An Analysis Of The Destiny Of The Main Characters In Frankenstein From The Perspective Of Freud's Personality Structure

Frankenstein,with its full name as Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus is a well-known masterpiece by English novelist Mary Shelley.The novel has been the subject of enormous interest and fascination since its publication owing to its unique and Gothic style.During the two hundred years after it was published in 1818,Frankenstein has been translated into over one hundred languages and been adapted into plays and films for several dozens of times,which proves how influential and classic the novel is.The novel also won Mary Shelley the title of “The Mother of Science Fiction.”There has been a lot of analysis on Frankenstein both abroad and at home.Some scholars have discussed the narrative features of the novel from the perspective of narratology.Some scholars have criticized the Frankenstein's creation of the monster from the perspective of ecology,and argued that the creation of the monster does violate the natural law.There are also other scholars who have discussed the novel form the perspective of feminism and held that the society at that time male and female was unequal.Besides,some scholars have employed archetype theory to analyze Frankenstein.In addition,other scholars doubt whether the creation of Frankenstein is influenced by Byron and other friends,because Mary created this novel under the pressure of having no ghost stories to share with them.However,some scholars attribute the creation of Frankenstein to Mary's traumatic neurosis caused by the loss of her family members.They believe that the traumatic neurosis leads to her repeated nightmares which give her the inspiration to write this novel.Although there has been a lot of analysis on Frankenstein,the study of this novel from the perspective of personality structure is rare.Therefore,this thesis intends to employ Freud's personality structure theory to analyze the id,ego and superego of the monster,Frankenstein and Walton respectively.Frankenstein and the monster are two well-known tragical figures in the literary history,but their tragedies are not only brought by the development of science but also the imbalance of personality structure.So the study of the character and their tragedies from the perspective of personality structure will provide us with a better understanding of the novel's meaning and the theme the author tries to convey.This thesis is composed of five parts: the introductary part is a brief introduction to Mary Shelley and the writing motivation of Frankenstein.In addition,the literature review will be presented.Chapter one is the definition of Freud's psychoanalysis,including the demonstration of personality structure theory,id,ego and superego.Chapter two to chapter four will respectively analyze the id,ego and superego of the monster,Victor Frankenstein and the explorer Walton.Finally,based on the analysis,the thesis comes to the conclusion that: the Id,ego,superego is not only constantly affecting people but also conflicting and coordinating mutually all the time.Without control and coordination,the personality structure may cause the tragedy of characters.Frankenstein and the monster are typical examples.However,the development of Walton's ego is restricted under the timely intervention of the superego which prevents him from danger.All the evidence in the thesis can illustrate that the personality structure can influences people's destiny.