Applying Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory to Interpret the Characters in A Woman on a Roof

【Abstract】： This paper attempts to analyze the characters in the novel A Woman on a Roof by employing Freudian theory of human psyche and holds the three male characters of the novel correspond with the three layers of human psyche- id， ego， and superego. From the microcosmic perspective， the novel demonstrates the Freudian theory.

【Key words】： A Woman on a Roof; Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory

1.The introduction

The British female novelist Doris Lessig’s novel A Woman on a Roof tells a story about a nearly naked woman and three working men： Tom， Harry and Stanley.

The story occurred in scorching June on a roof. The hot weather provides a trigger for the emergence of the woman's sunbath.[1] The interpretation of this novel is focusing on the analysis of the three men form the perspective of Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theories regarding three dimensions： Id， ego， and super-ego. According to this model of the psyche， the id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends; the super-ego plays the critical and moralizing role; and the ego is the organized， realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego.[2] The super-ego can stop one from doing certain things that one's id may want to do.[3]

1.The interpretation

2.1 Id-Tom

According to Freud’s model of the mind， the id is defined as the oldest part of the mind from which the other structures are derived.[4] The id is primitive， unorganized， and emotional： “the realm of the illogical.”

Tom， a 17-year-old young man， has zero emotional experience and rare life experience. He is the embodiment of id. He is stimulated by id and pays no attention to the moral commitment. He only wants to conquer the woman. He is sure that the woman on the roof belongs to him and tries to reach her. He has conceived many fantasies like imaging himself at work on the crane， and adjusting the arm to swing over and pick the woman up and swing her back across the sky to drop her near him.

The id uses primary process， which employs the mechanisms of condensation， displacement， symbolization， and hallucinatory wish fulfillment. This is shown in the fantasies and dreams of Tom. In his dream， the woman has him into her flat and there she wears a black filmy negligee and her kindness to Tom thickened his throat as he remembered it. These kinds of fantasies are his hallucinatory wish fulfillment. It is an aspect of his unconsciousness.

2.2 Ego-Stanley

The ego is that part of the mind representing consciousness. It employs secondary process： reason， common sense， and the power to delay， immediate responses to external stimuli or to internal instinctive promptings. It is originally derived from the id.[5] Freud pictured the ego as a “special organization”， which is closely connected with the organs of perception， since it first develops as a result of stimuli from the external world impinging upon the senses. Once in existence， the ego “acts as an intermediary between the id and the eternal world.”

Stanley， a newly married man， is shaped for the comparison and contrast to the other two men.[6] As the emblem of ego， he always pays attention to the outside world’s realistic requirements and principles. At the first sight of the naked woman， his first reaction is to criticize her： She's stark naked; someone will report her if she doesn't watch out. He asserts that， “if my wife lay about like that， for everyone to see， I'd soon stop her.\" His mind is highly corresponding to the universal values， especially those social ethics. The social reality guides his behavior. His anger， complaint and curse is exactly the carrier of his ego nature.

2.3 Super-ego-Harry

As the child gradually acquires cultural and ethical ideas， his libidinal instinctual impulses undergo repression. Because of this split within the psyche， the child comes to realize that he can no longer idealize himself; that there is an ego-ideal to which his own ego does not always conform.[7]

Harry， a 45-year-old man， supervise Tom and Stanley throughout the story. When Stanley and Tom act beyond the ethical standard， he will stand out and guide them and even stops them as well as cheat them if necessary. Apparently， he is using the social moral to guide the two men. He even cheats Stanley that the woman isn’t there in order to stop him peeking at her. Later， when Stanley was deep in aggressive feelings of the woman， Harry decides to put that day’s work to an end to avoid more troubles and triggering unnecessary dispute.

But super-ego cannot absolutely veil the impulses of id and ego. As the emblem of super-ego， he will be intolerant to some requirements of his own instincts. He joins Stanley and Tom to yield to the woman. But in him， the image of a controller and a inhibitors is more impressive.

2.The conclusion

In A Woman on a Roof， three heroes are respectively the emblems of id， super-ego and ego. Tom is the emblem of id whose actions are originated from his instinctual desire for love （sex）， which promotes his longing for the woman. For Stanley， as the emblem of ego， he is a practitioner of the social moral and values. His ego is in the command of his id， which enables him to act according to the realistic requirements and principles. Harry is the emblem of super-ego， who guards the ethical standards and consciousness and always functions as the supervisor of the other two men to prevent them form acting beyond the ethical standards. He is highly continent except for rare impulsive actions. The three men show three different kinds of human psyche and they are not absolutely independent from each other.

注釋：

[1]Barbara A. Looney.Reference Guide to\"A Woman on a Roof： Overview' inShort Fiction， 1 st ed. edited by NoelleWatson， St. James Press， 1994. P35.

[2]Snowden， Ruth. Teach Yourself Freud. McGraw-Hill： 2006. pp. 105–107.

[3]Wikipedia， https：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud#Ideas.

[4]Anthony Storr. Freud-A very short introduction. Foreign language teaching and research press：2008， P60.

[5]Anthony Storr. Freud-A very short introduction. Foreign language teaching and research press：2008， P61.

[6]Zhang Tao， Fantasy and Reality-Epiphany Reflected in A Woman on a Roof. Overseas English：2016， P158.

[7]Anthony Storr. Freud-A very short introduction. Foreign language teaching and research press：2008， P62.

References

[1]Snowden， Ruth. Teach Yourself Freud. McGraw-Hill： 2006. pp. 105–107.

[2]Wikipedia， https：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud#Ideas.

[3]Anthony Storr. Freud-A very short introduction. Foreign language teaching and research press：2008， P60.

[4]Anthony Storr. Freud-A very short introduction. Foreign language teaching and research press：2008， P61.

[5]Zhang Tao， Fantasy and Reality-Epiphany Reflected in A Woman on a Roof. Overseas English：2016， P158.

[6]Anthony Storr. Freud-A very short introduction. Foreign language teaching and research press：2008， P62.

[7]Barbara A. Looney. Reference Guide to \"A Woman on a Roof： Overview' in Short Fiction， 1 st ed. edited by Noelle Watson， St. James Press， 1994. P35.