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Introduction Of all the critical approaches to literature, the psychological approach has been one of the most controversial, the most abused, and – for many readers- the least appreciated. Yet, for all the difficulties involved in its proper application to interpretive analysis, the psychological approach can be fascinating and rewarding.
Abuses and Misunderstandings of the Psychological Approach In the general sense of the word, there is nothing new about the psychological approach. As early as the 4th century B.C., Aristotle used it in setting forth his classic definition of tragedy as combining the emotions of pity and terror to produce catharsis. Sir Philip Sidney, the English Renaissance figure with his statements about the moral effects of poetry, was psychologizing literature as were such Romantic poets as Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Shelley with their theories of the imagination. In this sense, then, virtually every literary critic has been concerned at some time with the psychology of writing or responding to literature.
Cont’d During the 20th c., psychological criticism has come to be associated with a particular school of thought: the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and his followers. From this association have derived most of the abuses and misunderstanding of the modern psychological approach to literature. Abuses of the approach have resulted from an excess of enthusiasm. The practitioners of the Freudian approach often push their critical theses too hard, forcing literature into a Procrustean bed of psychoanalytic theory at the expense of other relevant considerations (e.g. the work's total thematic and aesthetic context). Many critics of the psychological school have been either literary scholars who have understood the principles of psychology imperfectly or professional psychologists who have little feeling for literature as art: the former have abused Freudian insights through oversimplification and distortion; the latter have bruised our literary sensibilities.
Cont’d These abuses have given rise to a widespread mistrust of the psychological approach as a tool for critical analysis. Conservative scholars and teachers of literature, often shocked by certain psychological terms, have rejected all psychological criticism, other than the commonsense type, as pretentious nonsense. By explaining a few of the principles of Freudian psychology that have been applied to literary interpretation and by providing some cautionary remarks, we hope to introduce the reader to a balanced critical perspective that will enable him or her to appreciate the instructive possibilities of the psychological approach while avoiding the pitfalls of either extremist attitude.
Definition Psychological criticism is an approach to literature that draws upon psychoanalytic theories, especially those of Sigmund Freud or Jacques Lacan to understand more fully the text, the writer, and the reader. The basis of this approach is the idea of the existence of a human unconscious—those impulses, desires, and feelings about which a person is unaware but which influence emotions and behavior. Critics use psychological approaches to explore the motivations of characters and the symbolic meanings of events, while biographers speculate about a writer’s own motivations—conscious or unconscious—in a literary work. Psychological approaches are also used to describe and analyze the reader’s personal responses to a text.
Psychoanalytical Approach: • most controversial and most abused • should be used with other approaches to enhance them and to give clues to unlocking themes and symbolic meanings • excellent tool for reading between the lines • this approach became popular in the 20th century after Sigmund Freud published his work on the inner workings of the human mind • this approach focuses on analyzing characters’ behaviors and their motivations
Freud's Theories Freud emphasizes the unconscious aspect of the human psyche. He provided evidence that most of our actions are motivated by psychological forces over which we have very limited control. Like the iceberg, the human mind is structured so that its great weight and density lie beneath the surface (below the level of consciousness). There are three major premises for Freud's theory. That most of the individual's mental processes are unconscious is Freud's first premise. The second (which has been rejected by a great many professional psychologists, including some of Freud's own disciples) is that all human behavior is motivated ultimately by what we would call sexuality. His third major premise is that because of the powerful social taboos attached to certain sexual impulses, many of our desires and memories are repressed (that is actively excluded from conscious awareness). Starting from these three premises, we may examine several corollaries of Freudian theory. Principal among these is Freud's assignment of the mental processes to three psychic zones:
1- The Id: The id is the source of all our aggressions and desires. It is lawless, asocial, and amoral. Its function is to gratify our instincts for pleasure without regard for social conventions, legal ethics, or moral restraint. Unchecked, it would lead us to any lengths- to destruction and even self-destruction- to satisfy its impulses for pleasure. Safety for the self and for others does not lie within the province of the id; its concern is purely for instinctual gratification, heedless of consequences. For centuries before Freud this force was recognized in human nature but often attributed to supernatural and external rather than internal forces: the id as defined by Freud is identical in many respects to the Devil as defined by theologians.
In other words: ID: • entirely unconscious; functions to fulfill the primordial life principle (pleasure principle) • the source of all our aggressions and desires • it is lawless, asocial and amoral • animalistic without reason or logic • its function is to gratify our instincts for pleasure without regard for social conventions, legal ethics or moral restraint • destructive (even self-destructive) to satisfy its impulses for pleasure • theologians call it the devil
2- The Ego: In view of the id dangerous potentialities, it is necessary that other psychic agencies protect the individual and society. The first of these regulating agencies which protect the individual is the ego. This is the rational governing agent of the psyche. Though the ego lacks the strong vitality of the id, it regulates the instinctual drives of the id so that they may be released in nondestructive behavioral patterns. And though a large portion of the ego is unconscious, the ego nevertheless comprises what we ordinarily think of as the conscious mind. In popular language, we may say that the ego stands for reason and circumspection, while the id stands for the untamed passions. Whereas the id is governed solely by the pleasure principle, the ego is governed by the reality principle. Consequently, the ego serves as intermediary between the world within and the world without.
That is to say EGO: • partially unconscious • stands for reason • rational governing agent of the psyche • governed by the reality principle • regulates the instinctual drives of the id so that they may be released in socially acceptable forms (nondestructive behavioral patterns) • determines when, where and how id’s demands may be gratified in ways that are acceptable • balance between id and superego • when not in balance, neurosis occurs
3- The Superego: The other regulating agent which primarily functions to protect society, is the superego. Largely unconscious, the superego is the moral censoring agency, the repository of conscience and pride. It is the representative of all moral restrictions, the advocate of the impulse toward perfection, and it is what people call the 'higher' things in human life. Acting either directly or through the ego, the superego serves to repress or inhibit the drives of the id, to block off and thrust back into the unconscious those impulses toward pleasure that society regards as unacceptable, such as overt aggression, sexual passions, and the Oedipal instinct. Freud attributes the development of the superego to parental influence that manifests itself in terms of punishment for what society considers to be bad behavior and reward for what society considers good behavior. Whereas the id is dominated by the pleasure principle and the ego by the reality principle, the superego is dominated by the morality principle. We might say that the id would make us devils, that the superego would make us behave as angels, and that it remains for the ego to keep us healthy human beings by maintaining a balance between these two opposing forces.
We can say SUPEREGO: • largely unconscious – moral censoring agent • repository of conscience and pride- dominated by the moralityprinciple • serves to repress or inhibit the drives of the id • blocks impulses towards pleasure that society regards as unacceptable • advocate of impulse towards perfectionist • an overactive superego creates an unconscious sense of guilt – hence the term guilt complex • development of superego attributed to parental influence
Freudian Approach: The Freudian approach often includes pinpointing the influences of a character's id (the instinctual, pleasure seeking part of the mind), superego (the part of the mind that represses the id's impulses) and the ego (the part of the mind that controls but does not repress the id's impulses, releasing them in a healthy way). Freudian critics like to point out the sexual implications of symbols and imagery, since Freud's believed that all human behavior is motivated by sexuality.
To further explain • the unconscious is not observable by direct examination, therefore the ID is revealed only through deep hypnosis, during unintentional expressions (Freudian slips), or during sleep through the analysis of dreams • during dreams the superego is still functioning, therefore dreams are symbols of unsatisfied/repressed desires of the ID • since dreams are the expressions of the ID and the ID is the source for sexual needs and desires, dreams are, Freud believed, best interpreted in terms of repressed sexuality • psychoanalytical critics examine literature for (sexual) female and male images: • all concave images = womb symbols (flowers, ponds, caves, hollows, cups, or rings) • all images whose length exceeds their diameter = male or phallic symbols (towers, mountain peaks, swords, knives, snakes or arrows) • The most controversial facet of this approach is the tendency to interpret imagery in terms of sexuality.
Cont’d • another controversial issue is Freud’s theories concerning child psychology • found infancy and childhood a period of intense sexual experience • child passes through phases of erotic growth – each phase centered on erogenous zones (portions of the body where physical pleasure is most intense): oral, anal, and genital • if a child is frustrated in gratifying his/her needs, his/her personality may be warped • Oedipus and Electra complex are associated with this phase. Oedipus complex is a boy’s rivalry with his father for the attention and love of his mother. Electra complex is a girl’s rivalry with her mother for the attention and love of her father. • *this approach is valid in some situations but should not be overused; it is best used in conjunction with other approaches*
Limitations of the Approach The crucial limitation of the psychological approach is its aesthetic inadequacy: psychological interpretation can afford many profound clues toward solving a work's thematic and symbolic mysteries, but it can seldom account for the beautiful symmetry of a well–wrought poem or of a fictional masterpiece. Though the psychological approach is an excellent tool for reading beneath the lines, the interpretive craftsman must often use other tools, such as the traditional and the formalistic approaches, for a proper rendering of the lines themselves.
To Sum Up In the end, when you make a Freudian (psychoanalytical) reading of a text, you will probably limit yourself to the consideration of the work itself, looking at its conflict, characters, dream sequences, and symbols. You will use the language Freud provided to discuss what before him did not have names, and you will have an awareness that outward behavior may not be consonant with inner drives. You will avoid over simplification of your analysis, exaggerated interpretations of symbolism, and excessive use of psychological jargon. If you do, you will have the means to explore not only what is apparent on the surface but what is below it as well.
Recommended Web Sites • http://brocku.ca/english/courses/4F70/psychlit.html A discussion of what psychoanalysis and literature have in common and what psychoanalysis can contribute to literature. • http://www.clas.ulf.edu/users/nnh/mindbook.htm An essay on psychoanalytic literary criticism by Norman Holland.
