Freud and Psychoanalytical Theory

Sigmund Freud ( ) Austrian Psychologist Founded the clinical practice of psychoanalysis to treat psychopathology in patients through dialogue Investigated the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind – Repressed fears and conflicts are brought into the conscious and faced openly, instead of remaining buried in the unconscious

The Unconscious is a dimension of the human mind that is only partially accessible to consciousness Repository of repressed desires, memories, and instinctual drives – Many have to do with sexuality and violence

Dreams The unconscious often expresses itself in dreams Express wishes or desires that cannot be expressed consciously because they go against society Dreams distort the unconscious material and makes it more acceptable towards the conscious

Defense Mechanisms psychic procedures for avoiding painful admissions or recognitions Screen Memory – inconsequential memory whose function is to obliterate a more significant one Freudian Slip – repressed material in the unconscious finds an outlet through slips of the tongue, slips of the pen, or unintended actions

Repression and Sublimation Repression – Forgetting or ignoring of unresolved conflicts, unadmitted desires, or traumatic past events – Forced out of the conscious into the unconscious Sublimation – Repressed material is promoted into something grander or is disguised as something noble (religious experiences, art, etc…)

Displacement and Condensation Displacement – One person or event is represented by another, which is in some way linked to or associated with it – Because of similar sounding word or symbolic substitution Condensation – A number of people, events, or meanings are combined and represented by a single image in the dream

Displacement and Condensation II They disguise the repressed fears and wishes contained in the dream Gets past the censor that prevents wishes and fears from surfacing into the conscious mind They fashion fears and dreams into images, symbols, and metaphors

Transference and Projection Transference – The patient under psychoanalysis redirects the emotions recalled towards the psychoanalyst Projection – When aspects of ourselves are not recognized as part of ourselves – Rather they or perceived in or attributed to another

3 Part Model of the Psyche Ego – has to manage the demands of the superego, while resisting the desires of the id Id – inappropriate desires and impulses Superego – the conscience or what society deems acceptable

Sexuality  Begins at infancy, not puberty  3 stages  Oral  Anal  Phallic  Libido – energy drive associated with sexual desire  Eros – life instinct  Thanatos – death instinct

Oedipus Complex Male infant desires to eliminate the father and become the sexual partner of the mother Only the father’s intervention prevents incest Male infant gives up sexual attraction to mother and identifies with father Learns to desire other women other than the mother

Homosexuality and Women Freudian theory based upon heterosexual men Negative views of women – Sexuality based on feelings of narcissism, masochism, and passivity – Penis envy: women suffer from an innate form of inferiority complex

Psychoanalytic Criticism The unconscious (like a poem, novel, or play) cannot speak directly and explicitly Speaks through images, symbols, and metaphors Literature expresses experience through imagery, symbolism, and metaphor

Psychoanalytic Critics  Give central importance to the distinction between the conscious and unconscious mind  Pay close attention to unconscious motives and feelings  Those of the author  Those of the characters  Demonstrate the presence of psychoanalytic symptoms, conditions, or phrases  Oral, anal, phallic stages  Oedipus Complex  Defense Mechanisms