Psychoanalytical
Literary Criticism
Or, why all characters, authors,
and readers have issues.
Psychoanalytical Criticism
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This kind of literary criticism sees a text like a dreameverything represents something deeper, below the surface
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Can be about the author’s “hidden life”. This analysis of the text
could be an expression of the secret, repressed life of its author,
explaining the textual features as symbolic of psychological
struggles in the writer’s life.
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Can be about the “secret life” of the characters, applying
psychoanalytical theory to explain their hidden motives or
psychological makeup (“armchair psychology”)
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This can overlap Reader Response Criticism in that you can look
at ways in which specific readers reveal their own obsessions,
neuroses, etc. as they read a particular text. Why do you like the
books you do? What does that say about YOUR repressed issues?
Two subcategories that we’ll
study
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Freudian
based on the theories of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
 Terms to know: unconscious, repression, Oedipus
Complex, libidinal imagery
Jungian
based on the theories of psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
 Terms to know: collective unconscious, archetypes
(innocent, trickster, wise fool, teacher/prophet), hero’s
journey (innocence, initiation, chaos, resolution)
Freudian Analysis
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The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud spent
much of his life exploring the workings of the
unconscious.
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the unconscious--the big iceberg which
contains the hidden, repressed desires of life
for an individual
Freudian Ideas
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Everyone has repressed, or hidden emotions
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An author may manifest their issues through
the types of characters or plot lines they write
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Meaning in a piece of literature can come
from finding those hidden meanings
More Freudian analysis terms:
It can be all about sex
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Can be looking for examples of the Oedipus Complex
Based on Greek tragedy story where a orphaned prince later
finds out that he’s killed his father and married his mother without
ever knowing it. He finds out, freaks out, and blinds himself.
In working out instinctual desire to possess mother, leading to
inevitable conflict with father, the child forms a personality.
Yes, I know, creepy…but don’t a lot of issues come from the
dynamics of family power? Don’t kids often wish they had more
power or authority over their parents?
look for libidinal imagery:
 yonic (sexual symbolism for a female)
 phallic (sexual symbolism for a male)
Connection to Formalism
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Formalism says that a piece of work is not about
author’s intent, but about what actually ended up on
the page and what meanings are present in the
work regardless of intent.
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Despite the importance of the author’s role here,
psychoanalytic criticism does not concern itself with
"what the author intended," but instead what the
author never intended (that is, what was repressed
or in the author’s subconscious).
Questions a Freudian Analysis
might ask of a piece of literature
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What is Holden’s problem?
What was the relationship like between the
author and his family?
How successful did the author feel in
romantic relationships?
What kind of person would identify with this
book? (OR, “Who’s messed up enough to like
this book?” )
Jungian Analysis
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Freudian analysis assumes that images and
ideas in a text mean something else than
they apparently mean. He usually assumes
their meanings are inherently about
repressed sexual issues.
In contrast, Jung assumes that images
essentially imply (or symbolize) something
based on the “collective unconscious” of the
population, or, based on what the most
people would generally recognize to be true.
Collective Unconsciousness
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Carl Jung's collective unconscious: man
shares knowledge, experiences, images with
entire human race, resulting in archetypes
that affect how people respond to life--when
certain images are in literature, they call up
our archetypal feelings
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Archetype: something that serves as the
model or pattern for other things of the same
type
Common Archetypes
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“The innocent”: a character that despite being simple or childlike, has a intuitive wisdom. Charlie from Willy Wonka and the
Chocolate Factory, Pollyanna
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“The trickster”: a character who succeeds through playfulness,
often irreverent and disrespectful. Pee Wee Herman, Ferris
Bueller
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“The warrior”: a character who does not subvert the system, but
faces it head on. Superman, Batman
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“The teacher/prophet”: a character who has learned from
experiences and uses their wisdom to guide others. Yoda, Merlin
The Hero’s Journey
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Another archetypical format for analysis:
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Innocence: Starts with a character who is pretty happy, no
real conflicts, lack of worldly experiences
Initiation: Some fall from innocence. Could be death,
tragedy, awareness of evil, emotional or sexual relationship
Chaos: After that cruddy fall from innocence, a time of trial.
Will the character come through it, or regress back to a
false innocence or denial?
Resolution: If the character has made it through chaos,
they’re smarter, stronger, and more stable. They have
learned from their issues and are now looking towards a
bright future.
Where do you think Holden is on this journey?
Is he a hero??
Questions a Jungian Analysis
may ask of a piece of literature
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What role does this character play?
What images are representative of other
ideas in our culture?
What stage of the hero’s journey is our
character in currently?
How did the character “fall from innocence”?
Any questions?
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Questions for you…
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What type(s) of literature do you like, and what
might that say about your subconscious?
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What stage of the hero’s journey do you think
you’re in currently?