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Catharsis, meaning “to purify” or “to make clean,” has been applied to medicine, psychiatry, religion, literature, and art. Aristotle used it to describe how drama can affect the individual viewer, evoking powerful emotions and leaving them cleansed in emotional experience. Emotional engagement with characters or circumstances can lead to a deeper appreciation of the narrative, but whether or not this purifies the soul is a debatable point. The debate between Platonic and Aristotelian thinking is still fought on many levels in modern society.
Catharsis is taken from the Greek verb, kathoros, which translates as “to purify” or “to make clean.” The term has been applied to many situations; the least glamorous of these is its use in medicine, where it can literally mean the clearing of bowels. Even the early pioneers of psychiatry were very interested in the term to describe the moment when a person clearly articulated a past memory and was able to feel it fully, often, especially according to Freud, leaving the person free from the pain of the past. In religion, the word can refer to transcendent experiences that liberate or purify the soul.
In literature, catharsis takes on a slightly different meaning. Aristotle first used it in his work Poetics to discuss how drama can affect the individual viewer. A good drama helps the viewer identify with the experiences, especially the painful ones, of the characters in a play. Drama can evoke powerful emotions, and people who watch and are moved by it leave the theater clean, refreshed, and cleansed in emotional experience.
Aristotle also claims that after expressing some of their emotions, the audience has a sense of relief which helps them to handle daily life more calmly. This is directly antithetical to Plato’s assertion that drama and poetry could produce adverse effects on viewers and readers, leading them to act in more extreme ways. Instead, Aristotle argues that drama leads to a more rational mind as the extremes of emotion are touched and felt in a safe environment.
Many people have had the experience of having a good cry during a movie or, more often, a good laugh. Individuals may look to plays, movies, and books as a means of confident expression of deep emotions. In a society where men’s tears are still viewed by some sections of society as unmanly, a cathartic moment while watching a movie, a bit of choking or even a tear or two is often considered acceptable. There are few men, for example, who could not feel that blow to the throat at least when Ray Kinsella plays catch with his father in the final moments of the film Field of Dreams.
But catharsis doesn’t just create such moments. Indeed, many narratives depend in one way or another on personal identification with a character. Watching or reading a comic book or movie respectively can also elicit an emotional response, especially when the audience identifies with a character. Narratives can fail when people can’t “get” the characters and can’t connect the characters in any way to their own existence. Emotional engagement (of any kind) by readers or audiences with characters or circumstances can lead to a deeper appreciation of the narrative.
There’s also the occasional moment in very short narratives where people experience a release of emotion. There are entire lists of commercials, for example, that made people laugh hysterically or suddenly cry. Individuals can also be influenced by their circumstances when watching commercials. A mother holding a baby in a baby formula commercial could be very touching to a new mom or a woman who desperately wants babies. Even in visual art, people can find themselves somewhat emotionally invested in what they see.
Whether or not this purifies the soul, as Aristotle said, is a debatable point that lies at the heart of today’s discussions about whether violent television viewing breeds violent behavior. Platonic thinking suggests that people need to be careful, as extreme emotional experiences could lead to extreme emotional living, including behaving in immoral or unethical ways. Aristotle however argued that, through catharsis, people emerged purified and less likely to act in extreme or immoral ways. Interestingly, this debate, which is ancient, is still fought on many levels in modern society, and emotional identification with characters or storyline can either be viewed as a blessing or treated with suspicion.
