Psychoanalytical theories of personality stress the individual’s unconscious motivations which can be identified through dreams, slips of the tongue and fantasies (McCrae & Costa, 2003; 21). “The psychoanalytical theory views personality as biologically based, relatively unchangeable and determined by the need to control sexual and aggressive instincts which are unconscious in nature” (Rust & Golombok, 1989, 131). Sigmund Freud was the founder of the psychoanalytical approach to personality although many academics have expounded on his research since then (Bernstein, 2001; 125). This contrasts with the humanistic theory which was adopted by leading 20th Century psychologists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow (Nicholas, 2008; 226). Robert Ewen suggests that
Freud attributed most of an individual’s behavior to be rooted in sex or aggression and all behaviors throughout that individual’s life were rooted in these two influences (McAdams, 1999). Freud believed in and created the concept of the Oedipus complex. This concept stated that a child had sexual urges and desires for the parent of the opposite sex. The child either wanted the parent in a sexual manner or wanted to be the object of his or her affection. At the same time, the child had thoughts of killing or ridding the parent of the same sex.
Most critics have received the novel as an amalgamation of the gothic novel with elements of the Romantic Movement. A lot has also been written on the subject of Frankenstein from a Freudian psychoanalytic perspective because of the complexity of the characters and the thought processes that drive their actions. This essay attempts to analyze the Freudian element present in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and draws a parallel between the Freudian psychoanalytic approach and motives in the novel. Sigmund Freud was one of the most renowned psychologists of all time and introduced the concept of psychoanalysis to the world. There has always been a lot of debate regarding his theories and their validity.
Sade argues for the interrelationship between sexual and political freedom. How does Philosophy in the Boudoir engage with or dramatise this argument? Do you think it is correct? Argument continues today regarding the Marquis de Sade and the ambiguous representation of his works. For many, his material is judged as what some feminists would define as a “form of violence against women”, whose representations “eroticize male domination”, (Robin Ann Sheets, “Pornography, Fairytales and Feminism” 635), but for many readers of Sade’s work, once they see through the ‘smut’ and the erotica, there is often found by the reader an underlying message which is sometimes seen as radical, or one which was not elaborated further until many years later.
One lens to view Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the psychoanalytic lens. This perspective, influenced greatly from the works and thinking of Sigmund Freud, stems from the idea that much of our desires, fears, and motives come from our unconscious. He postulated that most of these desires are repressed by the consciousness to reduce anxiety and dissonance, and emerge only in the disguised forms of dreams, language, and art. One of the most commonly repressed feelings, which Freud called the Oedipal complex, is the boy’s psychosexual desires towards his mother and his jealousy towards his father. According to Freud, the boy must identify with his father in order to resolve the “oedipal crisis” and develop into an adult with a healthy identity.
The superego fails to internalise morals. Therefore, someone whose superego overpowers the id and ego may often have deviant behaviour. The root of Freud’s theory is that all people are driven by the libido. The libido isn’t just the sex drive; it can take different forms. The libido moves to different areas of the body at different stages of development.
In the most important aspects of Frankenstein; Frankenstein is compelling in and of itself. This book has stories that surround other stories, setting them up in one way or another. Frankenstein is a gothic novel that focuses on mysterious or supernatural features. It takes place in dark, often exotic settings. Readers feel uneasy and in terror after reading the novel.
Sigmund Freud's theory is the psychoanalytic theory unique to a certain point and which it has developed formal models describing the ways in which individuals process information on different levels (Bornstein, 2010). Freud saw dreams as a way of unlocking unconscious thoughts and untold secrets. Sigmund created his theory through the importance of unconscious. Carl Jung accepted the unconscious idea and developed the analytic psychology. Both Freud and Jung were drawn to the unconscious way of explaining dreams.
The instance when Mina drinks from Dracula’s breast is the strongest example of this; where the reader to this point is accustomed to Dracula doing the “biting”, and suddenly Mina has the power to penetrate a male. Both Lucy and Mina, when they carry out a relationship with Dracula, become sexual beings, as opposed to when they are mortals and are forced to obey the social boundaries of their society. By expressing this sexuality, they become threatening to the men. Mina is intelligent, and despite the strong aversion she has to the “New Woman” or the “Modern Woman”, she is, in fact, a sort of modern woman; connected with modern ways, a schoolteacher with secretarial skills, she possesses a “man’s brain”. It is this very brain, which is ultimately used to aid in Dracula’s downfall.
April 16, 2015 Biology of Human Sexuality- Reaction Assignment #1 When it comes to sex research both Objective Statements and Value Judgements influence the quality of it. An objective statement is a statement based on one looking at sex as more of an object or thing rather than morally, which is described as a Value Judgement. As oppose to Objective Statements, Value Judgements can only tell us how we ourselves feel about sexuality, largely influencing the quality of sex research. Value Judgments imply how an individual should behave whereas Objective statements describe how people actually behave, therefore providing an in depth view of sex when it comes to research. Biases and Stereotypes play a major part in sex research as well.