Literature is used as a form of expression which uses representations of a group of ideas to form a singular concept and with the writings of history comes an audience to break these apart to critique every line. Literary Criticism is considered a “reflective, attentive consideration and analysis of a literary work,” according to The Bedford Glossary which comes from all different angles from various groups of people. These groups are led by powerful voices that are motivated by concepts of psychology, theory and gender. With each of the rising critics breaks off another separate concept that critiques its predecessor. Sigmund Freud applied his theories of the brain being influenced by unconscious part of the mind which was built off previous ideas of the mind not always being conscious and sane but he expanded into the idea that the unconscious part was the motivational though processes of human nature. As Freud developed his psychoanalytic theory he applied it to humans through therapeutic methods and eventually took the works of writers and authors to break down deeper meanings of the metaphors and metonyms (referred as condensations and displacements).
He saw deeper meanings between the texts seeing symbols used to disguise the artist’s sexual urges; these urges are derived from the id that is a part of the human psyche. Our id seeks the human desire while the superego in a way selfishly demands sacrifice for the individual’s well-being leaving the human ego to censor from the unconscious id and superego in everyday situations. Under the Freudian principal, the only way we express the unspoken desires is subliminally through Freudian slips where the desires are revealed in dreams, neurotic behavior and in the case of literacy criticism our language or art. The Oedipus complex was a well-known idea from Freud having the theory that each person had the urge to replace the parent of the same sex because of affections for the parent of the opposite sex. These theories have been applied to stories, narratives, and poems, but surprising to me was the appliance to the Bible. Ilona Rashkow took the Freudian theory and other theories in which he inspired and applied it to the Bible and its messages. Gender was a direct influence on the religious storytelling and considering the fact most of the societies were patriarchal at the time every piece glorified the male interests. In the Bible, the penis was a direct link to God and the community while woman possessed nothing of that kind of caliber.
Doctor Sigmund Freud opened new doors for the future for analyzing literature through the human psyche by influencing arguments from Norman Holland, Alfred Adler, Carl Jung and R.D. Laing. Norman Holland was an American literary critic would once broke down Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall,” while using the childhood stages of development from Freud; oral, anal, urethral, phallic and oedipal. Holland would agree with Sigmund Freud on the idea that the unconscious does in fact have an influence on an others work in creativity had shifted focus on to the reader rather than the writer. This shift created the “reader-response criticism,” it focused on the reader and how he or she reacted to the writers work and also if the meaning was the same to the audience as was intended. Arguments of resistance have risen from critiques from feminist and gay and lesbian critics claiming that several of the readers have been influenced by the author in his or even her beliefs. The feminist’s believe that the male author from years past have tended to “immasculate” women making the writings patriarchal with sexist remarks. But on the other hand, another feminist critic by the name of Nancy K. Miller believed that men and women will read differently from one another picking up countless different ways of interpreting the meanings, this being highly controversial.
Although many critics broke off of the Freudian theories in places of disagreement there was those who continued his work by going further or adding in pieces believed to be missing. A French psychoanalytic theorist named Jacques Lacan extended Freud’s work by adding a new sense of language. He viewed a dream as a discourse rather than the Freudian repression. Lacan found that there was a pre-Oedipal stage where the child doesn’t recognize it has its independence from his or her mother while also lacking any form of language. At this stage the child will also go through the mirror stage of which the child finally sees itself and others, first differentiating from its mother. He then claims that no father needs to be present to trigger the Oedipal stage, but in order for the stage to start, language must be developed so the child can distinguish gender and differences. The child realizes who the mother is but initially has no idea who the father might be, this information is given by the mother figure.
After extensively reading through books and passages all the critics seem to tie into one another. The reasoning for picking the Psychoanalytic Criticism was the influence of Sigmund Freud and his theories of deeper meanings behind the human mind. He believed writers used their writings as a mask to expose secretive or unconscious thoughts hidden away in the human brain and the best way to share these ideas were subliminally through condensation and displacement revealing wishes and fears of the individual. My ego won’t allow the sexual desires out while also balancing liberation and self-gratification. The comparisons we use in our creative processes are directly related to how we feel internally and are used as an escape for our unconscious mind. The following citations are books in which are good to look further into reading to see the directions in which Freudian principles have inspired and grew into new concepts or innovative areas, such as film.
Ellens, J.Harold, and Wayne G. Rollins. Psychology and the Bible. Volume 1. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2004. 33-74. Print.
Brown, Kathleen L. Teaching Literacy Theory Using Film Adaptions. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1947. Print.
Camden, Vera J. Compromise Formations: Current Directions in Psychoanalytic Criticism. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1989. Print.
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