Abstract
Lucy Bregman's approach to Schreber'sMemoirs is scrutinized and found to be based on a number of fallacious and contradictory assumptions that call her interpretation of the book as personal religious myth into question. A social constructionist approach to mythology maintained by Berger and Luckmann is advanced, suggesting that at best Schreber's work qualifies as a quasi-mythical attempt to explain the source of his personal sociopsychic suffering. The family and interpersonal dynamics of Schreber's quasi-myth are investigated. Similarities to other cases of psychotic quasi-myths are noted and a general relationship between oppressive socialization and psychotic communications is advanced, as well as a specific alternative interpretation of Schreber's work to that proposed by Bregman.
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Nathan Church, M.S., is currently teaching at Douglass College of Rutgers University, where he is nearing completion of his Ph.D. in sociology.
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Church, N. Schreber'sMemoirs: Myth or personal lamentation. J Relig Health 18, 313–326 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01533065
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01533065