Abstract: This paper aims at analyzing the use of psychoanalysis in literature. The motifs in  fairytale ‘The Bluebeard’ is analyzed by both Freudian and Jungian readings. Freudian model of psyche is studied regarding to conscious, pre-conscious, unconscious; id, superego, ego. Jungian concepts are studied regarding to the ego, the personal unconscious, the collective unconscious, archetypes and the persona. These psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Jung are argued in the use of motifs. 

Key Words: Psychoanalysis, Psyche, Personality, Archetypes

1. Introduction

Literature and Psychology may be seen as different subjects; but, in my opinion, they are inseparable. The reason they are inseparable is what they are fundamentally based upon: the human beings. At first, literary critics used scientific devices to analyze the text in the formalist approach. Then, this was not found enough to understand the text and a more detailed way of analysis was developed which is called New Criticism. Russian Formalism concentrated on the structure of the text and this approach was limiting, the critics could not go outer the text. But, New Criticism concentrated on the aesthetic aspect of the text and supported the idea that a text is composed of a variety of sources. The text cannot be approached as a historical document. The critic should regard the themes, characters, symbols, narrative structure, choice of word while analyzing the text. Structuralist analysis does not seek a relationship between the text and the author or history; but, in New Criticism, for example Derrida’s deconstruction, seeks layers of meaning and questions the text. 

Furthermore, to describe the relationship between literature and psychology is the psychoanalytic criticism itself. this critical theory is concentrated on the effect of the artist’s psychology, biography, and unconscious. According to this theory, a literary critic should use his elements to understand the meaning of the text. Sigmund Freud used literary texts so as to prove his theories. Oedipus complex could be shown as an example as Oedipus is the character of the Greek Tragedy. He also questioned the sources of the imaginative mind and found the answer as the unconscious. For Freud, art is the product of the repressed thoughts and desires of the artist and a device through which artist becomes satisfied. But in contrast, Jung argues a different theory in which he supports the idea that collective unconscious is more important than the individualistic approach. For Jung, archetypes are much more important than the libido and the childhood period in the construction of personality. 

       ‘When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate.’- C.G.JUNG

According to psychoanalytic literary theory, the artist brings what is unconscious to a conscious state in the work of art. One of the functions of art is to prove the balance between the two.

2. Sigmund Freud

Freud’s topographical and structural models of the mind are the keys in understanding his theories. In topographical model, an iceberg is divided to three parts: conscious, pre-conscious, and the unconscious. 

Conscious: The conscious state is actually what you see, what you perceive in everyday life like objects, individuals, structures , buildings. So what we perceive through our eyes , through our senses are located in the conscious state. Super ego is related to conscious state but at the same time it has also connections with the conscious and the unconscious states.

Pre-conscious: The pre-conscious tests the impulses of the conscious with the reality of the conscious . It is actually balancing this two. For example, you know your home number by heart but you don’t think about it all the time, when someone asks it to you , you recall this information  from pre-conscious to a conscious state. The preconscious can be related to ego.

Unconscious: The unconscious is the reservoir of the dark , primitive impulses. It is where hidden beliefs, fears, and attitudes reside. We can actually relate the unconscious to id.

In structural model the psyche is divided to three parts: Id, superego, ego.

Id: Id is the fundamental part of the psyche which is related to desires, repressed thoughtss, instincts, and basic needs.

Superego: The superego is based on norms, morals. In the process of decision-making, it asks the questions ‘What would others say?’, ‘ What would the consequences of this decision be right according to the accepted norms in the society?’.

Ego: The ego functions as the balancer between Id and Superego.

Furthermore, Freud described the terms Eros and Thanatos which are ,in other words,life and death drives. These are the two basic impulses of the human psyche and provide a more detailed approach to the behavior: eros and thanatos.

Eros and Thanatos:Eros is libido and love, on the other hand, thanatos is death and trauma. These two basic impulses seem to be contradicting each other. Love and hate, they do not co-exist but Freud says that in the unconscious, in the domain of the id , they can co-exist and they do not cancel each other. So it’s timeless, you cannot control it and there are no contradictions. Freud says that these two impulses that suggest love and hate actually come together and combine and create another a new interest and this is the function of the unconscious. They do not contradict each other but at the same time they unify and demand on the ego on the conscious level.

3. Carl Gustav Jung

According to Jung, the psyche is composed of interacting elements: ego, unconscious, collective unconscious, and archetypes. Jung supports the idea that psychoanalysis should concentrate on the collective unconscious rather than personal unconscious. 

Ego: The ego is composed of perceptions, memories, thoughts, and emotions which are on the conscious level. It provides the consistency about our identity we use in the daily life.

