A Psychoanalysis Of The Heroine's Character In The Eye Of The Storm

Patrick White was one of the most famous contemporary Australian writers. His novel The Eye of the Storm was published in 1973, and he won the Nobel Prize for literature in the same year. This was the first time for Australians. This novel was discussed from different perspectives. However, the analysis of the heroine's character was seldom involved. This article attempts to analyze the heroine's character from the view of Freud's"id, ego, superego". The aim is to discuss through the heroine's psychological experience, the reflection of society and the theme of this novel—suffering is the only road to success. This article consists of five parts.Introduction is about the general information of the writer Patrick White, the novel The Eye of the Storm, the overseas and domestic critical review of the novel. Chapter one is concerned about the nature of Mrs. Hunter. When she was young, she longed for material life, sexual love and her selfishness and grim. Freud thinks that id is the instinct, such as hunger, sex, desire, etc. id follows the principle of happiness.Chapter two discusses the struggle of Mrs. Hunter and her positive side, such as independence and strong will. Freud thinks that the role of ego is to satisfy id. Mrs. Hunter gained the free and rich life through her beauty. However, her children hurried back to divide up her property. She would struggle with them. This showed her independence and strong will. While at the same time, Mrs. Hunter experienced the struggle and contradiction in her inner world. This is the basis for her soul's sublimity.Chapter three is about Mrs. Hunter's auto criticism and self-realization. After she experienced the natural storm, she realized the life she led was greedy, selfish and luxurious life. She fulfilled her soul sublimity, achieved the highest quality of soul. Conclusion is a summary of the thesis. Through the psychoanalysis of Freud's theory, the heroine of The Eye of the Storm has gone through a changing process from greed, selfishness to self-realization after she experienced the baptism of the natural storm. No matter from her soul or her body, she returned the most quiet place—the eye of the storm after she died. This paper, through the analysis of the heroine's character in the novel, makes people understand the work, expects to provide inspiration to others for further study.