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San Francisco, CA 94110 | (noun)
[kah-THAR-sis] 
1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially pity and fear, often through certain kinds of art, such as tragic drama or music: "Gary had been down on his luck of late, and he was looking to his bluegrass band to bring him the catharsis he needed."
2. (as in medicine) a natural or artificial purgation of any passage, as of the mouth, bowels, etc.
3. (as in psychology) a. the process of relieving tension or anxiety by reestablishing the association of an emotion with the memory or idea of the event that first caused it, and of eliminating it by complete expression
b. the therapeutic result of this process, called the abreaction
Origin:
Approximately 1803; from New Latin, 'catharsis'; from Greek, 'katharsis': purging or cleansing, from 'kathairein': to purge or cleanse, from 'katharos': pure. In Action:
"People need to tell their story over and over again, and every time they tell it, it brings further catharsis. So be a compassionate listener," he pleaded. "Even my wife and daughter wanted to hear what it was like for me. Sharing the burden is healing."
Jane Brody. "During Traumatic Times, Small Acts Can Bring a Measure of Comfort," (September 18, 2001).
"Opera once was an important social instrument--especially in Italy. With Rossini and Verdi people were listening to opera together and having the same catharsis with the same story, the same moral dilemmas. They were holding hands in the darkness. That has gone. Now perhaps they are holding hands watching television."
Luciano Berio (b. 1925), Italian composer. "Observer Review," (Feb. 5, 1989).
"The telephone conversation is, by its very nature, reactive, not reflective. Immediacy is its prime virtue. The immediacy delivers quick company, instant stimulation; the stimulation is cathartic; catharsis pushes back anxiety; into open space flows the kind of thought generated by electric return. The letter, written in absorbed solitude, is an act of faith; it assumes the presence of humanity; world and self are generated from within; loneliness is courted, not feared. To write a letter is to be alone with my thoughts in the conjured presence of another person. I keep myself imaginative company. I occupy the empty room. I alone infuse the silence."
Vivian Gornick (b. 1935). U.S. sociologist and author. "The New York Times," (July 31, 1994). | |
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