A Psychoanalytic Interpretation Of Clyde’s Personality In An American Tragedy

Theodore Dreiser’s masterpiece An American Tragedy tells the story of the protagonist Clyde Griffith, who works himself up into a good social position, but eventually degenerates into a murderer. Austrian criminal psychologist Hans Gross holds that, since the subjects of crime are criminals, the study of their psychophysical condition and mental states can deepen our understanding of criminal behavior. Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis is the most influential perspective in the study of human personality. Therefore, a criminal psychological interpretation of An American Tragedy is undertaken in the light of Freud’s theory of personality structure, to explore Clyde’s personality and inner causes of his criminal behavior.Freud divides individual’s personality into the Id, the Ego and the Superego. In healthy individuals, three parts are in a dynamic balance: under the proper supervision and guidance of the Superego, the Ego coordinates with the Id’s desires and impulse, and seeks optimal compromise for the adjustment to the environment. Otherwise, the malfunction of three parts will endanger personality development and individual’s survival.According to Freud, criminality is essentially a representation of psychological conflicts, resulting from an unbalanced personality. We hold that the personal factor of Clyde’s crime is his personality defects. Chapter1analyzes Clyde’s strong Id. The Id is an unorganized part that contains powerful desires and drives for immediate gratification. Clyde’s overflowed Id goes for every material comfort and pleasure-seeking. His Id usually resorts to phantasies for wish-fulfilments. Chapter2explores Clyde’s weak Ego. The Ego, a modified part of the Id, operates on the Reality Principle and serves to control the Id. However, Clyde’s weak Ego cannot mediate conflicts and struggles between the Id, the Superego and the reality. It either employs Defence Mechanisms such as Repression, Denial and Rationalization to conceal the Id’s motives, or constantly succumbs to the impulses of the Id. Chapter3discusses Clyde’s underdeveloped Superego. The Superego is the highest moral part of the personality structure and an internalization of parents’values and social norms. Due to the ineffective education from parents and school, and negative social values internalized, Clyde fails to form a sound moral standard. His Superego is underdeveloped and unable to inhibit the irrational demands of his Id, finally leading to his crime. Clyde’s tragedy reveals the significance of establishing an integrated personality.By digging into Clyde’s personality, this thesis attempts to study the unconscious thinking processes in the protagonist’s mind, to reveal the conflicts between instinctual impulses and restraints of morality, and to find out the roots of Clyde’s criminal behavior. The thesis draws a conclusion that Clyde’s personality imbalance, including strong Id, weak Ego, and underdeveloped Superego, is the inner cause of his criminality. The contradictory movements of the three parts shape Clyde’s personality and thus his behavior. Clyde’s tragedy reveals that in a sense, only by establishing a healthy personality and preventing the formation of a criminal psychology, can individual causes of crime be reduced effectively.