Psychoanalytic Criticism: Complete UGC-NET Guide
Detailed Table of Contents
Essential Concepts for UGC-NET
- Freudian Concepts: Oedipus complex, dream work, repression, uncanny
- Lacanian Theory: Mirror stage, symbolic order, phallogocentrism
- Jungian Archetypes: Collective unconscious, shadow, anima/animus
- Bloom's Theory: Anxiety of influence, misprision
- Feminist Psychoanalysis: Madwoman in the attic, patriarchal repression
1. Freudian Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud's theories revolutionized psychology and provided foundational concepts for psychoanalytic literary criticism.
Key Freudian Concepts
| Concept | Definition | Literary Application |
|---|---|---|
| Oedipus Complex | Child's unconscious desire for opposite-sex parent and rivalry with same-sex parent | Analyzing Hamlet's hesitation (Freud's interpretation) |
| Dream Work | Process by which latent dream thoughts become manifest content (condensation, displacement, symbolism) | Reading literary symbols as dream symbols |
| Uncanny (Das Unheimliche) | Eerie feeling when the familiar becomes strangely unfamiliar | Gothic literature, doppelgänger motifs |
| Repression | Unconscious exclusion of painful impulses from consciousness | Subtext in characters' behaviors |
| Three-Part Psyche | Id (instincts), Ego (reality), Superego (morality) | Character analysis (e.g., Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) |
Freudian Literary Analysis Example
Hamlet: Freud saw Hamlet's delay in avenging his father as stemming from unconscious Oedipal guilt - Claudius enacted Hamlet's own repressed desire to kill his father and marry his mother.
The Sandman: Freud analyzed E.T.A. Hoffmann's tale in his essay on the uncanny, focusing on the fear of losing eyes as castration anxiety.
"The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to knowledge of the unconscious." - Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams
UGC-NET Focus: Freud's Oedipus complex and concept of the uncanny frequently appear in exam questions about psychoanalytic approaches.
2. Lacanian Theory
Jacques Lacan reinterpreted Freud through structural linguistics, emphasizing language's role in identity formation.
Key Lacanian Concepts
| Concept | Definition | Literary Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Mirror Stage | Infant's recognition of self in mirror (6-18 months) begins ego formation through misrecognition | Characters' self-conception and identity crises |
| Three Orders | Imaginary (images), Symbolic (language), Real (unrepresentable) | Textual analysis of how meaning is constructed |
| Phallogocentrism | Primacy of male (phallus) and reason (logos) in Western thought | Feminist critiques of patriarchal texts |
| Desire | Always for the Other, never satisfied (lack is fundamental) | Character motivations and narrative drive |
| Signifier/Signified | Meaning slides under signifiers; no stable signified | Deconstructive reading practices |
Lacan's Reinterpretation of Freud
- Oedipus complex becomes entry into Symbolic order through "Name-of-the-Father"
- Unconscious is "structured like a language"
- Desire replaces Freud's drive theory
- Emphasis on linguistic rather than biological determinism
"The unconscious is that part of the concrete discourse... that is not at the disposal of the subject." - Lacan, Écrits
3. Jungian Archetypal Criticism
Carl Jung's analytical psychology introduced collective unconscious and archetypes as fundamental to human experience.
Key Jungian Concepts
| Concept | Definition | Literary Example |
|---|---|---|
| Collective Unconscious | Psychic inheritance of universal human experiences | Recurring myths across cultures |
| Archetypes | Primordial images from collective unconscious | Hero, shadow, wise old man, anima/animus |
| Persona | Social mask concealing true self | Characters with hidden identities |
| Shadow | Dark, repressed aspects of personality | Villains as protagonists' shadows |
| Individuation | Process of integrating conscious and unconscious | Hero's journey narratives |
Common Literary Archetypes
- The Hero: Odysseus, Beowulf, Harry Potter
- The Shadow: Mr. Hyde, Grendel, Voldemort
- The Anima: Feminine ideal (Beatrice in Dante)
- The Trickster: Loki, Puck, Coyote
- The Wise Old Man: Merlin, Gandalf, Dumbledore
UGC-NET Focus: Jung's archetypes frequently appear in questions about myth criticism and recurring narrative patterns.
4. Bloom's Anxiety of Influence
Harold Bloom's theory examines how poets struggle with their literary predecessors through creative misreading.
Key Concepts
| Concept | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Anxiety of Influence | Poet's fear of being overshadowed by predecessors | Milton's influence on Romantic poets |
| Misprision | Creative misreading of precursor texts | Wordsworth's reading of Milton |
| Six Revisionary Ratios | Ways poets misread predecessors (clinamen, tessera, etc.) | Modernist reactions to Victorian poetry |
| Strong Poet | One who successfully overcomes influence through misprision | Shakespeare's transcendence of sources |
Bloom's Revisionary Ratios
- Clinamen: Poetic misreading or swerve
- Tessera: Completion of precursor's work
- Kenosis: Breaking from precursor through discontinuity
- Daemonization: Attributing precursor's power to external source
- Askesis: Movement of self-purgation
- Apophrades: Later poet seems to have written precursor's work
"Poetic influence - when it involves two strong, authentic poets - always proceeds by a misreading of the prior poet, an act of creative correction." - Bloom, The Anxiety of Influence
5. Gilbert & Gubar's Feminist Psychoanalysis
Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar's The Madwoman in the Attic (1979) applied feminist psychoanalysis to 19th century women's writing.
