Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism. Using Freudian Theory

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism. Using Freudian Theory"

April Fox
5 years ago
Views:

1 Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism Using Freudian Theory

2 Psychoanalysis Definition: a system of psychological theory and therapy that aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind and bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind by techniques such as dream interpretation and free association (google)

3 Freudian Theory Freud asserted that our unconscious is influenced by childhood events (owl.english.purdue.edu). Freud also maintained that our desires and our unconscious conflicts give rise to three areas of the mind that wrestle for dominance as we grow from infancy, to childhood, to adulthood These three areas are called the id, ego, and superego.

4 Rational Brain drives rules imposed by society

5 The stages of Freudian Theory: id - "...the location of the drives" or libido ego - "...one of the major defenses against the power of the drives...which work to suppress the id. superego - the area of the unconscious that houses Judgment (of self and others) and "...which begins to form during childhood as a result of the Oedipus complex" (Richter )

6 The successful completion of each stage lead's to a healthy personality as an adult. If, however, a conflict remains unresolved at any particular stage, the individual might remain fixated or stuck at that particular point of development. A fixation can involve an overdependence or obsession with something related to that phase of development. For example, a person with an "oral fixation" is believed to be stuck at the oral stageof development. Signs of an oral fixation might include an excessive reliance on oral behaviors such as smoking, biting fingernails or eating.

7 Freudian Theory Freud asserted that people's behavior is affected by their unconscious: "...the notion that human beings are motivated, even driven, by desires, fears, needs, and conflicts of which they are unaware..." (Tyson 14-15). Some people feel pressured to suppress fears, desires etc. into the unconscious area of the brain and this can lead to neurosis.

8 These memories etc. can be brought to the surface through things like hypnosis. Man operates in his conscious mind daily. These thoughts are often suppressed but can emerge through dreams, slips of the tongue now named Freudian slip

9 Symptoms of Repressed Desires or Unhappy Psychological Events "...repression doesn't eliminate our painful experiences and emotions...we unconsciously behave in ways that will allow us to 'play out'...our conflicted feelings about the painful experiences and emotions we repress" (Tyson, 15). To keep all of this conflict buried in our unconscious, Freud argued that we develop defenses: selective perception, selective memory, denial, displacement, projection, regression, fear of intimacy, and fear of death, among others. These defenses lead to neurosis.

10 Important Terms to Know Freudian Slip Id psychoanalyze Oedipus Complex Bereavement Neurosis Psychosis Transference Ego Superego Conscious Preconscious Unconscious Where can I find these? In this slide and the handout provided.

11 Questions to Consider: How do the operations of repression structure or inform the work? Are there any oedipal dynamics - or any other family dynamics - at work here? Is there evidence of a fear or fascination with death or sexuality - which includes love and romance as well as sexual behavior - as a primary indicator of psychological identity? Is there evidence of a struggle between the id, ego, and superego? What does the work suggest about the psychological being of its author? Are there prominent words in the piece that could have different or hidden meanings that could be interpreted as Freudian slips? Could there be a subconscious reason for the author or character using these "problem words"?

Personality. Development of Personality

Personality. Development of Personality Personality Unique pattern of enduring thoughts, feelings, and actions that characterize a person genetic / biological component? environmental / experiential component? Development of Personality Temperament