Transactional Analysis of the Couples in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land based on Eric Berne's Psychological Theory

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Farzaneh Radmehr
• Zohreh Taebi
• Vahideh Sayedi

Department of English, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/lts.v53i2.71496

Abstract

Until now, a large number of researchers have pointed to the structural complexity of The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot as it is shown in the relationship of the personages. In this paper, the sayings and the behaviors of five couples among many other personages of this poem are studied based on Eric Berne's theory of Transactional Analysis. For this purpose, the Structural Pathology of the couples is examined to identify the roots to their unsolved problems through which one can clearly understand the present condition of their relationships. The results of the present research indicates that two cases of Child Contamination, two persons with Parent Contamination, and one individual with Excluding Adult are observed in total out of five sub-categories of Structural Pathology. Therefore, the presence of the Adult Ego State, which is able to balance out the Parent and the Child Ego states is deficient in the intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships of these couples.

Keywords

• The Waste Land
• T.S. Eliot’s Poetry
• Transactional Analysis
• Eric Berne
• Structural Pathology

20.1001.1.22285202.1399.53.2.6.8

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