films made during the communist regime. I will look at the way in which Western understandings of masculinity have been transferred to Eastern European categories of masculinity in cinema and I will establish a critical framework for my analysis, with an introduction to studies on masculinity, and expand on elements of sociological and psychoanalytical works, namely major contributions from Connell (1987), Segal (2007) and Horrocks (1994, 1995). Two defining concepts in masculinity studies are hegemonic masculinity (Connell 1987) and homosociality (Bird, 1996), theories which will constitute the basis for my case studies in order to see if male characters in Romanian socialist cinema fit into this categorization. The last part of this paper will be an analysis of three films, Reenactment (Reconstituirea, Lucian Pintilie, 1968), 100 Lei (100 de lei, Mircea Săucan, 1973) and At the End of the Line (La capătul liniei, Dinu Tănase), in which the male characters exist outside society, they cannot conform to what is being required of them as socialist subjects. The purpose is to see how gender performativity plays a role in the relationship between men, with a focus on violence and how it is connected to a search for a father figure and male friendships.

The Dysfunctional Father in Hanif Kureishi’s Novel The Buddha of Suburbia

This study seeks to offer a comprehensible understanding of the father figure in family and how the father character in Hanif kureishi’s “The Buddha of Suburbia” becomes dysfunctional to some extent. However, critics, historians or literary figures concentrate less on the structure and more on the description such as a happy family or a sad family, etc. Add to that, writers succeed to depict the image of a ruling father who owns everything inside the family including his wife and children. Also, they may portray a successful mother who manages to take care of her children in the absence of a husband. Nevertheless, fathers as abusive and dysfunctional in particular families are seldom taken into consideration; perhaps because of the patriarchal stereotypes in certain communities. Thus, Fatherhood is the main reason to family destruction and disintegration in contradiction to the patriarchal system that positions the father as the symbol of unity and at the same time of power.

Un langage en devenir : exemple clinique d’une structuration autistique

ObjectivesThe representations of the autistic subject who is mute or has great difficulty with language no longer coincide with the clinical and non-clinical documents collected over the last decades. MethodThe story of Eric's care, from his childhood diagnosis until his reaching legal adulthood, is used as a clinical illustration of the various attitudes that an autistic subject can have with language. ResultsIf the erasure of the voice signals a defense against primordial difficulties, the development of special interests favors the elaboration of an edge which, by becoming more complex, allows an increasingly significant insertion in certain social environments. Some stages of this developing language are identified here, including leaning on a double, the factual language of ordered signs, and accessing the realm of metaphor. DiscussionHowever, this sequence remains marked by an idiosyncratic trajectory where the opposition of “good” and “evil” covers the difficulty of integrating a father figure judged to be deficient. ConclusionsAlthough it involves surprising interactions, a treatment through “verbose” speech, even within public mental health units, proves to be relevant for the accompaniment of the autistic subject in his evolution, provided that a therapeutic attitude informed by the principles governing autistic structuring is deployed.

Fenomena LGBTQ+: Analisis Fitrah Seksualitas Manusia

LGBTQ+ is a sexual deviance that is rampant in society these days. Some people consider that this sexual disorder is caused by hereditary or genetic factors, but studies have proven that this phenomenon is caused by mis-parenting and environmental factors. In the context of Islamic Education, this sexual perversion is caused by the injury of sexual fitrah. In addition, this disorder is also caused by social factors, culture or bad lifestyle. Islam has taught how to grow the fitrah of sexuality through several stages; starting from the age of 0-2 years, 2-7 years, 7-10 years, 10-14 years to the aqil period of baliqh. The presence of a masculine father figure and a feminine mother who accompanies and educates children according to gender from the time they are born to aqil baligh is the key to the child growing according to the fitrah based on his sexuality. If this phase of caring for sexuality is missed, then the seeds of perversion will grow and strengthen. The efforts to cultivate the fitrah of child sexuality must also be combined with instilling the fitrah of faith since both are the keys, so that the child grows completely according to the will of his God when he is presented to this world. Another very important effort is to pay attention to the child's social environment because association might affect our children’s way of thinking and lifestyle.

Literary Modernism, Queer Temporality: Eddies in Time

Literary Modernism, Queer Temporality: Eddies in Time