Psychoanalysis.  2024 Jan;35(1):1-13. 10.18529/psychoanal.2024.35.1.1.

Ancient Egyptian Papyri from a Psychoanalytic Perspective (Berlin 3024); H. Jacobsohn’s “Conversations of a Man Tired of Life With Ba”

• Yeon M

• KMID: 2551314
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.18529/psychoanal.2024.35.1.1

Abstract

This paper is based on a study of the ancient Egyptian papyrus text (Berlin 3024), “Conversation between a man weary of life and his soul-bar,” especially as translated and interpreted by H. Jacobsohn. The text was written approximately four thousand years ago and is believed to have been written in the period of turmoil before the collapse of the Old Kingdom and the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. As the absolute power of the pharaoh waned, so did the belief that one could rely on it for eternal life, and the Egyptians of that time began to be more concerned with their own internal lives than with the external world. In this story, the “lifeweary” man experiences a mental crisis and even suicidal thoughts, but as he works through the crisis with his spirit, Ba, in the ancient Egyptian community, he discovers his internal world.

Keyword

Moving from external factors such as monarchy and regulations to the inner soul and conscience; Ancient Egyptian Society and the Individual’s Inner World