On The Impotency Of The Father Figure In The Trilogy Of Henry â…¥

The trilogy of Henry Ⅵ was written in Shakespeare’s early career. It firmlyestablished his reputation as a playwright. Notwithstanding the trilogy has beeninterpreted in numerous aspects, a conspicuously moot point is still open todiscussion. In speculating upon the causes leading up to the Wars of Roses, a largenumber of critics have confined their discussion to the conception of “divineretribution”. By applying Freud’s theory, the paper aims at a further discussion on thescore. According to Freud, the father figure, both in terms of an entity and an abstractsocial system, serves as an indispensable factor in maintaining the familial and socialorder. The paper argues that the impotency of the father figure leads up to thebreak-out of the War of Roses in the trilogy. The discussion of the impotency of thefather figure can not only deepen our insight into the War of Roses as it is enacted inShakespeare’s trilogy, but also can help us to gain an understanding of thepsychological conditions of the Renaissance people. The thesis is composed of threeparts.The first part contains a brief introduction to Shakespeare, the trilogy of HenryVI, the literary review of the trilogy of Henry VI and an introduction about Freud’spsychoanalytical theory.The body part focuses on the analysis of the impotency of the father figure. Itcould be divided into three chapters. The first chapter deals with the father figure inthe family. The father figure has lost his sovereign power supposed to be possessedof by the head of the patriarchal system. The second chapter moves on to thediscussion of the collapse of the patriarchy and the impotency of the father figure inthe political arena. The third chapter focuses on the powerlessness of the father figurein the military affairs.The last chapter, based on the previous analysis, argues that the impotency of thefather figure not only cause the break-out of the War of Roses, but also reflect Renaissance people’s anxiety brought by the great social transformation of the time.