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| Pictured: Laurence Olivier as Hamlet and Eileen Herlie (Gertrude) in the 1948 Hamlet. This movie version built heavily on the ideas that Ernest Jones (and many psychoanalytic critics like him) put forward in their writings about Hamlet's hidden character traits. |
In our reading from Ernest Jones's 1922 article, "A Psycho-Analytic Study of Hamlet," Jones argues that William Shakespeare's tragic-hero, Hamlet, suffers from an "Oedipus complex," the idea that a male character is driven by unconscious desires to kill his father and marry his mother. If this storyline sounds familiar, it's because Sigmund Freud based his theory of the Oedipus complex on the classical myth of Oedipus, the fictional king of Thebes.
I never encountered psychoanalytic theory until I was an English major in college. It's an old school of criticism, but here are some basic ideas you need to know when reading Jones's article:
- Psychoanalysis has changed significantly since the early twentieth century when Jones wrote his article. Today, psychoanalysis looks very different, and writers like Ernest Jones followed an early twentieth-century school of Freudian criticism that was incredibly popular in literary studies during this time.
- When Jones uses the term, "repression," he is describing the instincts that motivate a character in a literary text. Hamlet's "'repressed' wish" is the idea that he is driven by one desire and one desire only: to kill his father and "espouse" (marry) his mother (264).
- One of the key terms Jones uses to describe Hamlet's repression is unconscious, a useful idea when describing Hamlet's long, drawn-out struggle with the revenge cycle in Shakespeare's play. When Jones says that "Hamlet had experienced the warmest affection for his mother" replete with "elements of a disguised erotic quality" (265), he is invoking the idea of unconscious desires that readers or critics can see, but Hamlet cannot.
- Important: no one uses the term "subconscious" when writing about desire and motivation in character behavior. Not only is "subconscious" a derivative term, but the word, "subconscious," suggests that something (e.g., Hamlet's desires) are fairly accessible if he were to expand his awareness or "dig deeper." Alternatively, unconscious is literally "without consciousness." Hamlet cannot understand or know his unconscious desires—killing his father and marrying his mother—because there is no actual way for him to know that these motivations exist. Be sure to write "unconscious" and not "subconscious" when discussing Jones's article! Just remember: "un-" means "not" or "no" and "sub" means "under."
In the comments below—
1) Pick one of the aspects of Jones's interpretation about Hamlet and his unconscious desires and discuss how it illustrates the Oedipus complex within the play. Cite acts, scenes, and line numbers when describing a specific scene from Hamlet, and be sure to use page numbers when citing from Jones's article.
2) Then, explain what you think Jones means when he says, "In reality his [Hamlet's] uncle incorporates the deepest and most buried part of his [Hamlet's] own personality, so that he cannot kill him without also killing himself" (270).
1) Pick one of the aspects of Jones's interpretation about Hamlet and his unconscious desires and discuss how it illustrates the Oedipus complex within the play. Cite acts, scenes, and line numbers when describing a specific scene from Hamlet, and be sure to use page numbers when citing from Jones's article.
ReplyDeleteJones’s interpretation suggests that Hamlet’s love for Ophelia comes from his unconscious desire to “play her off against his mother” (266). This aspect of Jones’s interpretation illustrates the Oedipus complex within the play by stating that Hamlet’s “attraction” for his mother is being shown through his feelings for Ophelia. According to Jones, Hamlet has “weaned” (265) himself from the Queen’s fondness of him, and to replace it, has fallen in love with Ophelia. Jones states that Ophelia and the Queen possess contrasting traits and that Hamlet has been “impelled” to choose a woman that least reminds him of his mother (266). Polonius believes that Ophelia is the reason for Hamlet’s madness and says that “he… fell into a sadness, then into a fast…and by this declension into the madness wherein he now raves” (Act II, Scene ii, lines 144-149). If Jones’s ideas are taken into account, this would mean that Hamlet’s unconscious affections for his mother are the cause of his madness, for (according to Jones) it is not Ophelia he truly loves. Furthermore, the Queen, who cares for her son quite a lot, uses Ophelia to help and maintain her connection with her son. On page 56 the Queen says to Ophelia “I do wish that your good beauties be the happy cause of Hamlet’s wildness. So shall I hope your virtues will bring him to his wonted way again” (Act III, Scene i, lines 38-41). The Queen believes that Ophelia, the supposed reason for Hamlet’s madness, can bring him back to his senses.
