Psychoanalysis literary criticism seeks to uncover and analyse how one’s mental state can relate to any text they produce, this can be made possible as “the creation of literary fiction allows the writer to work his repressed desires out of his system” [De Berg, 2003], thus, a fundamental correlation between mind and literature can be exemplified. Psychoanalysis literary theory is an extension of Freud’s Psychoanalysis which consisted of studies involving the mind. One text which demonstrates Psychoanalysis characteristics is Webster’s ‘The Duchess of Malfi’, a Jacobean play that focuses on themes such as taboo sexuality and mental repression and Psychoanalysis theory can be identified within the character of Ferdinand.
Webster locates most sexual desires in the play within the complex relationship between his protagonist of the Duchess and her brother Ferdinand, who demonstrates obsessive behaviour towards his sister. To elaborate, Ferdinand (alongside their brother the Cardinal) forbid the recently widowed Duchess from marrying again, “I have not her remarry” [Act 1 Scene 1], however, the preference for his sister to remain unmarried goes beyond a family orientated sense of protection and immerses into hints of incestuous behaviour. One of the most prominent examples of this lie in his statement that he must not think too deeply into her sexual status as his “imagination will carry” him “to see her in the shameful act of sinne” [Act 2 Scene 5]. This rather disturbing line alludes to Ferdinand feeling tempted to engage in thoughts of the Duchess having sexual relations, thoughts he must repress due to the violation of ethics they would bring; thus, Psychoanalysis is present as it relates to Freudian views on repressed sexuality. In his research, Freud concluded that what is repressed by the conscious mind is always intertwined with sexuality, “what is repressed is not simply every effect but sexual wishes” [De Berg, 2003] and Ferdinand’s articulations of the sexual imagery of his sister that his mind creates boldly outlines this essence to Freudian Psychoanalysis. Freud classified these sexual wishes as ‘Triebe’ which, in its translation to ‘drives’, grants more insight into how Ferdinand’s mental state functions in terms of the Duchess’ marital and sexual position. Ferdinand’s sexual thoughts about his sister are serving as the force to steer him to fulfill his objective of preventing her from remarrying, as he cannot bear to think of her having sex with someone, highlighting Psychoanalysis within the text in terms of sexuality influencing actions and mindsets.
These lustful impulsive thoughts Ferdinand experiences are heavily connected to what Freud introduced as the ‘id’. This is one of the three processes of the human mind alongside the ego and superego, its function is to hold the lustful and aggressive aspects of sexuality and “it compromises both the pleasure-seeking urges and the wishes” [De Berg, 2003]. Ferdinand exemplifies this consistently throughout the play with relation to his sister in a sexual sense, mostly in short-lived outbursts as this is all the id can manufacture due to its constant state of repression. This aspect of Psychoanalysis ties in with the unsettling undertones of Ferdinand secretly engaging heavily in these explicit thoughts about his sister, thus, coinciding with the presence of taboo sexuality as well as Freud’s theory that young boys wish to engage in sexual relations with family figures. Ferdinand progresses with where his imagination can take him in terms of his sister’s sexual escapades even going as far as to provide numerous situations with rather specific details. He expresses how these acts of sis the Duchess commits in his fantasies involve “strong thi’d bargemen” who “carries coals up to her privy lodgings” [Act 2 Scene 5], here the language used connotates the characteristics of the Duchess’ partners in Ferdinand’s thoughts and convey that he has spent some time thinking about this in the past. The fact that Ferdinand is associating his blood relative with such sensual imagery sours the play with some unsettling subject matter that the reader will find rather disturbing and difficult to read, underlining the relationship between the reader and the text; another aspect to Psychoanalysis literary theory. Furthermore, this can allude to the Freudian theory of the negative ‘Oedipus Complex’, a heavily controversial idea that children feel a sexual desire of the opposite sex parent which leads to an envious fuelled jealousy of the same-sex parent. As Ferdinand’s parents are not alive, he is diverting this sexual desire towards his mother to that of the next significant female in his life; his sister. Thus, any man that is sexually associated with the Duchess and is filling in the position of his father is met with hatred from Ferdinand.
In conclusion, Psychoanalysis is unarguably prominent throughout ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ when observing the character Ferdinand. This figure in the play demonstrates numerous characteristics of Freud’s research which highlight his motives as well as revealing his ideology, all connected with the psyche, thus, the Psychoanalysis theory is prominent throughout ‘The Duchess of Malfi’.
Bibliography
Webster, John ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ (New Mermaids, 2014)
De Berg, Henk ‘Freud’s Theory and Its Use in Literary and Cultural Studies (2003)