Frankenstein by James Whale and Freud - Essay Example

James whale’s Frankenstein and Freud According to Sigmund Freud, human beings are under control of the id, the ego, and the super ego that controls the desires and satisfaction. Civilization and its discontents (Freud) largely dwells on the superego, ego, and the id nature of human kind that mainly aims at benefiting ones desires but fails to protect the surrounding environment (Heffner). Freud defines the id as the set of uncordinated instinctual trend. He defines the ego as the realist part of the brain which helps in mediating the role of the id and the super ego. On the other hand, the super ego is the moral part of the brain. Actually, Freud sees the ego as the part of the psyche that tries to control id-driven impulses including self-indulgent laziness and self-pleasing behaviors. It is like your parents, school, and the rest of official society telling you that you have to work hard to succeed, and that being lazy is bad (Freud). For this reason, humans crave for sex in the society at all cost. This leads to theft, killing, rape, and drugs and substance abuse in the society. The desire to satisfy one’s own wishes makes life hard and disappointing. For this reason, most people resort to ways, which are harmful both individually, and to the whole society. We can compare this to the tragic happening in the film Frankenstein by James Whale. The rules set by the society have severe punishment if broken hence human beings become discontented by the simple act of civilization. In Whale’s Frankenstein, it is clear that the love desire and egocentric motives on the part of Henry Frankenstein eventually lead to murder and humiliation. The painful and mortal part of human beings expresses itself in the film by the behavior of Frankenstein. Through the deaths of Fritz and Dr. Waldman who are key actors in the film, the cruel nature of the natural world reveals itself. This can be interpreted in light of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. The third section of Sigmund’s book addresses the aspect of civilization that has been both advantageous and disadvantageous for human kind. The rapid advancement in science and technology leads to death of scientists Fritz and Dr. Waldman. Despite the fact that the development of science intends to protect us through civilization, it has only led to destruction and limited the relationship of human beings in the society (Viera). According to Freud, we are born with the id. The id does not care about anything else but only cares about satisfying its own will. In relation to Frankenstein, this is a practical truth. Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz develop a creature out of their own desires but they fail to remind themselves about the consequences of this creature in the society and the rest of the population. Another example is during the throwing of the girl into the lake with the horrible creature. The creature has no feeling and forgets that the girl could drown. Civilization and Its Discontents shares the view that we must find positive and constructive ways to direct our desires and behaviors rather than either repressing desires that will protect one another from the natural nature of the id. In addition to this, Freud asserts that life brings a lot of pain and difficulty and many people tend to deflect the pain and difficulty to other objects that perhaps lead to misery and disappointment (Freud). This is real in comparison to Frankenstein’s behavior in the film. James Whale’s film is a good picture that illustrates the stages of development from the id, ego, and super ego. According to Freud, the role of the ego is to control the selfish desires of the id. In the film, Frankenstein later comes to realize that their ghostly creature is horrible and can cause harm to the society (Vieira). Therefore, he decides to lock the creature in the dungeon to tame it. Frankenstein comes into reality just as the ego bases its feeling about the reality. The ego ensures that we take care of one another in the society and protect our own desires. Frankenstein later launches a manhunt for the creature. However, this is the most difficult part for humans in the society. They need freedom according to Freud, but humans are afraid of freedom since it comes with responsibility, which humans greatly fear. According to Freud, the super ego develops by the age of five (Freud). Superego differentiates between right and wrong as imparted to the children by their caretakers based on the rules and regulations in the society (Freud). According to Civilization and its Discontents, (Freud) times will always come when we are expected to realize the pain that we cause the others through our ill intentions. (Freud) . This time came when Frankenstein decides to hunt the creature down and destroy it since it had already proved to be unfit in the society. From the film, Frankenstein isolates himself from the normal life for various reasons. Analytically, one may argue that Frankenstein wanted to fulfill his own selfish ambition, which is true. We can also argue on the other hand that Frankenstein must be running from responsibilities therefore lacking freedom. For this reason, he locks himself all the day in the lab. This argument conquers with Freud’s works in his book civilization and its discontents that human’s beings fear responsibilities and that responsibility is the key to freedom (Heffener). Sigmund Freud in his book Civilization and its Discontents reiterates that most people in the society underestimate his true value of life and for this reason people use false standards of measurement to attain power and success that they certainly see and admire from others (Freud). As already mentioned this is an effect from rampant civilization process in the society. Frankenstein and Fritz fall into this trap of the desire to have power and success while underestimating the real value of life. For their desire to remain powerful, they develop a ghostly creature not knowing its real value of life. Perhaps the two thought they will be regarded as powerful scientists only for their work to end up disastrously. Freud describes men as creatures who are aggressive creatures who do not want love. Their instincts show them that they should end up being aggressive. The aggressive nature of all the men including the ghostly creature created by Frankenstein and Fritz is revealed in the film at different scenes. Freud argues that when two people are in love there is no room for any other thing in the surrounding. The love between the two people is sufficient for the two (Freud). The film shows Frankenstein and Fritz greatly affirmed to the idea of work. At certain moments, they are expressed as stressed people eager to show the whole world their new invention. The two detaches themselves from reality when they shout, “it’s alive” mainly to fulfill their narcissistic and aggressive desires. Professionally, the two are scientists, it is their work, and this creates a sense of satisfaction to them. Freud affirms this aspect and believes that most people tend to attach themselves to work because it brings certain kind of satisfaction, which relates to the id and ego natural desires. Freud in psychological analysis talks of our desires, feelings, emotions, and wishes are pushed into the subconscious mind (Freud). The desires and wishes are not present at conscious level but they affect 90% of our daily lives. It is possible to relate this hypothesis to James Whale’s film. Frankenstein and Fritz unconsciously develop a creature that turns disastrous to the society. The two relied on their feelings, desires, wishes, and emotions. Works Cited Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and its Discontets. Washington: W. W. Norton & Company, 1929. Print. Freud, Sigmund. Psychology of Love. Penguin Classics, 2007. Print. Heffner, Christopher L. Psychology 101. 1 April 2001. Web. 11 Mar 2013. Vieira, Mark A. Sin in Soft Focus. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 2003. Print. Read More