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"SIR GAWAIN & THE GREEN KNIGHT".
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Freudian & Jungian interpretations of heroic medieval tale.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Freudian & Jungian interpretations of heroic medieval tale.
Paper Introduction:
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight: A Psychological Interpretation
Introduction
The first to apply the psychoanalytical apparatus of Sigmund Freud, C.G. Jung, and comparative religion to Sir Gawain was Heinrich Zimmer, who interpreted the main plot elements of the poem in a wide, crosscultural context of myths and fairy tales in which the main incidents revolve around the archetypal theme of death and rebirth (Sadowski 34). Analysts such as Zimmer and Putter demonstrate the differential analysis of the text that will be performed according to the analyst's reliance on Freudian or Jungian analysis. Generally, Freudian analyses such as Putter focus more on the individual psychology revealed in the text. Analyses such as Zimmer's, however, which are based on Jungian psychology, tend to focus on the more collective and social
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The Knight on His Quest: Symbolic Patterns of Transition in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. New York: Penguin, 1976.---. Freud argues that there it is taken over by the super-ego and beginsto operate as a form of conscience; it now exercises the same propensity toharsh aggressiveness against the ego that the ego would have liked to enjoyagainst others (Freud 51). Analysts such asZimmer and Putter demonstrate the differential analysis of the text thatwill be performed according to the analyst's reliance on Freudian orJungian analysis. Thus, Jung believes that life is abattleground; it always has been and always will be, and, if it were notso, existence would end (Jung 85). For example, from theFreudian perspective, certain literary themes or motifs are generallyregarded as artistic expressions or sublimations of either the author's orthe protagonist's (or both) emotional and instinctive drives, as well astheir unresolved subconscious problems and anxieties (Sadowski 33). Specifically, Haines's argument isbased on the doctrine of the felix culpa, which pertains to the tension inthe realization that Adam's fall from grace was actually fortunate becauseit allowed the opportunity for humanity to seek grace from God and beredeemed. The first workof the hero is to retreat from the world scene of secondary effects tothose causal zone of the psyche where the difficulties--the primary effects--really reside, and there to clarify the difficulties, eradicate them inhis own case and break through to the undistorted, direct experience andassimilation of the archetypal images (Campbell [Hero] 17-18). . Manning also argues that, if the term psychological is taken toindicate some consideration of mental states, especially as they affectbehavior, then Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has claims to beingpsychological (282). Traditionally, psychological interpretations of literary texts havenot been concerned with the direct sources of the text, its literaryqualities, or any other perceivably "non-psychic" related matters, such asthe religious ideas reflected in the narrative (Sadowski 33). Thus,Haines argues that every hero who does something wicked, repents, and isforgiven resembles Adam to some extent (35). Inaddition, no particular response to Gawain's adventures emerges as the mostvalid. Freud's theory regarding the death instinct and its transformationinto conscience and the consequent pervading sense of guilt is significantto psychological interpretations of literary texts because it illuminatesthe hero's quest. Jung's idea of the "archetype" is one of the leading theories in thefield of mythology (Campbell 32). Detachment or withdrawal consists in a radical transfer of emphasisfrom the external to the internal world which Campbell states is the realmof psychoanalysis--the infantile unconscious ([Hero] 17). Sir Gawain can be read as an exploration of humanity's search foritself, with Gawain operating as the universal hero seeking the answersthat people all seek. Generally, Freudian analyses such as Putter focus moreon the individual psychology revealed in the text. The riddle of myth is to determine the primary virtue and historicdeed of humanity. Theactions of literary characters are the process through which the authorand/or the protagonist resolve and overcome these inner problems andconflicts. Concepts of Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. To isolate what is called the "psychological"from these other factors only reduces the effectiveness and accuracy of theanalysis (Manning 279). Each time this ritual is performed, it allays their sense of guilt. He is careful to note thatAdam's Fall as a specific event in history is not to be confused as anarchetype. Newark: U of Delaware P, 1996.Samuels, Andrew. Rather, he argues, psychological wholeness would requireintegration of the two sides of people and even argues that suchintegration possess a compelling moral aspect: to unblock personal andcommunal relationships and also to admit the inadmissible, yet human(Samuels 65). Instead,scholars performing psychological interpretations were primarily interestedin the operation of certain psychic forces, processes, and motivations,whether conscious or unconscious, individual or collective, that generallyare perceived to be implicitly present in various elements of thenarrative. Campbell argues that myth inscribes the hero as a personof "self-achieved submission" and argues that the adventure of the heronormally follows the pattern of a separation from the world, a penetrationto some source of power, and a life-enhancing return (Campbell [Hero] 16,35). However, they are alsoinitiated into the hero's quest for understanding of universal humanthemes, among them self-definition (which would satisfy the Freudians) andthe meaning of life (for the Jungians). Freud refers to the death instinct also as the instinct toaggressiveness