Dreams And Confusion A Psychoanalysis On The Heroine Of The Summer Before The Dark

Doris Lessing was a famous British woman novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prizefor Literature in2007. The Summer before the Dark is one of Lessing’s award-winning serieswritten in1973. The Summer before the Dark mainly focuses on Kate’s confusion in thepursuit of ideal and freedom and her final return in a summer holiday. This paper discoversthe symbolism meanings of Kate Brown’s13seal dreams and id, ego and superego under thebasis theories of Freud’s psychoanalysis and it also analyzes Kate’s confusion in the pursuit ofideal and freedom.This paper consists of five parts altogether. The first chapter mainly introduces DorisLessing’s life, including her writing styles and her writing themes. Lessing mainly focuses onthe themes of wars, racial issues, women issues and so on. It introduces the narrativecharacteristics, literature reviews and research of the novel. The second chapter mainlyelaborates the theory of Freud’s interpretation of dreams, and about three layers of personalityof Freud theories. It includes the definition and characteristics of dreams, dream-work andmethods of dreams’ interpretation. The third chapter is about Kate’s13seals dreams and fivedifferent identities. Comparing the seal’s fate and Kate’s destiny, revealing the contradictionbetween ideal and reality. The fourth chapter mainly analyzes the Kate’s understanding of selfand identity. The struggle between Kate’s id, ego and superego reflect Kate’s confusion andher forced return at last. The fifth chapter is a conclusion part. By Freud’s theories ofinterpretation of dreams to interpret Kate’s13seals dream and their symbolism meanings aswell as Kate’s three levels of personality. Therefore, we can understand the development ofKate’s psychological activities. Dreams reflect what Kate meets in her real life, which is thereflection of her unsatisfied desires, and her return to her original role is her final choice.Above all, analyzing the meaning of Kate’s dreams and her personalities are forrevealing Kate’s confusion and contradictory psychology as a middle-class woman. Kate’sreturn is inevitable. At the same time, it reflects the difficulties for the women pursuingfreedom and dream in the1970s.