Psychoanalytic Eyes: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Literature

Psychoanalytic Eyes: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Literature

This blog will be much more than a literary theory because we will discuss Psychoanalytic Criticism. I am not well-versed in this field. However, on one such occasion, I met Sigmund Freud who is the founder of the science of psychoanalysis. 

Our blog consists of two parts:

1.     Sigmund Freud and his Psychoanalytic Criticism

2.     Jacques Lacan Psychoanalytic Criticism

Before starting, I will briefly mention both. Initially, let’s define what is Psychoanalytic Criticism?

What is Psychoanalytic Criticism

Psychoanalytic criticism is a way of analysing literature by looking at how the hidden parts of the mind (what we call the unconscious) might influence characters, authors, and even the story itself. It’s about uncovering the deeper emotions, desires, and conflicts that shape behaviour and decisions in a text.

Freud’s Psychoanalysis

The foundation of psychoanalytic criticism comes from Sigmund Freud’s theories about the human mind. He divided the mind into three main parts:

1.     Id (Instincts): The part of us that says, “I want it now!” It’s all about desires and impulses.

2.     Ego (Reality): The part that balances the id and the superego. It says, “Let’s think this through and find a solution.”

3.   Superego (Morality): The part that says, “This is right, and this is wrong.” It’s like our inner rulebook.

According to Freud, characters (and even authors) might show hidden fears, desires, or inner struggles in their words, actions, and dreams.

Lacan’s Mirror Stage

Jacques Lacan expanded on Freud’s ideas. He introduced the concept of the “mirror stage,” where a child looks into a mirror and starts to understand themselves as a separate being. In literature, this can be applied to characters searching for their identity or struggling to understand who they are.

An Example: Hamlet

Let’s take Shakespeare’s Hamlet as an example. Hamlet struggles with decisions throughout the play, torn between action and inaction. Freud’s idea of the Oedipus Complex (a child’s deep, unconscious feelings of rivalry with their father and attachment to their mother) can be used to analyze Hamlet’s complicated emotions about his parents. This might explain some of his hesitations and internal conflicts.

Why Does It Matter?

Psychoanalytic criticism helps us see stories on a deeper level. Instead of just asking “What happened?” we ask, “Why did this character act this way?” It gives us insight into the human mind and emotions, making the story richer and more meaningful.

The Unconscious

Sigmund Freud’s theory of the mind divides it into two main parts: the conscious mind (or the ego) and the unconscious mind. While the conscious mind contains thoughts and feelings that we are aware of, the unconscious mind holds thoughts, memories, and desires that are kept hidden from our awareness.

What is the Unconscious?

The unconscious is like a secret place in our minds where we keep things we don’t notice or think about. It is where we store feelings, thoughts, and sometimes even things we don’t know we feel or think. For example, sometimes we do not know why something makes us happy or why we feel sad. But our unconscious has the answers to those feelings.

A lot of times, things we do not realize are in our unconscious can affect what we do or how we feel. These hidden thoughts don’t just pop up in our minds by themselves, but sometimes they show up in strange ways like in dreams or through behaviours that seem a little odd (called "neurotic symptoms"). So, we might not know exactly why we want something or why we like someone, but our unconscious knows why.

Freud's work is built on the idea of the unconscious, which is the part of our mind we are not aware of, but it still strongly affects what we do. Freud did not invent the idea of the unconscious, but he was unique in believing that it plays a major role in shaping our actions and thoughts. One important idea connected to this is repression. Repression is when we “forget” or try to ignore things like unresolved problems, hidden desires, or bad memories from our past. These things are pushed out of our conscious mind and into the unconscious, where we don't think about them, even though they can still influence our behaviour.

Sometimes most of us feel like that. However, we need to overcome this. To overcome repression, it is important to start by becoming aware of the suppressed emotions and thoughts that may be influencing you. This awareness can be achieved by reflecting on your feelings and behaviours. Facing these emotions, even if they are uncomfortable, is crucial to letting them go.

Id

In Freud’s structural theory, the Id represents the most primitive and selfish part of an individual. This innate structure works to fulfil instinctual desires and basic needs, independent of social norms and moral rules. The Id is often described as an animalistic part, and it is sometimes compared to a small child. Children have a strong desire to immediately satisfy their wishes and are impatient, which reflects the nature of the Id. For example, when a child says, "Let's play now!" it is an expression of their instinctual need for instant satisfaction.

Ego

The Ego works based on the reality principle, meaning it helps the individual act rationally and logically without pushing the limits of reality. The function of the Ego is to balance the innate Id with the moral values represented by the Superego.