or destruction (48). Jung, and comparative religion to Sir Gawain was Heinrich Zimmer, whointerpreted the main plot elements of the poem in a wide, crossculturalcontext of myths and fairy tales in which the main incidents revolve aroundthe archetypal theme of death and rebirth (Sadowski 34). Analyses such asZimmer's, however, which are based on Jungian psychology, tend to focus onthe more collective and social psychology revealed in the text. Norman, OK: Pilgrim, 1987.Freud, Sigmund. His protest that "I am nothe of whom you have heard" (III, 1242) firmly establishes the differencebetween "I" and "he". Once thisis completed, the hero's second task is to return to people and teach thelesson he has learned of life renewed. Although Haines'sanalysis does not go so far as to inquire into the collective psychologyrevealed by the text, his analysis of it leads the reader toward aconsideration of such revelations and thus leads to a consideration ofJungian elements in the text. The theory of the unconscious and humanity's pervading sense of guiltwere significant concepts in Freudian theory. The open nature of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight reflects thecontinuous search for humanity's purpose and definition. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1973.Clein, Wendy. Jung, however, in his discussion of the shadow and its relationshipto the ego was careful to stress that the shadow should not be regardedalways as a "bad thing" (Samuels 65). Freudian Analysis Ad Putter's psychological interpretation of the text focuses on thepsychology revealed in its verbal conversations. "Psychological Interpretation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Critical Studies of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. When tempered, harnessed and directedtoward objects, the instinct is to satisfy the ego's needs for power overnature (Freud 48-49). Literature such as Sir Gawain has attempted to do sothrough the trials of the hero. Humanity is aware of certain inherenttensions in its conduct that are universal and will always remain so.Texts such as Gawain demonstrate the continual and universal nature ofthese tensions. In Sir Gawain, in particular, Haines argues that, ratherthan denying this sense of guilt as something a person should try toforget, the hero's duty is to force the realization that guilt is somethingpeople may not want to forget (35). Clein argues that the various evaluations of Gawain's actionsencourage readers to look critically at the hero, yet at the same time muchof the action is presented from Gawain's point of view, enabling readers toidentify with him (Clein 13). The variety of interpretations that could be appliedto the text, all of them under the rubric of psychological, demonstratethat the text does not limit itself to only one interpretation. As Campbell states, "Only birth can conquer death--thebirth, not of the old thing again, but of something new . This quest, which the hero performs on people's behalf, gives focusto their lives by replaying Adam's fall and redemption time and time again. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985.----------------------- 1 Conclusion Sadowski argues that the main strength of the psychological school ofliterary analysis lies in providing the conceptual tools with which toexamine and interpret the hidden intentions and certain standard psychicprocesses underlying the content of a literary work (Sadowski 35).However, the final element not yet considered is the reader of the text.Psychological interpretation cannot be unaware that the interpretation ofthe text is informed by the psychology of the reader as much as it isinformed by the intention or psychological underpinnings of the author.Thus, as much as other elements of a text, readers need to be taken intoaccount because they are integral to the discovery of meaning (Clein 9). One of the ways Freud explained this sense of guilt he identifiedin his patients was through the identification of a "death instinct" commonto humanity. Jung stated that,if people regard mankind as one individual, they see the human race as aperson carried away by unconscious powers with problems tucked away inseparate drawers (85). Man and His Symbols. The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology. To do so would be to deny theinherent nature of people; the dark side of people is, after all, a side ofpeople. Putter argues that this movement by the poet fillsGawain's character with a psychological depth (Putter 12 ). Marie Borroff. Washington, D.C.: UP of America, 1982.Jung, Carl. Jungian Analysis Textual interpretation based on Jungian psychology argues thatcertain literary forms, particularly those bordering on mythology or fairytale, are symptomatic of archetypal urges within the depths of the largelyunconscious psyche (Sadowski 33). The tension that now forms between the strictsuperego and the subordinate ego Freud calls the sense of guilt (49). She notes that, when Gawain complieswith the Lady's request for a kiss, he conflates the grammatical person "I"with which people represent themselves, and the "he" by which people aresignified in the words of others (Putter 115). In the psychological interpretation asthe ego's encounter with the shadow, Gawain is the ego, and Bercilak is theshadow, the dark aspect of the psyche (Manning 282). It thus conflicts with the ego'sgoals and dispositions and personifies everything individuals will notrecognize in themselves, in particular inferior character traits. Putter notes, however, that she does not intend to suggest thatGawain's change from "I" to "he" is a Freudian slip uttered under pressure(115). Through his consciousness, readers areinitiated into the experience of being a knight. The life of humanity is characterized (what Jungcalls the "sad truth") by a complex of opposites--day and night, birth anddeath, happiness and misery, good and evil (85). Freud believed the functionof psycho-analysis to be the resolution of neuroses in one's patients.Speaking very generally, neuroses are created by the failure of the patientto deal adequately with repressed psychic material and can be