Key Arguments
| Concept | Explanation | Literary Example |
|---|---|---|
| Madwoman Trope | Angry double of the angelic heroine | Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre |
| Anxiety of Authorship | Women writers' fear of patriarchal literary tradition | Emily Dickinson's hesitation to publish |
| Patriarchal Repression | Male-dominated literary establishment silencing women | Pseudonyms like George Eliot |
| Subversive Strategies | How women writers encoded rebellion in texts | Charlotte Perkins Gilman's wallpaper |
Gilbert & Gubar's Readings
Jane Eyre: Bertha Mason represents Jane's repressed anger and sexuality, what Victorian society would deem "mad" in women.
Snow White: The Queen and Snow White as split aspects of female identity under patriarchy.
UGC-NET Focus: The madwoman figure and anxiety of authorship are frequently tested in feminist criticism questions.
6. Key Concepts Explained
| Term | Definition | Theorist |
|---|---|---|
| Phallogocentrism | Primacy of male perspective and reason in language | Lacan/Derrida |
| Symbolism | Dream symbols representing repressed desires | Freud |
| Repression | Unconscious exclusion of disturbing thoughts | Freud |
| Uncanny | Eerie feeling when familiar becomes strange | Freud |
| Collective Unconscious | Shared reservoir of human experiences | Jung |
Expanded Definitions
Oedipus Complex: Freud's theory of child's unconscious sexual desire for opposite-sex parent and rivalry with same-sex parent, resolved through identification.
Mirror Stage: Lacan's concept of infant's jubilant but ultimately alienating recognition of self in mirror, foundational for ego formation.
Anxiety of Influence: Bloom's theory that strong poets must creatively misread their predecessors to clear imaginative space for themselves.
7. Literary Applications
Psychoanalytic Readings of Classic Texts
| Text | Approach | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Hamlet | Freudian | Oedipal conflict explains Hamlet's delay in avenging father |
| Wuthering Heights | Lacanian | Catherine's "I am Heathcliff" as pre-Symbolic unity |
| The Waste Land | Jungian | Fisher King as archetype of wounded masculinity |
| Paradise Lost | Bloomian | Milton's "misprision" of biblical texts |
| The Yellow Wallpaper | Feminist Psychoanalytic | Madness as response to patriarchal repression |
Sample Analysis: Frankenstein
Freudian: Victor as neglectful "father" whose creation becomes monstrous return of the repressed
Jungian: The Creature as Victor's shadow self
Feminist Psychoanalytic: Absence of mother figures and male usurpation of female creative power
8. UGC-NET Practice MCQs with Explanations
1. The concept of "Oedipus Complex" in literary criticism originates from the theories of:
- Sigmund Freud
- Carl Jung
- Jacques Lacan
- Harold Bloom
Explanation: Freud developed the Oedipus complex theory in his psychoanalytic work.
2. Which critic proposed the "Anxiety of Influence" theory about literary predecessors?
- Gilbert and Gubar
- Jacques Lacan
- Harold Bloom
- Carl Jung
Explanation: Bloom's The Anxiety of Influence (1973) examines poets' struggles with their precursors.
3. The "Madwoman in the Attic" concept was developed by:
- Freud and Jung
- Lacan and Derrida
- Gilbert and Gubar
- Bloom and Hartman
Explanation: Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar coined this term in their feminist literary study.
4. Lacan's "Mirror Stage" refers to:
- A phase in poetic composition
- Infant's recognition of self in mirror
- Reader's identification with literary characters
Explanation: Lacan's mirror stage (6-18 months) describes the beginning of ego formation.
5. Match the following concepts with their theorists:
| Concept | Theorist |
|---|---|
| 1. Collective Unconscious | A. Jacques Lacan |
| 2. Phallogocentrism | B. Carl Jung |
| 3. Dream Work | C. Sigmund Freud |
- 1-A, 2-B, 3-C
- 1-C, 2-A, 3-B
- 1-B, 2-A, 3-C
- 1-B, 2-C, 3-A
Explanation: Correct matching is Jung-Collective Unconscious, Lacan-Phallogocentrism, Freud-Dream Work.
9. Conclusion: Exam Preparation Strategy
Psychoanalytic criticism offers diverse approaches to interpreting literature through psychological frameworks.
Key Areas for Focus
- Theorist-Concept Matching: Which ideas belong to Freud, Jung, Lacan, etc.
- Textual Applications: How theories apply to specific literary works
- Terminology: Precise definitions of key psychoanalytic terms
- Comparative Analysis: Differences between Freudian, Jungian, Lacanian approaches
Memorization Tips
Freud's Key Concepts (OURS):
- Oedipus complex
- Unconscious
- Repression
- Symbolism (dream work)
Lacan's Three Orders (ISR):
- Imaginary
- Symbolic
- Real
Final Revision Checklist
- ✓ Freud's theories and literary applications
- ✓ Lacan's linguistic reinterpretation of Freud
- ✓ Jung's archetypes and collective unconscious
- ✓ Bloom's anxiety of influence theory
- ✓ Gilbert & Gubar's feminist psychoanalysis
- ✓ Key psychoanalytic terminology
"The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water." - Freud