• The Id represents instinctual desires.
• The Superego represents social and moral norms.
• The Ego acts as a mediator between these two structures, striving to realistically satisfy the individual’s desires. The Ego uses secondary processes to maintain this balance. Secondary processes involve the individual’s ability to think, delay gratification, and plan. These processes help the individual meet their needs in a timely and appropriate manner. The Ego also uses defence mechanisms when necessary. Defence mechanisms are psychological strategies that protect the individual from internal conflicts or sources of stress. If a defence mechanism is used, it is always carried out by the Ego.

Superego (The Super Ego)

The Superego develops during the phallic stage of psychosexual development, typically between the ages of 3 and 6. It becomes fully visible around the ages of 5 or 6. It represents the moral aspect of our personality.

• The Id works based on the pleasure principle.
• The Ego operates on the reality principle.
• The Superego works based on moral principles.

The Superego represents everything that pressures the individual, including laws, rules, customs, traditions, and societal expectations like "What will others think?" It embodies the pressure exerted by society. The Superego is seen as our perfectionist side. Phrases like "Mr. Gökalp is a perfect person" or "Ms. Leyla is a perfect person" are often used in this context. While striving for perfection might sound appealing, attempting to be perfect often leads to problematic behaviour patterns. If you live only to please others or live based on societal expectations, it prevents you from being yourself.

The Superego essentially tells you two things based on societal and moral values:

1.     What should you do?

2.     What should you not do?

If you fail to do what you should, you will feel shame. If you do something you shouldn’t, you will feel guilty.

For example, on a bus, if you find a seat and the bus fills up, and then an elderly woman gets on, your Superego (your moral side) asks, "What should you do?" You should stand up and give the seat to the elderly woman. If you don’t give up your seat after noticing her, Freud would say you would feel shame. This feeling of shame is part of the Superego.

According to Freud's model of personality, the human mind operates on three levels:

1.     Conscious Level: Thoughts and perceptions we are currently aware of.

2. Preconscious Level: Information and memories that are not immediately accessible but can be brought to consciousness.

3. Unconscious Level: Thoughts, feelings, and memories that are repressed or forgotten, and we are not aware of them.

Freud identified three components of personality:

***Superego: Represents moral values and ideals, learned from society and parents, shaping one's conscience.

***Ego: Acts as the mediator between the id's impulses and the superego's restrictions. It makes rational decisions based on reality and operates at both the conscious and preconscious levels.

***Id: Represents basic impulses (especially sex and aggression), seeking immediate gratification, and operates irrationally and impulsively. It functions entirely at the unconscious level.

Aspects of Sexuality in Freudian Psychoanalysis

Freud's theories place a significant focus on sexuality. He proposed that infantile sexuality begins early in life, not at puberty, particularly through the infant’s relationship with the mother. This is connected to the Oedipus complex, where a male infant desires to eliminate the father and become the mother's sexual partner. This conflict is believed to extend into various forms of rivalry, such as professional competition, which can be seen as reproducing sibling rivalry.

Freud also introduced the concept of libido, the sexual energy drive. In his classic model, the libido goes through three stages of focus: oral, anal, and phallic. Over time, Freud expanded the libido into Eros (life instinct) and Thanatos (death instinct), with the latter being controversial.

Defence Mechanism

A defence mechanism is an unconscious process aimed at protecting the individual from anxiety caused by internal conflicts and external stressors. Healthy individuals employ various defence mechanisms throughout their lives. However, if the use of a defence mechanism becomes persistent and leads to maladaptive behaviour, it can adversely affect mental or physical health.

Key Defence Mechanisms

1. Repression: Repression prevents unacceptable thoughts and memories from entering conscious awareness. Freud theorized that repression is a defence mechanism that forces distressing memories into the unconscious. This idea arose when Freud observed the difficulty patients had in recalling past events under hypnosis.

2. Sublimation: Repressed desires are redirected into more socially acceptable activities. For example, sexual desires might manifest as religious fervour or artistic creativity.

3.   Transference: This occurs when a patient redirects feelings from their past (such as resentment toward a parent) onto the therapist. It is often a tool for psychoanalysis as unresolved emotions from past relationships resurface.

4.    Condensation: In Freudian theory, condensation happens when multiple thoughts, memories, or ideas are merged into a single image or symbol in dreams. This process allows the unconscious to express itself through seemingly unrelated symbols in dreams or symptoms.

5.    Displacement: This is when a person redirects an impulse, often negative, toward a less threatening object or person. For example, a person frustrated at work might take out their anger on a family member instead.

6.  Screen Memories: These are seemingly trivial memories that serve to obscure more significant or painful ones. Screen memories help protect the individual from confronting distressing or unacceptable childhood experiences.

7.   Freudian Slip: Also known as "parapraxis," this is a mistake or error in speech, memory, or action that reflects an unconscious thought, desire, or wish. Common examples include slips of the tongue or miswritten words, which reveal repressed material.

