1. Psychoanalytic/Freud Criticism

2. Sigmund Freud 1856 - 1939 The unconscious activities of our mind
Austrian psychiatrist and founder of psychoanalysis
Guilt
Shameful experiences
Dreams
Sexual desires
FEAR

3. The Unconscious Mind

4. PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM
To the…
PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM

5. The Beginning of Psychoanalytic Criticism
Freud’s belief in the significance of dreams leads to the study of psychoanalytic criticism
They are also revealed in creative arts – such as in literature
“A work of literature is a fantasy or a dream” (Murfin 507)
Analyzing literature is similar to analyzing dreams – also applies Freud’s theories

7. Once upon a time, there was a person who had lots of MONEY!
He is stressed out from studying a test…
By: “these people”

8. Analyzing Literature (in Depth)
Manifest content & latent content
Manifest content – the surface of a work
Latent content – the real desire (hidden)
because writers often express their secret unconscious desires and anxieties indirectly in text
Psychoanalytic literary critic tries to expose the latent content of a work

9. Analyzing Literature (in Depth)
Latent form – writers often disguise their unconscious mind through principles such as
Symbolism - the repressed object represented in disguise
Condensation – thoughts or persons condensed into a single image
Displacement – anxiety or wish displaced onto the image of another

10. Personality Model Id – the child Superego – the conscience
In a later generation, psychoanalytic critics analyze characters within the novel using Freud’s famous Personality model
Critics see them as a projection of author’s psyche
Personality structure:
Id – the child
Superego – the conscience
Ego – the thinking part of both id and superego

11. Examples
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë