A Lacanian Analysis of Paul Auster's New York Trilogy

Over time, psychoanalysis has been revised and developed in different directions. There are many basic tenets of psychoanalysis, and it has received criticism from a wide variety of sources. Nonetheless, it remains a strong influence within the realm of psychiatry, and more so in some quarters than others. Simply put, Freud explores the unconscious mind. And although Kafka may not have meant for it to come across this way in his writing, his characters and the events that take place truly do reflect him. Knowing Franz Kafka’s life is a key to understand his writings for the events of his life are the clear origin of the neurotic tensions of his works. Thesis: Through the use of Freudian Psychoanalysis, Franz Kafka’s life as well as Kafka’s work, The Trial, is further unearthed using the three psychic zones of id, ego and superego as well as the themes of alienation, guilt, frustration and helplessness.

Self is one’s awareness of ideas and attitudes about one’s own personal and social identity. Identity is shaped at a young age from interpreting concepts about one’s own self from others (Mead, 1934). The present study will compare Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality the (id, ego, and, superego) to George Herbert Mead’s social self-theory the (“I” and “me”). The study will give an overview of both theorist and discuss each approach in relationship to each other, and defining the key concepts. According to Schultz and Schultz, (2008) the id is defined as the source of psychic energy and the aspect of personality allied with the instincts. The ego is defined as the rational aspect of personality responsible for

Psychoanalysis is an approach to psychology that was made well known as a way to bring for the unconscious to the conscious. It is theorized that the memories that we store in our unconscious affects us, and can cause neurotic behaviors. The approaches also include Analytical, Individual. Three people that worked on these theories are Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Alfred Adler. Each of these men approached psychoanalysis in both similar and individual ways, and have their own theories that will be further discusses within this essay.

In Steven E. Alford's analytical piece, "Spaced-out: Signification and Space in Paul Auster's 'The New York Trilogy'" principally focuses on ideas of how space is portrayed and the detachment of main characters in Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy. Alford points out:

Freud’s unconscious and conscious systems are related to different functions of the three main structures of the mind, the id, the ego, and the superego. According to Freud, the traditional idea of

Derek Parfit's views on personal identity and the Ego and Bundle Theory are all summarized in his article “Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons”. In his article, Parfit explains the distinction between Ego theory and Bundle theory and provides several arguments against Ego Theory. Although it proves to be very difficult to believe the Bundle Theory, Parfit’s critique is convincing and well thought out.

Freud developed a theory to describe the structure of personality called a psychoanalytic theory. This theory suggested that personality consists of the interaction of three component parts of personality and the mind: the id, ego, and superego. These three components are separate, but work together to make up the self. Each of these are important when it comes to development, and they are all a part of everyone. However, even though these components are at work in everyone, one may be more prominent in one person than another. It is important to understand what each of these components mean.

The therapist's silence leads the patient to carry on with the talking, one thought leading to another and finding no echo in the therapist's mouth.26 The patient becomes extremely dependent to his therapist, awaiting a reply. Fédida reminds one of Ferenczi's major lessons implying that tact and contact are the two major features of psychoanalytic technic.27 Freud described the success of therapy and the psychoanalytic cure as a fiction, a Liebeskur or love cure as he reminds us in her commentary on Gradiva. Fiction is the imagination available to language. Love of language is necessary to the completeness of psychoanalysis as a creative rebirth of infantile seuxiality. The wonder of words and of the vocal in children when discovering language comes together with an extraordinary corporal awakening of sexuality.28 The difficulty of psychoanalysis lies in the fact that curing symptoms does not necessarily mean curing the psychological agitation. Slip of the tongue or forgetting appointments may be symptoms of strongly hidden, high importance conflicts. Communication within the patient may not be obvious, conscious and common sense messages might be, in some cases, beyond all awareness. Non verbal communication might have great significance worth analysing.29

Bailly, Lionel. Lacan: A Beginner's Guide. Nook file, Oneworld Publications, 2009. This is a book written by Lionel Bailly, a Psychoanalyst, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist who teaches on the subject of Jacques Lacan and is a member of the Association Lacanienne Internationale, an organization that continues the work of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. Its purpose is to break down the major theories of Jacques Lacan on a level that is accessible

“Freud proposed that personality has 3 structures : the id, the ego and the superego” (Santrock, 23).

Freud’s structural model illustrates that within every individual there is tripartite structure consisting of the Id, Ego and Super Ego.

Sigmund Freud created strong theories in science and medicine that are still studied today. Freud was a neurologist who proposed many distinctive theories in psychiatry, all based upon the method of psychoanalysis. Some of his key concepts include the ego/superego/id, free association, trauma/fantasy, dream interpretation, and jokes and the unconscious. “Freud remained a determinist throughout his life, believing that all vital phenomena, including psychological phenomena like thoughts, feelings and phantasies, are rigidly determined by the principle of cause and effect” (Storr, 1989, p. 2). Through the discussion of those central concepts, Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis becomes clear as to how he construed human character.

Therefore, it is imperative that we keep an open-mind to Sigmund Freud and appreciate his discoveries of transference and countertransference as well as psychodynamic approaches from others who might refer and use the name of “parallel process” (de Haan, 2011). First, Freud believed at the heart of insight psychotherapies was the goal to raise one’s level of awareness by drawing out the unconscious thoughts and feelings to the conscious so that analyzation and problem solving could occur (Prochaska & Norcross,

Another important text by Lacan is “The Agency of the Letter in the Unconscious or Reason since Freud.” This text

Undoubtedly Sigmund Freud is the father of psychoanalysis. He was an influential thinker of the early twentieth century who elaborated the theory that the mind is a complex energy-system and the structural investigation of which is the proper province of psychology. Freud articulated and refined the concepts of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and repression and he proposed tripartite account of the mind ‘s structure, all as part of a radically new conceptual and therapeutic frame of reference for the understanding of human psychological development and the treatment of abnormal mental conditions. Freudian approach can be