Dream Work

Dreams are the unconscious mind’s way of processing and transforming desires and memories into dream images. Freud identified mechanisms like displacement (where one image represents another) and condensation (where multiple elements are combined into one image). This "dream work" translates abstract feelings or desires into concrete representations, much like how literature uses symbolism. Dreams often communicate indirectly, making use of symbolic representations instead of straightforward statements.

How Freudian Interpretation Works

Freudian interpretation is commonly associated with attributing sexual meanings to everyday objects, such as seeing towers or ladders as phallic symbols. However, Freud himself once said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." This illustrates that while Freudian interpretation can be playful, it is also more nuanced and sophisticated than simply labelling things as sexual symbols.

The mechanisms of displacement and condensation in Freudian theory serve two main purposes:

1.     They allow repressed material (fears, desires, memories) to bypass the censor that prevents them from entering conscious awareness.

2.     They transform repressed content into something symbolic that can be expressed in dreams—images, metaphors, and symbols. Dreams, like literature, don’t communicate directly but rather show repressed desires symbolically. This connection between dreams and literature has made Freudian interpretation highly appealing to literary critics.

Freud's The Psychopathology of Everyday Life

In his work, Freud explores everyday occurrences like forgetting, slips of the tongue, bungled actions, and superstitions. He argued that these seemingly trivial actions are not accidents, but manifestations of repressed material attempting to return to consciousness. For instance, a bungled action (such as putting the paper in your mouth instead of the candy) can be seen as a product of unconscious wishes or fears trying to resurface. Freud famously claimed, “There is always a return of the repressed.” Even when repressed material is forced out of conscious awareness, it finds ways to return.

Freud and Literary Criticism

Freudian analysis has been influential in literary criticism because both the unconscious mind and literature express themselves indirectly. Literature, like the unconscious, often uses symbols, metaphors, and imagery to convey meaning rather than making explicit statements. As a result, psychoanalytic interpretations of literature often seek to uncover these hidden meanings and have thus been central to literary studies. However, such interpretations can be controversial due to their subjective nature and the judgmental element involved in interpreting hidden desires and motivations within texts.

What Freudian Psychoanalytic Critics Do

1.     Conscious vs. Unconscious Mind

Freudian critics place central importance on the distinction between the conscious and the unconscious mind in literary analysis. They view the overt content of a literary work as related to the conscious mind, while the covert content—often the deeper, hidden meanings—is associated with the unconscious. These critics aim to uncover the unconscious aspects of the text, as they believe that these hidden elements reveal the true meaning of the work.

2.     Unconscious Motives

They focus on uncovering unconscious motives and feelings, both in the author and in the characters within the text. By analysing the hidden desires, fears, and psychological drives, critics seek to better understand the underlying motivations that shape the narrative and characters.

3.     Psychosexual Stages

Freudian critics often identify classic psychoanalytic symptoms, conditions, or phases, particularly the oral, anal, and phallic stages of infant emotional and sexual development. These stages are seen as influencing the characters' psychological development and are often traced in literary works to highlight deep-seated unconscious drives.

4.     Psychoanalytic Concepts in Literary History

They apply psychoanalytic theories broadly to literary history. For instance, Harold Bloom's The Anxiety of Influence (1973) uses the Oedipus complex to explain the struggle poets face in creating their own identity in the shadow of past masters. This struggle is seen as a psychoanalytic process where the artist's creation is influenced by both admiration and rivalry with previous generations.

5.     Psychic vs. Social Context

Freudian critics emphasize the psychic context of a work (i.e., the individual's psychological struggles) over the social or historical context (e.g., class conflict). They focus on internal conflicts, such as the Oedipal struggle between generations, sibling rivalries, or the tension between competing desires within the same individual. These internal dynamics are considered more significant than social or political issues, such as class struggles, in the Freudian approach to literary analysis.

Jacques Lacan and Literary Theory

Jacques Lacan (1901-1981), a French psychoanalyst, made significant contributions to literary theory, particularly through his development of the concept of the unconscious and its relationship to language. His work challenged traditional Freudian ideas and had a profound influence on literary studies, especially in the context of post-structuralism.

Lacan's Background

Lacan began his career with a medical degree and psychiatry training in the 1920s, focusing initially on paranoia and publishing a thesis about his patient Aimee. His theory of the 'mirror stage' was first presented in 1936 and later shaped his broader psychoanalytic framework. Lacan's ideas evolved under the influence of leading intellectual figures such as Claude Lévi-Strauss, Ferdinand de Saussure, and Roman Jakobson. In the 1950s, Lacan rejected the traditional focus on the conscious mind, emphasizing instead the role of the unconscious in shaping human experience.

The Unconscious and Language

Lacan famously declared, "the unconscious is structured like a language." This statement highlights his view that the unconscious mind operates in ways similar to language—through symbolic systems, structures, and signifiers. Lacan was particularly influenced by Saussure's theory of language, which posits that meaning is derived not from a direct relationship between words and things but from the differences between words. This structural view of language became a central element in Lacan's psychoanalytic theory.

