Psychoanalyzing the Grasshopper: Society, Work and Repressed Play in Suits’ Riddle

In this article, I draw on psychoanalysis to provide a novel understanding of Suits’ theory of games by analyzing the riddle in the Grasshopper’s recurring dream, which Suits presents in his seminal and eponymous book. To do so, I first provide an overview of the psychoanalytical roots of Suits’ thought, namely Eric Berne’s transactional theory and Norman W. Brown’s critical account of Freud’s thought. Subsequently, I examine the Grasshopper’s dream by revising Suits’ use of psychoanalytical notions. To conclude, I argue that Suits deploys the dream to criticize the glorification of work and repression of play in human society, especially in modern capitalist society.

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Work Title Psychoanalyzing the Grasshopper: Society, Work and Repressed Play in Suits’ Riddle
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Francisco Javier Lopez Frias
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy
Publication Date January 1, 2021
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2020.1729849
Deposited November 18, 2021

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