2) Then, explain what you think Jones means when he says, "In reality his [Hamlet's] uncle incorporates the deepest and most buried part of his [Hamlet's] own personality, so that he cannot kill him without also killing himself" (270).
I think Jones’s intention with this statement is to express how Hamlet has identified himself with Claudius and has transferred his subconscious (“the deepest and most buried parts of his own personality”) onto Claudius. Here, Jones is furthering his alignment with the freudian interpretation of Hamlet concerning the Oedipus complex.
1) Pick one of the aspects of Jones's interpretation about Hamlet and his unconscious desires and discuss how it illustrates the Oedipus complex within the play. Cite acts, scenes, and line numbers when describing a specific scene from Hamlet, and be sure to use page numbers when citing from Jones's article.
ReplyDeleteJones thinks that Hamlet unconsciously wants to kill his father and marry his mother, referring to the play this could explain the motivation for Hamlet wanting to kill Claudius even though he is not his real father. When Hamlet is deciding what he needs to do about his uncle the Oedipus complex helps describe the want to kill Claudius, other than the fact that Claudius already killed his father.
2) Then, explain what you think Jones means when he says, "In reality his [Hamlet's] uncle incorporates the deepest and most buried part of his [Hamlet's] own personality, so that he cannot kill him without also killing himself" (270).
I think that Jones means that Hamlet wants to do what Claudius has done and that if he kills him he will have killed exactly what he wants to become. I also think that he may mean that if he kills Claudius and his mom finds out his mom will not want him anymore. If his mom does not want him anymore than that shatters all of his hopes and dreams to be with her, so he would metaphorically kill himself.
1) Pick one of the aspects of Jones's interpretation about Hamlet and his unconscious desires and discuss how it illustrates the Oedipus complex within the play. Cite acts, scenes, and line numbers when describing a specific scene from Hamlet, and be sure to use page numbers when citing from Jones's article.
ReplyDeleteOne of Jones's interpretations of Hamlet is that his desire for Ophelia is due to her contrast to his mother and Hamlet's internal desire for his mother. This claim is supported by the quote "No, goos mother here's metal more attractive"[3.2.101-02]. Jones continues to defend this though by explaining Hamlet's inner monologue as "You give yourself to other men whom you prefer to me. Let me assure you that I can dispense with your favours and even prefer those of a woman whom I no longer love." Essentially, stating that Hamlet, by sitting by Ophelia instead is a defiant move to make his mother or his affection towards Ophelia. I'm not sure how I feel about this notion, the thought of Hamlet lusting for his mother, and utilizing Ophelia as a pawn to make his mother jealous seems foreign to me, however I can definitely see where one could take his actions and consider them deliberate ways to make his mother jealous.
2) Then, explain what you think Jones means when he says, "In reality his [Hamlet's] uncle incorporates the deepest and most buried part of his [Hamlet's] own personality, so that he cannot kill him without also killing himself" (270).
This continues to tie into the Oedipus Complex, as Jones believes that Hamlet imagines himself in the position that his uncle is currently in. Which, in theory, if Hamlet imagines himself in his uncle's place, if he were to kill his uncle, would he be killing himself? Since Hamlet subconsciously imagines that he is in his uncle's place, he thereby imagines himself as Claudius and would be killing a piece of himself by murdering his uncle.
