CATHARSIS IN HEALING, RITUAL, AND DRAMA

Berkeley: UNIV OF CALIFORNIA PRESS. Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 1979. first edition,1p; 123456789pt line. Hardcover. 8.4 X 5.8 X 1.1 inches. VERY GOOD CONDITION IN VERY GOOD UNCLIPT(NOPR ICE) DUST JACKET clean, solid, bright; GOLD SPINE TITLES ON BLACK TEXTURED CLOTH HARD COVERS.. CHAOTIC DANCE (BRUEGEL) COVER ART ON BRIGHT RED DUST JACKET...INNER DJ FLAP HAS 3X4" PHOTO OF AUTHOR..; 246 pages; icatharsis clearly as a process that is signaled by certain kinds of laughing, crying, and analogous responses reflecting anger and fear. The main concept which provides a thread throughout the entire book is that of distancing, the balance between being a participant and an observer in the thoughts and feelings that bring on catharsis. At optimal distance, the person has double vision, of being both participant and observer. This idea is applied to psychotherapy, ritual and drama. Scheff combines the insights of the humanities and social sciences to capture the same evocative details of sight, sound and context, better to understand what he calls "human reality". .