Psychoanalysis Of Frankenstein

Psychoanalysis of Frankenstein and His Creation
When doing a literary analysis using the psychoanalytic type A criticism, the reader must solely look to the work itself and exclude externalities. One may interpret, “Dr. Frankenstein and the monster as embodying Sigmund Freud’s theory of id and ego” (Telgen). The basis of this theory is the idea that a character’s personality can be divided into three parts. The id which is the basic desire for what each person wants. The superego, which is the opposite of id, it houses our sense of guilt. Lastly, there is the ego, the balance between the id and superego. The ego represents reality. Focusing on Victor Frankenstein and the monster he created, one can better understand their personalities by examining

The creature did eventually become aware of societal expectations of appearance at least, and provided that, he attempted to talk to the blind man but even that had negative consequences. It is revealed later that the monster is aware of the heinousness of the murders. “But it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless” (Shelley 211). That being so, it seems that he shows very little guilt for what he’s done, so one could argue that the monster doesn’t have a conscience at all. On the contrary, the one moment that the monster expresses remorse is ironically when Frankenstein dies. After the monster comes aboard and talks to Robert Walton; Walton is, “touched by the expressions of his [the monsters] misery” (Shelley 210). With Frankenstein gone, the monster has nothing to live for. “When the monster bends over the dead Frankenstein in grief and remorse… one realizes how much they’ve been part of one another” (Hennessy). Therefore, the monsters superego may be trivial, but it is there and he does have some conscience in order to feel contrite about his creator’s

After analyzing Victor Frankenstein and his creation, it obvious that they both have an unbalanced subconscious. At the start of the novel, Frankenstein’s id was more prominent, and after he realized what he’d created, his superego took over with his sense of guilt. The creature on the other hand, primarily follows his id, and doesn’t feel guilty of what he’s done. Despite their hatred for one another, Frankenstein and the monster are very much the same. The monster is a product of Frankenstein; “Creator and created” (Hennessy). They are both unable to accept responsibility for what they’ve done, they struggle with their subconscious, and they are dependant upon one another; they needed each other to