Sorrow (emotion)
Encyclopedia
Sorrow is an emotion
, feeling, or sentiment. Sorrow 'is more "intense" than sadness
...it implies a long term state'. At the same time 'sorrow - but not unhappiness - suggests a degree of resignation...which lends sorrow its peculiar air of dignity'.
'In terms of attitude, sorrow can be said to be half way between sadness (accepting) and distress (not accepting'.
saw a cult of sorrow develop, reaching back to The Sorrows of Young Werther
of 1774, and extending through the nineteenth century with contributions like Tennyson's In Memoriam
- 'O Sorrow, wilt thou live with me/No casual mistress, but a wife' - up to W. B. Yeats in 1889, still 'of his high comrade Sorrow dreaming'. While it may be that 'the Romantic hero's cult of sorrow is largely a matter of pretence', as Jane Austen
pointed out satirically through Marianne Dashwood
, 'brooding over her sorrows...this excess of suffering' could have serious consequences.
Partly in reaction, the twentieth century has by contrast been pervaded by the belief that ' acting sorrowful can actually make me sorrowful, as William James long ago observed'. Certainly 'in the modern Anglo emotional culture, characterized by the "dampening of the emotions" in general...sorrow has largely given way to the milder, less painful, and more transient sadness'. A latter-day Werther is likely to be greeted by the call to '"Come off it, Gordon. We all know there is no sorrow like unto your sorrow"'; while any conventional 'valeoftearishness and deathwhereisthystingishness' would be met by the participants 'looking behind the sombre backs of one another's cards and discovering their brightly-colored faces'. Perhaps only the occasional subculture like the Jungian
would still seek to 'call up from the busy adult man the sorrow of animal life, the grief of all nature, "the tears of things"'.
Late modernity
has (if anything) only intensified the shift: 'the postmodern is closer to the human comedy than to the abyssal discontent...the abyss of sorrow'.
the expression of the feeling causes its energy to grow'. At the same time, it would seem that 'grief in general is a "taming" of the primitive violent discharge affect, characterized by fear and self-destruction, to be seen in mourning'.
Julia Kristeva
suggests that 'taming sorrow, not fleeing sadness at once but allowing it to settle for a while...is what one of the temporary and yet indispensable phases of analysis
might be'.
, the others being fear, anger, and joy. In this system, when an impulsive tendency towards some important object is frustrated, the resultant sentiment is sorrow.
In Shand's view, the emotion of sorrow, which he classifies as a primary emotion, has two impulses: to cling to the object of sorrow, and to repair the injuries done to that object that caused the emotion in the first place. Thus the primary emotion of sorrow is the basis for the emotion of pity, which Shand describes as a fusion of sorrow and joy: sorrow at the injury done to the object of pity, and joy as an "element of sweetness" tinging that sorrow.
William McDougall
disagreed with Shand's view, observing that Shand himself recognized that sorrow was itself derived from simpler elements. To support this argument, he observes that grief
, at a loss, is a form of sorrow where there is no impulse to repair injury, and that therefore there are identifiable subcomponents of sorrow. He also observes that although there is an element of emotional pain in sorrow, there is no such element in pity, thus pity is not a compound made from sorrow as a simpler component.
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
, feeling, or sentiment. Sorrow 'is more "intense" than sadness
Sadness
Sadness is emotional pain associated with, or characterized by feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, helplessness, sorrow, and rage. When sad, people often become outspoken, less energetic, and emotional...
...it implies a long term state'. At the same time 'sorrow - but not unhappiness - suggests a degree of resignation...which lends sorrow its peculiar air of dignity'.
'In terms of attitude, sorrow can be said to be half way between sadness (accepting) and distress (not accepting'.
Cult
RomanticismRomanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
saw a cult of sorrow develop, reaching back to The Sorrows of Young Werther
The Sorrows of Young Werther
The Sorrows of Young Werther is an epistolary and loosely autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774; a revised edition of the novel was published in 1787...
of 1774, and extending through the nineteenth century with contributions like Tennyson's In Memoriam
In Memoriam
In Memoriam may refer to:*In memoriam is a Latin phrase that translates directly as 'in memory of', examples of its uses can be found in obituaries and in epitaphs.Collins Latin Dictionary & Grammar...
