SOURCE: Jauregui, Inmaculada. “Towards a Phenomenology of Writing: A Reading of Marie Cardinal's Les Grands Désordres (Disorderly Conduct).” Journal of Phenomenological Psychology 32, no. 2 (fall 2001): 170-81.

In the following essay, Jauregui evaluates Cardinal's “narrative treatment of a Parisian psychologist” in Les Grands Désordres, arguing that fiction can reveal human truths that often “elude the grasp” of psychology.

Abstract

Marie Cardinal's novel Les Grands Désordres (Disorderly Conduct) explores the power of biography and fictional writing to reveal the human world in ways that elude the grasp of an abstract and academic psychology. This essay examines Cardinal's narrative treatment of a Parisian psychologist who, at the beginning of her career, is convinced that natural science will contribute to human knowledge and will reduce suffering. However, a personal crisis makes her question her basic assumptions and leads her to discover the spiritual wealth and revealing powers of narrative writing...