5/30/2023 0 Comments Atom rpg lottery![]() In this article I use recent psychological research into how life-longings operate to reframe understandings of these texts by examining ideas of longing and fulfilment in Science Fiction and the relationship with Sehnsucht. The desire to escape can be seen in numerous texts by Alfred Bester, but the ways in which Bester engages with the psychology of escape in “Hobson’s Choice” (1953) and “Disappearing Act” (1953) are particularly relevant when examining his work through the lens of Sehnsucht. In this article I explore the way in which Sehnsucht highlights this connection between time travel, escapism, and fantasy within Science Fiction. ![]() Science Fiction’s ability to literalise the metaphor can make desires for an alternative life less unattainable due to the genre’s capacity to fulfil longings that would normally reside outside of reality, especially when these fantasies are centred around escaping one’s current time period. Considering these aspects of how Sehnsucht is meant to function psychologically, the relationship to Science Fiction is an interesting one, especially as it pertains to time travel. ![]() Sehnsucht in psychology is defined by Dana Kotter-Grühn et al in “What is it we are longing for? Psychological and demographic factors influencing the contents of Sehnsucht (life longings)” (2009) as a desire for alternative “experiences of life” which focus on “fantasies about ideal, alternative realities” (428). Though originally derived from eighteenth century German Romanticism and present in cultural and literary spheres since then, the concept of Sehnsucht, or life-longings, has only been explored within psychology since around 2007.
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