- 'O Sorrow, wilt thou live with me/No casual mistress, but a wife' - up to W. B. Yeats in 1889, still 'of his high comrade Sorrow dreaming'. While it may be that 'the Romantic hero's cult of sorrow is largely a matter of pretence', as Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
pointed out satirically through Marianne Dashwood
Marianne Dashwood
Marianne Dashwood is a fictional character in the Jane Austen novel Sense and Sensibility. The 17-year-old second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood, she embodies the ‘sensibility’ of the title, as opposed to her elder sister Elinor’s ‘sense.’...
, 'brooding over her sorrows...this excess of suffering' could have serious consequences.
Partly in reaction, the twentieth century has by contrast been pervaded by the belief that ' acting sorrowful can actually make me sorrowful, as William James long ago observed'. Certainly 'in the modern Anglo emotional culture, characterized by the "dampening of the emotions" in general...sorrow has largely given way to the milder, less painful, and more transient sadness'. A latter-day Werther is likely to be greeted by the call to '"Come off it, Gordon. We all know there is no sorrow like unto your sorrow"'; while any conventional 'valeoftearishness and deathwhereisthystingishness' would be met by the participants 'looking behind the sombre backs of one another's cards and discovering their brightly-colored faces'. Perhaps only the occasional subculture like the Jungian
Jung
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology.Jung may also refer to:* Jung * JUNG, Java Universal Network/Graph Framework-See also:...
would still seek to 'call up from the busy adult man the sorrow of animal life, the grief of all nature, "the tears of things"'.
Late modernity
Late modernity
Late modernity is a term that has been used to describe the condition or state of some highly developed present day societies...
has (if anything) only intensified the shift: 'the postmodern is closer to the human comedy than to the abyssal discontent...the abyss of sorrow'.
Postponement
'Not feeling sorrow invites fear into our lives. The longer we put off feeling sorrow, the greater our fear of it becomes. PostponingPostponement of affect
Postponement of affect is a defence mechanism which may be used against a variety of feelings or emotions. Such a 'temporal displacement, resulting simply in a later appearance of the affect reaction and in thus preventing the recognition of the motivating connection, is...most frequently used...
the expression of the feeling causes its energy to grow'. At the same time, it would seem that 'grief in general is a "taming" of the primitive violent discharge affect, characterized by fear and self-destruction, to be seen in mourning'.
Julia Kristeva
Julia Kristeva
Julia Kristeva is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, literary critic, psychoanalyst, sociologist, feminist, and, most recently, novelist, who has lived in France since the mid-1960s. She is now a Professor at the University Paris Diderot...
suggests that 'taming sorrow, not fleeing sadness at once but allowing it to settle for a while...is what one of the temporary and yet indispensable phases of analysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
might be'.
Shand and McDougall
Sadness is one of four interconnected sentiments in the system of Alexander Faulkner ShandAlexander Faulkner Shand
Alexander Faulkner Shand FBA was an English writer and barrister. Born in Bayswater, London he was the son of Hugh Morton Shand, a Scot, and his wife Edrica Faulkner, Italian born but the daughter of Joshua Wilson Faulkner of Kent. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy...
, the others being fear, anger, and joy. In this system, when an impulsive tendency towards some important object is frustrated, the resultant sentiment is sorrow.
In Shand's view, the emotion of sorrow, which he classifies as a primary emotion, has two impulses: to cling to the object of sorrow, and to repair the injuries done to that object that caused the emotion in the first place. Thus the primary emotion of sorrow is the basis for the emotion of pity, which Shand describes as a fusion of sorrow and joy: sorrow at the injury done to the object of pity, and joy as an "element of sweetness" tinging that sorrow.
William McDougall
William McDougall (psychologist)
William McDougall FRS was an early twentieth century psychologist who spent the first part of his career in the United Kingdom and the latter part in the United States...
disagreed with Shand's view, observing that Shand himself recognized that sorrow was itself derived from simpler elements. To support this argument, he observes that grief
Grief
Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions...
, at a loss, is a form of sorrow where there is no impulse to repair injury, and that therefore there are identifiable subcomponents of sorrow. He also observes that although there is an element of emotional pain in sorrow, there is no such element in pity, thus pity is not a compound made from sorrow as a simpler component.