Similarities Between Freud And Frankenstein

Freud and Frankenstein

Psychologist Sigmund Freud once said that “the mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water” (Sigmund Freud). This simple sentence summarizes one of the greatest contributions ever made to psychology--Freud’s theory of the primal id, the reasonable ego, and the moral superego. According to this theory, the majority of the factors that impact a human’s decisions making are subconscious and that the three parts of the psyche work together in order to create a rational and socially acceptable decision. But what if the parts are unchecked and a person is allowed to function based solely on the primal desires without any moral compass? In Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein, Victor

Early in his life, the creature is guided by his primal instincts to find food, water, and shelter. For example, when he determines that there is not enough food in the woods, he “resolved to quit the place that I had hitherto inhabited, to seek for one where the few wants I experienced would be more easily satisfied” (Shelley 73). As he gains more knowledge, the creatures desires become more sophisticated as he begins to search for knowledge, companionship, and acceptance. However, after being rejected by the De Lacey family, his desires transform into a desire to kill. The monster states that he “wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the ruin” (Shelley 97). When he is taunted by William, the creature turns his aggression on the child and murders him. He is a representation of the id and because he acts solely based on his desires, he kills the child without thinking of what the consequences are; he simply wants to satisfy his desire to cause destruction. This goes to show the negative results that arise when the id is not checked and limited by the ego and the

He initially decides to agree to the creatures request and create the companion so that he could relieve himself of the stress the monster was causing him and be able to enjoy his wedding. In this decision, his ego is willing to temporarily postpone the satisfaction his wedding will give him in order to prevent something which he deems potentially catastrophic--angering the monster and therefore causing more deaths--from happening. As stated earlier, the creature represents Victor’s id so the creature’s request for a companion and Victor’s agreement represents a decision largely dictated by Victor’s id. The result of this decision would be the relief of a lot of Victor’s stress and would give him immediate joy and so he agrees despite the potential