*good
Delete1) Jones suggest that Hamlet’s love for Ophelia comes from his unconscious desire for “the mother” (265). Hamlet has grown a fondness to his mother because they have always been close and she has always been a great mother, “as a child Hamlet had experienced the warmest affection for his mother, and this, as is always so, had contained elements of a disguised erotic quality” (265). Jones illustrates that Hamlet would obviously fall for a women like his mother, “Although some writers, following Goethe, see in Ophelia many traits of resemblance to the Queen” (266). To think this article in the modern day I thought of how many children get jealous of their parents when they get remarried after a divorce, or a breakup when you don not want your significant other with someone else other than you. Children love their parents very much, but not enough to want to marry them, but the thought of not having the love from a parent is terrifying.
ReplyDelete2 Hamlet does not want to kill his uncle for his mother, but because Claudius killed Hamlet’s father. Hamlet does not actually want to be married to his mother, but he does not want anyone else to have her if his father or himself cannot. Hamlet does not realize that his love for his mother is just fondness and gratefulness, he honestly believes that they are meant for each other.
1. In Joneses theory, I see many times hamlets reactions with ophelia and who ophelia is like, and now understand hamlet more. The scene where he is about to sit down to watch the play, where he denies his mother who pleas hamlet to sit with her, instead sits with ophelia, by saying "No, good mother, heres metal more attractive." Although this scene isn't to personal, it does show hamlets resentment from his mother for her countless acts which he has not approved of. From what I have read, the most personal scene hamlet has with his mother is after hamlet stabs ophelia's father, finding out gertrude had relations with her father, hamlet is angry and tells his mother his plan "let the bloat king tempt you again to bed; pinch wanton on your cheek; call you his mouse..etc." Also from joneses theory, there is many theories of his that make sense. Hamlets revulsion against his mother because she relies on a close family member who is a man, and is jealous while also ophelia relies on her brother and father.
ReplyDelete2. From joneses theory, hamlet is in a struggle about many things. Especially about his uncle. Hamlets secretive love for his mother, keeps him from doing his dutiful task because he is afraid his uncle will finally see hamlets attraction to his wife. And it might be more terrifying since the whole family is such close family members. Hamlet see's his uncle as powerful and his uncle might remind him of his father and it could terrify hamlet, as all the other things to which frustrates him and puts him on a breaking edge, the famous qoute "To be or not to be" because hamlet doesn't know what to do. Finally, hamlet finds a solution to his many problems in his life, and knows he will have to get close to death as will his uncle.
1. One aspect of Jone's interpretation about Hamlet and his unconscious desires that strikes me as interesting is the mention of how Hamlet has fallen for Ophelia due to her similar personalities which will make him feel closer to his mother (example on page 266); however, Ophelia also contains a contrasting characteristic of innocence and has an angelic personality for nothing traumatic has happened to her. On the other hand, Hamlet’s father was killed by his uncle and Queen Gertrude was so quick to replace the king. She needed to fulfill the emptiness after the death of her husband; therefore, Hamlet feels abandoned by his mother because she is not giving him the attention he yearns for. He has intense affection towards his mother who he can’t seem to get close to, so he falls for Ophelia who in a way he believes will help fulfill him. All in all, I doubt Hamlet was attached to his mother in an erotic sense. He is jealous because she marries his uncle, but he seeks revenge for his father’s murder, not because he wishes to be with his mother. Whatever fate he chooses will effect his morals. Looking deeper, I can see how these hidden personalities corporate as an allegory in this epic by William Shakespeare
ReplyDelete2. When Jones argues, “In reality his [Hamlet’s] own personality, so that he cannot kill him without also killing himself” (270) I believe he means to explain how because of Hamlet’s issues in his life, he became as trapped because he has to make a decision as to whether he should murder his uncle to avenge his father or to leave it be. Each act has the consequence with which Hamlet has to live with for the rest of his life. Morally, he knows it’s inhumane and ungodly to kill his family and the husband for his mother. I feel like he respects his mother too much to make her life empty again. However, if he does not decide to kill his uncle, he has to live with the constant jealous and the disgusting fact that his mother is incestuous. Hamlet would have to live with the anger and detest he feels towards his uncle.