Julian's Narcissism

Psychoanalytically Julian portrays the ongoing divide between the subject, against itself. In particular, the divide between the conscious and the unconscious and the drives against the other for their own desires. I will interpret Julian’s division as a separation from primary narcissism, from the original love object, from his mother’s love, against his father’s law, and against his inner control. What divides Julian depends on how he conceptualizes himself from others, as the subject in terms of the object or vice verse. I will examine how Julian’s existence slowly decomposes, however his desire is the same, the desire to return to primary narcissism.
Flaubert’s opening scene describes Julian’s paradise, and its enduring peace and abundance. …show more content…
His unconscious desires rose in him, compelling him to take action. His ego was no longer master; and his unconscious desired no separations. The secrecy of the act also indicates the formation of his differentiated self. This identity was formed in an activity apart from his conscious life, from his parents and the monk. Julian has now manifested his desire to be the subject in terms of the object, motivated by his unconscious desire to return to primary narcissism. As the manifestation begins, so does his inescapable degeneration. As this substitute gratification offered no satiation to his desires, they grew in him quickly. All types of life frequently visited the castle, and once their presence was made, his plans of their ends were devised. His unconscious self was delighted in the control it manifested before him, no animal could escape. This also represents his degeneration, as animals lives were ending, Julian also was losing control to his …show more content…
They look at him with fearful eyes. Without thought or recollection, he lived only for the instant, his slaughter ravenous. Beneath Julian is an animal, his unconscious running wildly in control, eager to return to its infantile self. He then stumbles upon a valley full of deer, too deep for them to escape. This masturbatory pleasure excited him and he continued killing watching them cry, struggle against their fate of no escape until all that were left was a family of three