ALIENATION AS SELF-PRESERVATION: IDENTITY AND AUTHENTICITY IN OTTESSA MOSHFEGH’S MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION

Abstract

This research paper explores the intricate relationship between alienation and authenticity as paradoxical strategies of self-preservation in Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation, tailored for the contemporary framework “The Hybrid Mind: Multidisciplinary Pathways in the Cognitive Era.” Drawing on theories from cognitive psychology, psychoanalysis, sociocultural criticism, and literary studies, the paper analyzes how Moshfegh’s protagonist’s radical withdrawal—a deliberate year-long retreat into medicated sleep—reflects both a symptomatic crisis and a calculated defense against the pressures of neoliberal society and commodified existence. The act of isolating herself is examined not simply as escapism but as a transformative negotiation of identity, shaped by a convergence of trauma, loss, and the omnipresent demands for productivity and self-optimization. Alienation, often regarded as a deficit, is here repositioned as a creative resource: a liminal space where the protagonist processes psychological injury and re-examines the authenticity of self in the face of market-driven social norms.