Personal Unconscious: The personal unconscious is composed either of the thoughts, experiences which are not on the conscious level yet or repressed thoughts, desires.

Collective Unconscious: Collective conscious is the ancestral unconscious. The human psyche cannot be thought without the collective unconscious. The journey of human beings from primary to modern time reserves all the beliefs, norms, needs. Of course, the personal environment is important; but, the country, culture and politics are also important elements in the formation of the human psyche. 

Archetypes: Archetypes are the indicative elements in preparing the behavior through the ancestral knowledge. 

Persona: Persona is the identity, the mask which provides the behaviors, the roles in the society. It is a compulsory element in the adaptation and continuity to the social life. 

4. Summary of the fairytale The Bluebeard

Bluebeard is a rich man who lives in a big castle in the forest. His blue beard scares everyone. So as to prove his sincerity he invites mother and daughters to the forest and gives a feast. After spending a really good time girls start to think as if Bluebeard was a good man. But then, their fear fuels again and they decide not to see him again. Only the little sister of these girls still thinks of him as he could be a good man. She believes that no one would be as bad as they thought at first. She starts to see him as a better man, and his beard less blue. Thereby, she says ‘yes!’ to his proposal. They start to live in that big castle. One day, The Bluebeard tells her that he should go away for sometime and gives keys of all the doors in the castle. But, he warns his wife not to use that little key. After his leaves, sisters come to the castle and ask whether he told anything prior to his leave. The little sister tells what he said and they decided to find that door. They find the door, open it, but they are shocked by what they see: dead female bodies, blood. The little sister close the door but the blood on the key does not removed. The day after, Bluebeard comes and asks his wife about the keys. After realizing that she used that key, he attacks and wants to kill her. She begs for a little time to prepare for death. She starts to scream for help and her brothers come and kill Bluebeard. 

4. Psychological Analysis of the Motifs 

4.1. The Key

The key is an important motif to begin with. There is a reference to the collective unconscious. Going into the room is forbidden but the key is given. It reminds me of the Old Testament. The woman disobeys with curiosity and opens the door. The blood that cannot be removed on the key could suggest the concept of original, or total depravity. As a result of the disobedience, she should be punished. So in the tale, Bluebeard tries to kill him as a punishment like he did to his other wives. 

On the other hand, in a Freudian reading, the key could be seen as phallus, the room as womb, and the keyhole as vagina. The blood on the key could suggest the loss of virginity. 

4.2. The Room

The room in contrast to Bluebeard’s prosperity, his extravagant castle, feasts could refer to the Bluebeard’s repressed innermost desires as there is blood, death, fear, and women in the room. It represents the ‘Id’ of the Bluebeard. 

Furthermore, Bluebeard’s prosperity, and his struggle to show himself as a good man represents what Jung calls ‘the persona’. These are the elements he use to hide his inner desires. Because people are frightened of him, he tries to find his place in the society with this attitude.

4.3 The Brothers

The brothers represent the anismus of Jung. They are the masculine energy in the tale and only wih their help there is salvation. The brothers also represent the term ‘archetypes’ of Jung, as it is a recurring motif that in the tales or even in the films, book women are rescued by a male figure. The woman is in need of a male figure. 

4.4. The Bluebeard

His blue beard represents his self-esteem. His extravagant behaviours are the result of his repressed thoughts and desires. He is the archetype of a traditional man who wear masks to hunt a little pure woman and then tries to destroy her in a case of disobedience. 

4.5. The Little Sister

The little sister represent purity in every way. She is a virgin, and seeks beauty even in the Bluebeard. This archetypal memories find their way even in today. Lots of women are married to men that kill them both spiritually and physically. Women find someone who could suppress them.  In my opinion, this might be the most accepted archetype in the world in the case of woman. 

5. Conclusion

The Bluebeard is a great example to show how Freudian and Jungian approach would be useful in understanding a work of art. When analyzing dream symbols, Freud generally refers to the desires, the libido and repressed thoughts.  Freud’s ‘Id’ and his use of id in the interpretation of symbols are considered while analyzing the motifs in the tale Bluebeard. And Jung’s concepts of collective unconscious, archetypes, and the persona provide us a better understanding while reading the tale. We understand that, while analyzing a work of art psychology should be resorted to for a better critical reading. 

References

FREUD, Sigmund. (1949) The Ego and The Id

JUNG, Carl Gustav. (1969) The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

ESTES,Clarissa Pinkola. (1992) Women Who Run With the Wolves

EICHENBAUM, Boris, The Theory of the ‘Formal Method

SHKLOVSKY, Viktor, Art as Technique

DERRIDA, Jacques, Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences