Psychological Criticism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein has many elements that can be explored beyond the given, and this leads us into a point at which we must be cautious of the border between what Shelly actually intended to convey with the text, and what we form in our minds with our own subjective opinions that might contradict what the author meant in reality. Various forms of criticisms can be applied to weave through assumptions within the phrases of the book and underlying contexts, and although they might be theories rather than factual analysis, basing them on evidence and previous knowledge would create a valid idea. After reading several journals and examining a number of branches of psychoanalysis, I chose psychological criticism to elaborate on in this essay. …show more content…
However, the most memorable and psychologically meaningful relationship would be the one that he had with the creature itself. Since Victor is the ultimate creator of the creature’s existence, they are perpetually bounded by an irreversible link of responsibilities. Essentially, Victor could be considered a “maternal” figure of the creature, or at the very least, the one bound to carry the maternal tasks and functions. Eleanor Salotto makes a lot of allusions and psychological links in the journal "Frankenstein" and Dis(re)membered Identity, particularly to Freud’s elaboration of the fort/da game from Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle. She claims that the “ambiguous and paradoxical desire that Victor has while assembling the creture reflects both the child’s accomplishment at sending the mother away from himself in Freud’s elaboration of the fort/da game, thereby bringing her under his control, and the child’s wish to be locked in a narcissistic dyad with the mother before the advent of language” (194). When Victor immediately puts aside the previous desires and anticipations, replacing such with feelings of contempt and disappointment at first sight of this creation, the possibility of forming a proper fort/da game is eliminated. As one can easily observe, the relationship between Victor and his creation gradually deteriorates to an irreversible ruin with intended offenses from both

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