The Monster within Us Freud and Frankenstein Essay

The relationship between Frankenstein and his monster can be used as a metaphorical map to understanding Sigmund Freuds conception of the super-ego, or in other words, the human sense of guilt and conscience. Frankensteins sense of guilt develops around the violent, aggressive way he creates his monster. The monster causes the ripples of guilt to grow by causing him to fear losing his love ones, losing his source of protection, and punishment for his sins. After it is fully developed, Frankensteins guilt and the monsters overshadowing presence serves as guides for understanding how the super-ego works to punish a soul through a constantly aggressive, nagging feeling of anxiety. Viewing Frankenstein through Freudian lenses as well is†¦show more content†¦It makes Frankenstein like a human god. He spends his nights digging through the graveyard for the parts for his creation, working in a dark laboratory that is covered in rank odor and filth. Frankensteins surroundings reflec t an abnormal, unhealthy desire that becomes an obsession to create this monster. His intensely aggressive drive results in a disproportionate being, displaced from society, created from the resistless and almost frantic impulse that controls him. Frankensteins memory of how horrid this situation had made him act serves as the cornerstone of his sense of guilt from the moment the monster begins to live, and he begins to slide into despair as the aggression that had been directed toward the creation of the monster turns inward to punish him. After his creation, the monster serves as a metaphorical guide to the development of the super-ego by first revealing all of Frankensteins fear that lead up to the creation of his overwhelming sense of guilt. The first of these is a fear of the loss of love. According to Freud, humans are not born with a sense of guilt. Children learn a sense of right and wrong through negative reactions from their parents that threatens to leave them without the love that they crave. Like a child who is doing something wrong without recognition that it is inappropriate, Frankenstein is so consumed by his work during the creation of his monster thatShow MoreRelatedThe Mirrors Reflection Essay1103 Words   |  5 PagesWithin Frankenstein is a world divided between the egotistical ideas of a mad man and the monster that is created through his insanity: in Lacanian terms, between the Symbolic and the Imaginary Orders. According to Lacan, â€Å"the Imaginary [is a] field of images and imagination, and deception† (Wikepedia.org ); Victor’s imagination being reflected solely on the monster that is created by his own guilty hands. To Victor, his creation reflects the idea and ego that cultivate through him, it is the sparkRead MorePsychological Doubling Frankenstein1611 Words   |  7 PagesFrankenstein-The Doppelganger and It’s Effect â€Å"Especially in the literature of Romanticism, the double figure or doppelganger emerges as a central object of fascination for the imagining self, by turns compulsion and recompense, endowment and disaster.† (Gross, Vo.22 pg. 20) A majority of the literature population uses the literary device the doppelganger. A doppelganger uses a psychological perspective of a character by taking that character’s hidden wants and desires and making them a completelyRead MorePsychoanalyzing Victor Frankenstein Essay example1619 Words   |  7 Pagesreflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation.† In her novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley creates Victor Frankenstein, as a character who becomes psychologically unable to continue his normal life after he turns lifeless mater into a living creature through his studies of natural anatomy. Though many years have passed between the writing of Frankenstein and the making of the Television hit, Dexter, the creator of the show, James Manos Jr., created a characterRead MoreAnalysis Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein Or The Modern Prometheus 1710 Words   |  7 PagesFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, is one of the most iconic tales of 19th century literature. Grandly displaying a mastery of psychological depth within the characters, the author portrays a flawed society inherent within their scientific progression. As such, the enriching tale draws many criticisms from the society in which Shelley lived in, some of which encompasses appearances, feminism, and class restrictions. Retold through multiple mediums, the story is generally seenRead MoreFreud and Mary Shelleys Frankenstein2606 Words   |  11 Pages Monsters embody brutality, twisted morality, and irrationality—the banes of human existence, yet the children of man’s inner demons. Monsters are, in short, projections of man’s wicked id. The term creature may suggest monstrosity, and Frankenstein’s creation in Mary Shelley’s novel may be perceived as a personification of the Freudian id. In this case, however, the creature also mediates between its neurotic creator and societal values, j ust as the Freudian ego, conditioned by the realityRead MoreEssay on Psycho-Analysis in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein2375 Words   |  10 PagesPsycho-Analysis in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Sigmund Freuds studies in psychoanalysis are uncannily fore-grounded in the late romantic period. The works of William Wordsworth, Percy B. Shelley, Lord Byron, and Mary Shelley, all function as poetic preludes to Freuds 18th century field. Particularly, it is Mary Shelleys Frankenstein that creates a fictional rendering for psychoanalyst. In Frankenstein, Victors rejection of the Monster metaphorically represents the egos rejection of theRead MoreRepresentation of Death through Texts1149 Words   |  5 PagesThis conflict society creates about our feelings towards death is largely responsible for the popularity of gothic fiction. After all, life in gothic fiction never frees itself from the presence or threat of death. It allows us to explore something that is a familiar concept to us all, but in the safety of fiction. Whilst being something we are all humanly aware of, death is also something we know relatively little about. There is no experiencing death and then writing about it – it must always justRead MoreVision And The Act Of Looking1527 Words   |  7 Pageshas led to societal anxiety. A few years earlier, video footage of an event rarely had its validity questions, whereas now it is easy to conjure elusions with convincing likeness. The optical technology that has defined modernity, such has reminded us of the limits of our vision. With the discovery of atoms, particularly that of the ‘God particle , it is further proof that our eyes are not definitive proof of an objects existence or validity. The anxiety of not being able to rely on our eyesightRead More The Reflection of Victorian Britain in Literature Essay4711 Words   |  19 Pagestheir literature focusing on the interests of society. I have studied a variety of literature from the Victorian period and have chosen to write about three particular pieces; The Signalman by Charles Dickens (a short story), the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and another short story called The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. At the point when these stories were written, there were a wide range of issues touching society. However, for the benefit of this essay I am onlyRead MoreEssay on The Gothic Genre and What it Entails6177 Words   |  25 Pagesthe conventions of historical Gothic to discuss the political and religious divisions which continued to rack Scotland. Godwin used it to convey his radical leanings; his daughter Shelley used Frankensteins monster as a symbol of radicalism unchecked. The monster becomes a self-confessed fiend when he is released into society with no guidance. Botting feels he represents the revolutionary fervour in both France and England. Finally the creature promises his suicide