Concious and Unconscious Mind in Frankestein by Mary Shelley

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Conscious and Unconscious Mind in Frankenstein
Sigmund Freud’s theory on the unconscious and conscious includes two parts of the mind. The unconscious mind includes biological instincts, mainly aggression. A person does not know what is stored in the unconscious mind. It contains disturbing material, too threatening for the person to acknowledge. The thoughts in the unconscious mind are kept buried under conscious thoughts. The conscious part of the mind includes awareness and what the person feels. Freud compares the unconscious and conscious parts of the mind to an iceberg, the tip of the iceberg as the conscious mind and the part beneath the surface as the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is hidden beneath the water, and the conscious mind is what little part can be seen. Shelley uses Victor Frankenstein as the conscious part of the mind, and the Wretch as the unconscious part of the mind of an unnamed character in Frankenstein.
Robert Walton imagines a character that has an unconscious and conscious mind. He gives each of the parts of the individual mind names, Victor Frankenstein and the Wretch. Robert imagines a character similar to himself. Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein both care deeply about their sisters. Walton stays in contact with his sister throughout his journey in a series of letters. When he first arrives north of London, Walton’s first priority is “to assure [his] dear sister of [his] welfare and increasing confidence in the success of [his] undertaking” (ltr. 1; 1). Walton puts his sister and her well being before his own welfare. Similar in relationship to Walton and his sister, Elizabeth is Frankenstein’s “pride and [his] delight” (ch. 1; 21). Victor’s early life centers around Elizabeth. Both V...

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...e Wretch, can potentially ruin the conscious mind, Victor, which is stated in Freud’s theory. The Wretch is the unconscious mind within the unnamed character.
Therefore, Victor is the conscious, and the Wretch is the unconscious mind within the unnamed character that Walton, Victor, and the wretch create. The reader can use Freud’s theory to apply the psychological lens to the piece. While the conscious mind is exposed, like Victor, the unconscious mind is hidden, like the Wretch. Shelley uses both Victor and the Wretch as not only characters, but as parts of the mind. Looking through the psychological lens, the reader is able to see that Victor and the Wretch are not characters at all, but they are parts of the mind that all relate back to one character, who is unnamed. Through the novel, Shelley shows the relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind.

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