Familial Bondage and Disintegration: A Psychoanalytical Study of Sally Rooney's Intermezzo

Abstract

This research aims to explore familial disintegration in the bondage of a family system, in Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo (2024) by employing Bowen’s theory of Family Systems. Bowen’s theory seems to be rooted in the depth of clinical psychology but now its tendencies are making its ways in literature as well. In our primary text, Intermezzo, most characters exhibit disintegration with their attitudes and behaviors. The study is descriptive in nature. Text is taken as primary source, whereas secondary resources such as research articles, thesis and reviews are utilized through close reading method. Bowen’s theory on Family system is used to analyze the situations and conditions of characters described in text and to prove the stated stance, how they cope up with the situations by managing stress and anxiety. Textual analysis is utilized as methodology. The purpose of my study is to analyze the factors presented by Bowen with eight interlocking concepts of Family system, to dig deep the familial bondage, which brings to the surface the disintegration in Rooney’s major characters in Intermezzo. The significance of this study lies in finding out the root cause of disintegration and characters’ way of managing stress and anxiety.

Key words:  Family, familial bondage, Familial disintegration, Psychoanalysis, Sally Rooney, Intermezzo, Sibling position