The Persona of Ingmar Bergman

Born to a mother who did not want him and a father who humiliated him during his upbringing, Ingmar Bergman somehow endured his dysfunctional family to become one of the great artists of the twentieth century. However, the scars left from his early agony affected him both physically and emotionally. He suffered with a disabling psychosomatic gastrointestinal illness and serious problems in his interpersonal relationships.

In The Persona of Ingmar Bergman: Conquering Demons through Film, Barbara Young looks at how the director’s personal life shaped his creative output. A practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Young probes Bergman’s relationships with his parents, his wives, his children, and his colleagues to explore the meanings of his many films. As Bergman gradually began to work through his psychological problems, he accomplished something that few people have ever done—he analyzed himself. The films examined in this study include the majority of his features, including The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, The Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, The Hour of the Wolf, The Passion of Anna, Cries and Whispers, Face to Face, Autumn Sonata, Fanny and Alexander, and of course, Persona. Young also looks at Bergman’s novels and letters to provide further insight into the director’s creative process.

While many books have been written about Bergman and analysts have studied particular films, this volume represents a unique attempt by a psychoanalyst to understand an artist through his art. The Persona of Ingmar Bergman will appeal to film and art students, as well as those in the psychotherapy profession, and of course, the director’s fans throughout the world.