Reading Brian Castro’s The Garden Book In Light Of Freud’s Anxiety Concept

Brian Castro(1950-)is a famous Chinese-Australian writer.The Garden Book is his eighth masterpiece.This thesis reinterprets the novel from the perspective of psychology.The related theory adopted is the concept of anxiety of Sigmund Freud.After the emergence of three different sources of anxiety,the three heroes in the novel chose the corresponding defense mechanisms to relieve or dissolve their anxieties.Thus,it reveals the true features of the "soul garden" that is pursued in the communication between people.In the introduction,this thesis first introduces the works of Brian Castro and its consistent themes and writing styles,because The Garden Book is the continuation of them.It also introduces the background of the story-before the Second World War,the oppression to immigrants was becoming more and more serious and the Great Depression was spreading all over Australia.Then,a systematic introduction of the related theory-the concept of anxiety of Sigmund Freud is systematically introduced.In addition to the introduction and conclusion part,this thesis is divided into four chapters.The first chapter analyzes Swan’s choice in marriage,facing the anxiety by indulging in reading and writing and repressing herself from everything bad to her.It shows that she is always meeting her needs in all sorts of anxiety.The second chapter discusses the hero Darcy who is on the road to his dreams.When he is in the state of anxiety,he takes approaches different from Swan.He chooses to control himself in the anxiety and tries his best to do anything.For Darcy,the dream of building a family is higher than everything;books are not about good or bad,but only in their use of value;drug is a mental anesthetic,but also a cure for the pain.At last,Darcy’s active behaviors won a real family and set up a library for the locals,he also won the name of soldier in the war.The third chapter introduces another hero,Jasper,who adopts different reactions to anxieties.Jasper as a spokesman for the war doomed to fail to live up to the love because of the spy identity.Jasper hides his espionage identity,uses "poetry" as the medium,unconsciously falling in love with Swan.In the face of war and love,he makes the choice of moral to complete the task;In addition,he was bound to regret because of the seeking of fame and fortune,in the face of money,status and reputation,once again betrays the lover.He has been experiencing sin and punishment in anxiety.The fourth chapter is the discussion and summary of the minor characters in the novel.Dr.Hay is a typical representative of the third generation of immigrants in Australia.Facing the increasing oppression of the nation and the thorough disappointment to the pre-war government,he finally chose to commit suicide to relieve the long-lasting depression and the mental anxiety.And Marx,the representative of the black American,got rid of the racial discrimination actively although he already gained a part of own rights and interests in the struggle against racial oppression.So it is important to find an effective way and right direction.In addition,anxiety runs through all the timeTo sum up,the different characters in The Garden Book had anxiety and impulse from the outside,the inside and even the conscience when facing the real world and the inner world.Anxiety is everywhere and the defense follows correspondingly.Castro has displayed a feast of true soul exchanges to readers.This thesis shows the psychological activities of the characters in The Garden Book,which provides a new perspective for the readers to appreciate the novel.