For Lacan, language is not merely a tool for communication but the very structure through which human beings understand themselves and the world. The unconscious, then, is not a chaotic mass of repressed desires, as traditionally thought, but an ordered system of signs, much like the structure of language itself.

Freud and Linguistic Mechanisms

Lacan’s analysis of the unconscious draws from Freud's dream work mechanisms—condensation and displacement—which Lacan correlates with metaphor and metonymy in language:

1.     Metonymy: In language, one word can stand in for another (e.g., a part representing the whole). Lacan sees this in dreams where a characteristic (e.g., an object like a car) stands for something larger (e.g., a person or an idea).

2.     Condensation: Multiple ideas or images are fused into a single symbol, similar to how a metaphor works in language, where two separate images (e.g., a ship cutting through waves and a plough cutting through soil) combine into one.

This linguistic nature of the unconscious is further demonstrated in Freudian mechanisms like puns, wordplay, and other forms of verbal expression that reveal hidden meanings.

Reconceptualizing the Self

Lacan's work challenges the traditional view of the self as a unified, conscious entity. Drawing on Descartes’ "I think, therefore I am," Lacan reverses this by asserting that "I am where I think not," meaning that true selfhood lies in the unconscious. According to Lacan, the conscious self is merely a linguistic construct, not a stable, essential entity. The self is "deconstructed" and exists only in relation to language—a system that precedes the individual and structures their understanding of the world.

Implications for Literary Theory

1.     Characterization

Since Lacan deconstructs the notion of the self as a stable entity, traditional characterization in literature is called into question. Literary characters, then, can no longer be seen as fully realized, autonomous individuals but rather as assemblages of signifiers. Characters are understood as symbolic representations that function within a network of meaning, much like words in a sentence.

2.     Language and Reality

Lacan’s view of language as detached from the external world also rejects literary realism. In realist literature, the text is assumed to reflect the real world. However, from a Lacanian perspective, language doesn’t mirror reality; instead, it creates its own world. This view aligns with modernist and postmodernist literature, where texts often break from conventional narrative structures and engage in self-referential, fragmented forms. Literary works that play with language and reference other texts reflect Lacan’s belief in the self-referential nature of language.

Mirror Stage

The Mirror Stage happens when a child sees its reflection and begins to recognize itself as separate from the world. This marks the start of language acquisition and socialization, symbolizing the formation of the ego. In literature, this can reflect a character’s fragmented or evolving identity.

Imaginary

The Imaginary is the realm of idealized self-images and unity. It focuses on immediate, image-based understanding and is connected to the ego’s creation. In literary terms, the Imaginary represents illusions or the idealized self.

Symbolic

The Symbolic is the world of language, law, and social structure. It shapes the individual through signifiers, creating order. In literature, it aligns with realist narratives, rooted in logic and order.

Real

The Real refers to what cannot be symbolized—those aspects of experience that resist representation. In literature, the Real signifies the ineffable, often the unexpressed or unresolvable elements of a story.

Imaginary vs. Symbolic in Literature

Realist literature typically reflects the Symbolic, structured and logical. In contrast, anti-realist works like metafiction or magic realism tap into the Imaginary, disrupting structure and exploring irrationality and fragmentation.

What Lacanian Critics Do

 1.    Uncovering the Text's Subconscious

Lacanian critics, like Freudian critics, explore unconscious motives, but rather than focusing on the author or characters, they look at the unconscious of the text itself. This involves identifying contradictory meanings and hidden undercurrents within the text, much like a subconscious beneath the text's conscious surface. This approach is akin to deconstruction, which seeks to reveal these underlying contradictions.

2.    Identifying Lacanian Psychoanalytic Phases

They also analyse literary works through Lacanian phases or symptoms, such as the Mirror Stage or the influence of the unconscious. This could manifest in characters' development or the text’s structure, revealing aspects of identity formation, separation, and desire.

3.    Exploring Lacanian Concepts

Lacanian critics interpret the text through broader Lacanian concepts like lack and desire. They look for how these concepts manifest in the narrative, characters, and symbolism, emphasizing the deep psychological structures at play.

4.    Focusing on Language and the Unconscious

A primary concern for Lacanian critics is how language shapes the unconscious. They highlight how signs, symbols, and language often elude clear meaning, reflecting Lacan's idea that the signified (the concept behind a word) is always elusive. They argue that literary works are enactments of Lacanian ideas, especially the central role of the unconscious and how language shapes identity and meaning.

5.    Favouring Anti-Realist Texts

Lacanian critics tend to favour anti-realist texts that question or disrupt conventional literary representations. These works, such as metafiction or magic realism, reflect the instability of the self and the fluidity of reality, engaging with Lacanian notions of the fragmented self and the interplay between the Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real.