The Interplay between Eros and Thanatos in Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending

Abstract

The classical Freudian psychoanalysis enunciates the idea that the dual instincts, Eros and Thanatos, determine the phenomena of life. This paper attempts to analyse how these two instincts fight each other and how their interaction determines the course of the lives of the characters in the Booker-winning novel, The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes. The analysis reveals that Thanatos dominates in the novel, often leading the characters to aggression, violence, self-destruction, and death.