The Virgin And The Whale Rhetorical Analysis

Critical Theory

Psychoanalysis

Thesis: Psychoanalytic criticism challenges ourselves to reassess our thinking about characters and their motivations

Carl Nixon's novel ‘The Virgin and the Whale’ has many intertwining stories, interchapters and different plot lines that weave around one another to me the central story centres around Elizabeth and Paul. Paul Blackwell is a man who has returned from the war in an amnesiac state. This causes us to question if he is still the same person, or if his post-war identity is different. These thoughts align with the novel's exploration of identity and prompts us towards a psychoanalytic examination using Sigmund Freud's theories. While psychoanalytic theory is primarily a psychological theory I will

Impulsivity such as lunging at those around him and killing goldfish stems from a lack of adequate ego regulation and a diminished sense of responsibility. Lucky doesn’t fully understand what society expects from him and hasn’t learnt to consider the consequences of his actions. Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages of development are vital to this as they provide valuable insights into the connection between childlike behaviour in adulthood and unresolved developmental tasks. This theory helps us to understand that adults like Lucky who have not navigated the autonomy vs shame and doubt stage may exhibit childlike behaviours because they still feel inadequate and self doubt. Lucky has not fully experienced the psychosocial stage 2 (autonomy vs shame and doubt stage) because his only memories started on the battlefield. From then on all decisions were made for him. Not only was he confined to a hospital where he was fed, bathed and told what to do when he came home he was still told exactly what to do by Mrs Blackwell. Thi may explain why we see him rebelling against the instructions of those around him as he is learning to assert his independence independently and discover a sense of autonomy. Tasks such as feeding and bathing himself and choosing his paths on walks are simple things that he can achieve independently (with encouragement from Elizabeth) ultimately playing a crucial role in fostering a sense of autonomy for him. Psychosocial stage 2 has lasting effects on adult behaviour and personality as those who succeed in this stage tend to be independent, emotionally resilient and self reliant. Hence, when lucky was ‘born’ into adulthood he has to re-experience the stages of psychosocial development in order to foster these traits and develop his