The Monster’s Psychological Journey In Frankenstein

Mary Shelley(1797—1851) is a famous British novelist. In 1818, at the age of nineteen, Mary Shelley published Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, which has won high reputation in British literature. Thereafter, she has been acclaimed as mother of science fiction. Frankenstein enjoys an unfailing popularity amid the reading public and its critics as well. In the novel, a young scientist created a humanoid-shaped creature—the monster with scientific technology. During his course of pursuing the social recognition and love from human, he suffered complete failures with all his endeavors confronting with a series of conflicts since the very first day he was created. In the end, his innermost fire of revenge was destructively doomed to burn his tragic life.Based on Freudian psychoanalysis theory, this thesis applies the theory of personality structure to interpret the novel Frankenstein. It lays emphasis on the monster’s tragic fate when searching his self—identity recognition in human society. Furthermore, it makes an in-depth analysis of the monster’s personality structure and the causes forming his tragic personality under the action of the id, the ego and the superego. Accordingly, it uncovers the monster in the spiritual world. Unfortunately, the monster turns to be the victim of his own unbalanced personality.The thesis is stated as below:Firstly, the first chapter mainly reveals the protagonist, namely, the monster’s consciousness and desires of the id as he was born, at this time his psyche was pure. Under the moral consciousness, his superego budded, and the ego came into being.The second chapter mainly deals with the analysis about the monster’s ego and his self-defense mechanism. It lays emphasis upon the social living environment which rejected his self-identity as soon as he was forced into the human society, and his anxiety, depression and displacement. Through those analysis, the monster’s personality is to be understood in-depth.The third chapter puts forwards the explanation concerning with the protagonist—the monster’s unbalanced personality. Especially, the serious impact cast on the development of the personality structure by the inner contradictions and the outer environment. With the strong desire of the id, the weak regulation of the ego and the lost binding of the superego, the personality cannot be unified and coordinated while the changes of the external environment throw direct impact upon the counterbalance of these three parts.And in the conclusion: this thesis uncovers the relation between the personality and the character’s tragic fate by adopting Freudian psychoanalysis and taking the novel as target. During one’s growing process, inevitably, he or she would confront the problems how to control one’s desires of the id. As the id, the ego and the superego interact and restrict each other, the balanceable and harmonious development of the personality not only links closely to individual’s fate but also casts profound social significance for the reality and social progress upon the harmonious relationship between human and society as well as the development of the human civilization.