The Unconscious Mind In Mary Shelly's Frankenstein

The concept that the id, ego, and superego control

“Frankenstein and the Tradition of Realism” Shelly, Mary Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: Norton Critical Edition, 2012. 311-16.

Such passion is seen in Victor’s ‘noble intent’ to design a being that could contribute to society, but he had overextended himself, falling under the spell of playing ‘God,’ further digging his grave as he is blinded by glory. His creation – aptly called monstrous being due to its stature, appearance, and strength – proved to be more of a pure and intellectually disposed ‘child’ that moves throughout the novel as a mere oddity, given the short end of the stick in relation to a lack of familial figures within his life, especially that of parents. Clearly, Victor Frankenstein had sealed his fate: by playing God he was losing his humanity, ultimately becoming the manifestation of Mary Shelley’s hidden desires, deteriorating into The Lucifer Principle by which the author Howard Bloom notes social groups, not individuals, as the primary “unit of selection” in human psychological

Frankenstein explores peoples’ lack of forgiveness and compassion toward the unknown. Shelly demonstrates this lack of understanding in three distinct ways: Victor Frankenstein’s blatant disgust/hatred of his creation, the cottagers’ aggressive reaction to seeing the creature, and Victor’s refusal to attempt to understand him. When the monster was created, he had no idea of the harsh world into which he was being thrust. This lack of preparation and guidance turned him into a cold, unforgiving monster; he lost his innocence and became this horrible, dangerous monster. Frankenstein perfectly exemplifies humans’ lack of compassion and the long lasting effects it

The desire to discover what has not yet been discovered or to know what remains unknown often causes destruction and misery. In the Gothic novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley during the Romantic Era, the protagonist Victor Frankenstein experiences anguish after creating life. Victor shares with the reader the anxiety he suffers and the grievous events that permanently alter his perspective after creating a monster. Throughout the novel the reader develops sympathy for Victor due to his dedication to do the right thing, admirable purpose for his creation and the consequences he endures. One is compelled to show affection toward Victor because of his determination to perform noble acts despite the hardships he faces.

think outside of the box entirely better than any other writer of her time period. And as stating in the paragraph before she sparked much talk in the scientific community. In this novel Shelley shows us how a mad scientist actually goes out and reanimates this creature with his own vision of the perfect individual and how he should look. To recreate the mind is one of the hardest things to do in science still today.

Dreanna Hypes Lit comp per 7 Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, tells the horrific story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist devoured by ambition, seeks to revive life to the deceased. Thus, a horrific monster is created. Terrified of its unsightly stature, Dr Frankenstein flees his creation, neglecting it severely a result, the monster. Lonely and depressed, seeks revenge on his creator, killing several members of his family and his closest friend. Throughout shelley uses imagery and toner to amplify the horror

One of Freud’s theories is that the “Id – Ego combination dominates a person’s behavior until social awareness leads to the emergence of the superego, which recognizes that

Victor Frankenstein, blinded by ambition or driven by madness? In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley embodies a cloud of characteristics that follow Victor along for the entirety of the novel. As a young scholar, Victor was driven to invest in his interests of chemistry and science. Hence, Victor soon became enamored with the ideas that lie in between life and death. Further pondering led Victor to become obsessed with the idea of bringing inanimate objects to life.

ENG-3U0 November 20 2015 Frankenstein: The Pursuit of Knowledge Throughout the course of their individual journeys, Victor Frankenstein’s extreme passion for gaining knowledge about creating life, Robert Walton’s curiosity to discover land beyond the North Pole and the monster’s eagerness to obtain knowledge about humans was the principal cause of each of their suffering. As such, In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the pursuit of knowledge is a dangerous path which leads to suffering. Victor Frankenstein develops a keen interest in discovering knowledge about living beings which ultimately results in his personal suffering as well as others suffering. To begin with, Victor embarks on an assignment through combining body parts and following various

These do not stand for physical areas of the brain, but more of the mental functions. ID translates to instincts, Ego is reality and Superego is morality. These three central functioning's make up “… the personality—instinctual needs, rational thinking, and moral standards.” (Ronald J. Comer). Dwight Schrute has a very poor ego, which in turn off-sets his ID and Ego.

Psychoanalysis was first introduced by Sigmund Freud and is now known as classical psychoanalysis. The theory, as defined by Sigmund Freud, is the dynamic between underlying forces that determine behavior and personality. He stressed the importance of human sexuality, childhood experiences, and the unconscious processes. However, his theory was seen as misogynistic and narrow focused. Consequently, classical psychoanalysis was criticized and rejected by many scholars.

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 theory is based upon 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.

Ego in Relationship to the Dark Triad Decision making; the process of evaluating positives, negatives, and alternatives before selecting an option. To make impactful decisions, one must be able to forecast and weigh all outcomes intelligently, then make the best decision for the situation at hand. However, there is an obstacle, the ego. As defined by Sigmund Freud, ego, is the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and unconscious, distinguishes between reality, and contains ideas about personal identity. It has something of a metaphysical and personal importance that is crucial to decision making and critical thinking.

Greenberg (1986) believes Freud’s case studies do not place enough stress on revealing the outcome of the treatment and that Freud’s aim was more to illustrate his theoretical points (p.240). In cases, Greenberg asserts that many of the presented cases would not even be considered acceptable examples of psychoanalysis and, in short, that virtually all of the cases studies had basic shortcomings (p.240). Furthermore, many other powerful criticisms about Freud inaccurate and subsequently flawed evidence have been published. These critics contend that Freud’s evidence is flawed due to the lack of an experiment, the lack of a control group, and the lack of observations that went unrecorded (Colby, 1960, p.54).