Psychoanalysis and the role of parent figures

1. 

   Jennifer Frances Armstrong
   November 25, 2011 at 1:39 am | #39

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   bloggerclarissa :
   In terms of literary criticism, I also hate it when people start applying psychoanalytic theories to literary analysis. However, we have to distinguish between that and therapeutic practices that allow people to resolve their major psychological issues without ever even looking at a pill. And that, I believe, is priceless.

   I guess my real beef with psychoanalysis is that it becomes a dogma for reinforcing patriarchal norms. If you don’t accept that your character structure is formed by the father and has to be thus formed in order for you to be considered in any way normal, then you are guilty of a sin against the orthodoxy of psychoanalysis. Of course, Deleuze and Guattari take up this issue in a typically French way, which means you can’t quite draw a line between where they are being serious in intent or just rhetorical and subversive.

   On the other hand, the influence of our parents on us, particularly in terms of forming the superego, can be quite significant. These effects don’t even have to be patriarchal. For instance, my father (a severe stroke victim of five months) is now dictating to me his memoirs. It would be hard to underestimate the effect that the motif of personal sacrifice has had on his life. He just about starts his story with it. A few paragraphs down:

   “I had a lot of reasons to be introverted. The circumstances of my birth. There was this huge pile of presents, such a big pile of presents that it was quite a daunting operation. During the war, my mother had stayed in the mess, which was a group of women who had got together and hired some flats, and these women pulled together. I had such a huge pile of presents for Christmas that my mother thought it was wrong for me to have all those presents and maybe I should give one way. My mother said it couldn’t be one I didn’t like, it had to be one I liked, so there was sacrifice involved. She wanted to teach me values. It taught me to sacrifice things that you make too valuable. So then under pressure I selected a wooden fire engine, which was duly put back in its box and later I was taken to the children’s home and the box was placed in my hands and I was told to take it in and give it to them. I walked into this building and all there were was a lot of kids running around. Some boy came up to me and said what do you want. I pushed the box to him and said that is for you and some matron came and said yes what is it.

   I said this is for the boys and she said okay, and off she went. Strangely enough, many years later, I met a young man who had actually been bought up in the children’s home and professed to remember the fire engine. It gave me a link back to my childhood, which was a good thing. My childhood was full of broken promises and broken connections.”

SAVAGE Gender activism, intellectual shamanism