Psychoanalytic Criticism Notes

Psychoanalytic Criticism Overview

  • Definition: Examination of literature through the lens of psychological theories, particularly those of Sigmund Freud.

  • Approaches:

  • Analyzes psychological motivations of characters and authors.

  • Primarily applies Freudian psychology, but other psychological theories may also be used.

Theoretical Framework of Psychoanalytic Criticism

  • Freud's Premises:

  • Literature and dreams serve as imagined fulfillments of repressed wishes banned by reality or social norms.

Freud's View of the Human Mind

  • Model of the Mind:

  • Conscious Level:

    • Contains thoughts, perceptions, and memories.

  • Preconscious Level:

    • Holds stored knowledge, fears, and unacceptable desires.

  • Unconscious Level:

    • Comprises irrational wishes, immoral urges, and shameful experiences.

Functional Aspects of the Mind

  • Three Parts of the Mind:

  • Id:

    • Represents innate desires, including sexual and aggressive drives.

  • Superego:

    • Internalization of moral standards and societal expectations.

  • Ego:

    • Balances demands of the id and superego with reality.

Psychosexual Development Stages

  1. Oral Stage

  2. Anal Stage

  3. Phallic Stage

  4. Latency Stage

  5. Genital Stage

Key Concepts in Psychoanalysis

  • Sexual Motivation:

  • Freud believed all human behavior is driven by sexuality.

  • Oedipus Complex:

  • A boy’s unconscious desire to possess his mother and eliminate his father.

  • Electra Complex:

  • A girl’s unconscious desire for her father and rivalry with her mother.

Repression and Fantasy in Literature

  • Censor Mechanism:

  • Forbidden desires are repressed by societal norms, arising in disguised forms in literature.

  • Mechanisms of Disguise:

  • Condensation: Omission and combination of elements into one.

  • Displacement: Substitution of unacceptable desires with acceptable ones.

  • Symbolism: Representation of repressed desires through nonsexual symbols.

  • Latent vs. Manifest Content:

  • Latent Content: Unconscious wishes disguised.

  • Manifest Content: Acceptable representation of those wishes.

Freudian Imagery in Literature

  • Symbolic Representations:

  • Concave Images: Female symbols (e.g., ponds, flowers, caves).

  • Phallic Symbols: Male imagery (e.g., objects longer than they are wide).

  • Associated Actions: Dancing, riding, flying often linked to sexual pleasure.

  • Water Symbolism: Connotes birth, femininity, and the maternal aspects.

Applications of Psychoanalytic Criticism

  • Literary Analysis:

  • Provides insights into recurring themes like family dynamics, authority, and guilt in literature.

  • Complements other schools of literary criticism without contradiction.

Advantages and Disadvantages

  • Advantages:

  • Useful for understanding characters with psychological issues.

  • Insight into the author’s psyche enhances literary understanding.

  • Disadvantages:

  • Risks reducing literature to mere psychological case studies.

  • Tends to overemphasize sexual motivations in literature.

  • Not all works are suited to this analysis.

Critical Questions for Analysis

  • To what extent does the text reveal the author's repressed desires?

  • What conflicts exist among the author’s id, ego, and superego?

  • Are there indications of issues in the author’s psychosexual development?

Psychosexual Development of Characters

  1. How does the text reflect the character’s psychosexual growth?

  2. Does the character exhibit neuroses or psychoses?

  3. Is the character influenced by repressed desires and internal conflicts?

Practical Application Example

  • Activity: Analyze "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss using psychoanalytic principles as part of an exercise.