•Psychoanalytic Theory
•As related to The Scarlet Letter
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•Psychoanalytic theory opperates on the assumption:
•If dreams and literature are both creations of the mind, then it’s possible to use the same interpretive strategies when examining both.
•Of course, since this is psychoanalytical theory… those strategies would be psychoanalysis.
•Freud’s 3 parts of the mind
•Id= impulses and desires
•Ego= enables Id
•Superego= internalized values of society
•Theory of Repression
•Ego and Super ego repress the socially “wrong” thoughts of the Id.
(Example: Oedipal complex)
Repressed thoughts are expressed by unconscious in dreams and literature
•How are repressed thoughts expressed?
•Condensation= several thoughts or people are condensed into one image
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•Displacement= a desire/ anxiety is displaced onto another related image
•What do psychoanalytic critics ask the text?
•How does the author’s creative process reveal their unconscious? (We don’t know much about Hawthorne’s process as a writer so you’re off the hook here)
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•How does the book impact the reader psychologically? Please answer this in your journal… title the entry “Psychoanalytic Journal #1
•Cont.
•What does the text reveal about the author’s psychology? (characters may be condensed, displaced, or even be projections of the author) But before you can answer this… you need to know more about Hawthorne.
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•Hawthorne: the beginning
•Born 7/4/1804 Salem, Mass.
•Mom: Elizabeth
•Dad: Nathaniel (captain. RIP 1808)
•Ancestors:
–William Hathorne
–Early puritan persecutor of Quakers.
–John Hathorne
–Son of William. Famous witch hunter.
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•The Early Years
•1813: foot injury. Home bound 2 yrs. Lots of reading.
•1816: Moved to rural Maine. Enjoyed isolation.
•1819: Sent to Salem for school. Missed Mommy.
•College
•Didn’t want to go. Wanted to stay with mom. Maternal family insisted that he go.
•Bowdoin College (Maine)
•Friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce
•Graduates 1825
•Returns home to live with…
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•Early career
•Writes “Fanshaw” about time in college
•BAD so tries to purchase all copies and destroy them.
•“Children’s” stories
•Periodicals. Makes no money, but becomes known in literary world.
•1830: changes last name from Hathorne to Hawthorne.
•1839-1841: works at Salem custom house weighing things.
•A new man
•Meet Ralph Waldo Emerson and the transcendentalists who introduce him to Sophia Peabody (also from Salem. Sickly.)
•1838: Secret engagement. Worried about being a good husband.
•Transcendentalists
•Moves to Brook Farm to live with transcendentalists
•Leaves because farm chores take away from writing time.
•Married
•Moves to Concord with Sophia and rents a house from Emerson. Live near Thoreau. Lots of hanging out together.
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•Family life
•1844: Una born
•Move in with mom.
•1846: Julian born…
•….and then Rose.
•Needs $. Powerful friends get him job as Surveyor at Salem Custom house.
•Ups and Downs
•1849: lost job and… mom dies.
•1850: moves to Lennox Mass, where lots of literary folks were living.
–Met Herman Melville
–Discussed books all the time:
•Hawthorne influenced changes in Moby Dick
•Melville suggested topic of Scarlet Letter
–Romance? Melville loved Hawthorne?
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•Later years
•Several books
•Friendship with Melville ends. Embarrassed that can’t get him a job via Pierce.
•Pierce campaigns for president. Writes biography.
•Rewarded for biography with American consulate in England.
•Died in sleep 1864. Pierce found body.
•Significant literary aspects
•Heavy symbolism and allegory
•Focus on guilt for sins, but not like Puritans. Differences:
–Consequences of sins are often self inflicted because of pride.
–Love can provide atonement.
•Psychoanalytic Journal #2
•Now you have the information you need to really try your hand as a psychoanalytic critic. So…what does the text tell you about Hawthorne’s psyche?
(Remember: condensation, displacement, projection.)
•And just because it’s fun… what would you say to Chillingworth if you were his therapist?
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