identifiedby, among other things, a pervading sense of guilt the patient could notexplain. Because socialization has led humanity to believesuch power is problematic, many people attempt to deny the instinct toaggressiveness by internalizing it, which in fact redirects it toward theego. Authorialintention is a significant element of psychological interpretation becausethe methods the author chooses to tell his story in light of the story heor she intended to tell can reveal the psychic elements of the humancondition the author was intending to address. Basically, the death instinct operates in conjunction withthe "life instinct" (Eros), and Freud believed the phenomena of life couldbe explained by examining the interplay of the two instincts and theireffects on each other in his patients. New York: Doubleday, 1964.Manning, Stephen. Joan Riviere. New York: Norton, 1967.Campbell, Joseph. Jung used the term shadow to signify what each person fears anddespises in himself (Samuels 65). Jung describes archetypes as certaininborn mental dispositions, "primordial images" or psychic residua of humanexperiences of the same type, that are inherited by individuals from theirancestors in the structure of their brains (Sadowski 33). Joseph Campbell has done significant analysis and research concerningthe universality of myth, and his writings on the quest of the hero isinstructive here. Inother words, their form changes according to the time, the place, and thepsychological constellation of the individual in whom they are manifested(Manning 279-8 ). Manningargues that to recognize this dark aspect as present and real is to takethe first step toward any kind of self-knowledge, but the ego generallydoes not want to make this kind of admission about itself (282). Rather, she argues that Gawain performs the change consciously andis, in fact, establishing the incompatibility between himself and the"Gawayn" the lady wants him to be (Putter 115). Thus, at the point whereGawain and his image in the Lady's words merge, he inscribes himself intothe Lady's narrative as a "he" and abandons the "I" that realizes hisseparate identity as a separate individual (Putter 115). However, the sources, literary qualities, and religious concepts inthe text are significant to a psychological interpretation because theyindirectly reveal material that pertains to the psychology of the text,particularly in the direction of the author's intention. Civilization and Its Discontents. Furthermore, Manning also argues that thearchetypes which form the basis of the text and reveal the psychologicalmatter of the author are affected by the media through which they pass. . Although Manning would also later rely heavily onJungian terminology and concepts to further explicate the text, he performsa Freudian analysis of the text when he focuses on what he perceives to beGawain's feelings of guilt and shame after he realizes Bercilak's deception(281). From one day to the next,one decade to another, one century to another, humanity remains unsure itwill prevail against the dark side. The shadow containseverything the ego finds unacceptable. Jungian depthpsychology believes, therefore, that because of the inborn and normallyunconscious nature of archetypes, certain poems or works of artspontaneously stir specific emotional and cognitive reactions in readers byexpressing these unconscious and very powerful mental forces that areshared by all members of the human species (Sadowski 33). Donald Howard and Christian Zacher. Oxford: Clarendon, 1995.Sadowski, Piotr. Trans. The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Ed. Such a literary interpretation is a direct descendant of anoriginally Freudian and/or Jungian school of psychoanalysis, and itsinterpretative apparatus is indebted to their theories (Sadowski 33). Works CitedSir Gawain and The Green Knight. Manning, for example, analyzes the poem by examiningit in archetypal terms as a story about the ego's encounter with the shadow(281). The history of scholarship on Gawain demonstrates the open nature ofthe text (Clein 8). New York: Dover, 1994.Haines, Victor Yelberton. Notre Dame: U of Notre Dame P, 1968. He also notes that some of the later action in the poem can beinterpreted in terms of unconscious and conscious behavior and states thatthe possibilities of detecting unconscious and conscious behavior and ofrecognizing the poet's emphasis upon Gawain's sense of shame suggest apsychological approach might indeed be fruitful (Manning 281). The hero must constantly struggle againstthe schisms in the soul and the body social revealed in the analyses ofSigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Trans. However, it is basic as a primary event in the history of thehuman race, which people are still living (Haines 35). The Fortunate Fall of Sir Gawain: The Typology of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. Jung and the Post-Jungians. [T]here mustbe--if we are to experience long survival--a continuous "recurrence ofbirth" to nullify the unremitting recurrences of death" (Campbell [Hero]16). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and French Arthurian Romance. A Jungian analysis of a literary textrequires examination of the sources, literary qualities, and otherseemingly "non-psychic" matter because, to Jung, political, social,philosophical, moral, and religious conditions all influence theunconscious (Manning 279). Readers should concentrate on further exploring the problems it posesrather than attempting to close its open structure and substitute narrowinterpretations (Clein 8). 279-94.Putter, Ad. This final indeterminacy of the poem makes it continually availablefor new interpretations, keeping it vital despite the passage of centuries. She argues that whereverthe poet talks of the Lady's attack or Gawain's resistance, he is actuallyreferring to the combative nature of the words with which the Lady seducesand Gawain rebuffs her (Putter 1 4). Sir Gawain and The Green Knight: A Psychological Interpretation Introduction The first to apply the psychoanalytical apparatus of Sigmund Freud,C.G.
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