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WordWealth:
catharsis
ca·thar·sis
 ,
n., pl. -ses
(-sēz).
1. the purging of the
emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain
kinds of art, as tragedy or music; 2. Med. purgation;
3. Psychiatry.
a. psychotherapy that
encourages or permits the discharge of pent-up, socially
unacceptable affects.
b. discharge of
pent-up emotions so as to result in the alleviation of symptoms or
the permanent relief of the condition.
[1795–1805; < NL < Gk
kátharsis a cleansing, equiv. to kathar- (var. s. of
katha īrein
to cleanse, deriv. of katharós pure) + -sis -SIS]
(Random
House Webster's Unabridged).
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With songs by the heralded
newcomer Jeanine Tesori (Violet), the play focuses on a filmmaker named Jane Furstman who discovers that an early moviemaker named Anne First, ninety-nine years old and abandoned in a nursing home, is a distant relative. Their reconnection brings
catharsis, a theme common in the Gordons' work, invariably brought to life in a bold theatrical vernacular that is as distinctive and determinative as a slice of DNA.——
Nancy Dalva and John Istel;
Dance and Theater; The Atlantic; May
1999
Helms had feared two consequences from the hemorrhage of Agency
secrets which was still continuing: the demoralization of the CIA,
unaccustomed to public scrutiny and a field day for hostile
intelligence services rummaging through the Senate committee's
voluminous reports. In Helms's view both had occurred, just as
predicted. He was not a believer in catharsis. He was neither
embarrassed nor repentant. Men of the world knew that the business of
intelligence was more than a simple matter of spy and counterspy. What
Helms did not understand was the relentless harping -- especially on
the part of certain Senate liberals and the pressmen -- on the
"crimes" of the CIA.——
Inside the Department of Dirty Tricks;
The Atlantic; 1979
Sorry, but anyone who dismisses Panorama's revelations about corruption in racing as fabrications is either a coward or a fraud. Already this most insular of sports is missing the opportunity to treat this crisis as a chance to achieve some kind of
catharsis. ——
Paul Hayward;
Time to End the Great Pretence;
Telegraph; Oct 08, 2002
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