Psychological Literary Criticism: Different Methods in which Individuals Respond to Shame
Individuals respond differently from one another when society bestows shame upon them. Many, but not all, individuals utilize various coping mechanisms in order to deal with their guilt. For example, from a psychological perspective, Freud’s defense mechanisms protectively serve to reduce one’s anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality. Some individuals may practice repression and avoid any thoughts that remind them of their guilt, while others may practice displacement by trying to blame their guilt on someone else. In the seventeenth century romantic historical fiction novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals that individuals can have …show more content…
Specifically, Roger Chillingworth takes out his anger by plotting his principal revenge against Dimmesdale. In fact, Chillingworth absorbs himself so extensively in his vengeance that he “direct[s] every thought and action of his life into the one channel of revenge” against Dimmesdale (Stone 141). Stone highlights Chillingworth’s use of another one of Freud’s defense mechanisms, displacement, which occurs when an individual shifts aggressive impulses toward a less threatening object or person. However, Chillingworth not only utilizes the Freudian defense mechanism of displacement as a little aspect of his life. By attributing his aggression toward Dimmesdale, Chillingworth centers his whole life around displacement and his plot for revenge. Individuals who focus solely on an act of revenge despise their enemy to the extent that they spend every waking moment planning their elaborate scheme. For example, Chillingworth viciously details his plan to “arouse [Dimmesdale] with a throb of agony” (Hawthorne 93). Chillingworth internally possesses anger directed towards himself for leaving Hester and unknowingly allowing her to have an affair without his supervision. However, he shifts his anger toward Dimmesdale by seeking brutal revenge against him. As many individuals today, Chillingworth seeks to take his anger out on an easier, less scary target than himself, Dimmesdale. …show more content…
Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes his seventeenth century romantic historical fiction novel The Scarlet Letter to reveal the various methods in which individuals cope with the guilt or shame that society bestows upon them. Whether embracing the shame, denying the shame, or conveying the shame onto someone else, everyone has a manner in which they deal with guilt. Ultimately, individuals’ manners of expressing guilt can harm the community around them if they project their shame onto others, but mechanisms that individuals use to cope with shame principally affect their perception in the eyes of society as well as their internal
Individuals respond differently from one another when society bestows shame upon them. Many, but not all, individuals utilize various coping mechanisms in order to deal with their guilt. For example, from a psychological perspective, Freud’s defense mechanisms protectively serve to reduce one’s anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality. Some individuals may practice repression and avoid any thoughts that remind them of their guilt, while others may practice displacement by trying to blame their guilt on someone else. In the seventeenth century romantic historical fiction novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals that individuals can have …show more content…
Specifically, Roger Chillingworth takes out his anger by plotting his principal revenge against Dimmesdale. In fact, Chillingworth absorbs himself so extensively in his vengeance that he “direct[s] every thought and action of his life into the one channel of revenge” against Dimmesdale (Stone 141). Stone highlights Chillingworth’s use of another one of Freud’s defense mechanisms, displacement, which occurs when an individual shifts aggressive impulses toward a less threatening object or person. However, Chillingworth not only utilizes the Freudian defense mechanism of displacement as a little aspect of his life. By attributing his aggression toward Dimmesdale, Chillingworth centers his whole life around displacement and his plot for revenge. Individuals who focus solely on an act of revenge despise their enemy to the extent that they spend every waking moment planning their elaborate scheme. For example, Chillingworth viciously details his plan to “arouse [Dimmesdale] with a throb of agony” (Hawthorne 93). Chillingworth internally possesses anger directed towards himself for leaving Hester and unknowingly allowing her to have an affair without his supervision. However, he shifts his anger toward Dimmesdale by seeking brutal revenge against him. As many individuals today, Chillingworth seeks to take his anger out on an easier, less scary target than himself, Dimmesdale. …show more content…
Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes his seventeenth century romantic historical fiction novel The Scarlet Letter to reveal the various methods in which individuals cope with the guilt or shame that society bestows upon them. Whether embracing the shame, denying the shame, or conveying the shame onto someone else, everyone has a manner in which they deal with guilt. Ultimately, individuals’ manners of expressing guilt can harm the community around them if they project their shame onto others, but mechanisms that individuals use to cope with shame principally affect their perception in the eyes of society as well as their internal