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Old 11-05-2004, 02:28 PM   #1
Boromir88
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1420! The Psychology of Middle-Earth.

When you talk about literary criticism, or pyschoanalytic critism, it's the application of psychology to a literary work. First of course you must interpret the work (along with the characters in it), then you must apply psychology to the work, or the characters. I wish not to get into a big "Psychology 101" discussion, however there's some basic psychological points that we can identify and apply to Tolkien.

There's two big what are thought to be the "founders of psychology." Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung (there are a few others but these are the big guys).

Sigmend Freud's basic ideas are the conscious (rational) and unconscious (irrational). The brain is divided into these two parts (conscious and unconscious). We as humans believe that our conscious side is in control, we control our own thoughts, our own actions, our own tendancies. But, Freud argues that indeed it is our "unconscious" mind that is in control of us. The unconscious are our hidden desires, fears, ambitions, pleasures, passions...etc. Freud once said about our "unconscious self,"
Quote:
It is a cauldron of our seething desires, a bottomless pit of perverse and incestuous cravings, a burial ground for frightening experiences which nevertheless come back to haunt us. Frankly, it doesn't sound like anything I'd like to make conscious!
We tend to think our conscious self is in control, however it will be our "unconscious" desires, passions...etc that will come back to "haunt" us.

Freud also came up with the "economic" and "topographic" models. The Economic Model is the pleasure principle vs. the reality principle. Pleasure, being our urges, reality being "society's standards." Here's an example.

Ok, I hate people who smoke, I just absolutely hate it. I can't stand it, and I hate to see when other people smoke. I see this one guy in the car up ahead, and he's got a cigarette in his mouth, totally unaware of what that cancerstick is doing to his body. Then I begin to think, I just want to slam him, slam him with my car, and keep slamming him until he drops his cigarette, where he burns down the whole car and gets third degree burns all over his body, that'll teach him not to smoke. Then the reality comes in, well if I do that, the "real laws," I would be arrested, probably sued, I'd feel guilty for causing the man so much pain. It's not my business to decide what people want to do to their body.
That is an example of the Economic model, (hope you all don't think I'm crazy, since I am a smoker... )

The Topographic Model is that famous, id, ego, and super ego. The Id is like our "pleasurable principle" or our "irrational unconsciousness." The ego, is like our "rational thought" or our "reality principle." The super ego is like the moderator, he comes up with ways to get rid of the "irrational" side, in order to protect us not just from society, but from ourselves.

Onto Carl Jung. What he is most famous for is "collective consciousness." The idea that our thoughts are connected to everyone else's in the world. For example, Jung dreamed in 1913 a monstrous flood engulfed the whole continent of Europe. People were drowning, civilizations began to crumble, and the water turns into "blood." Jung thought he was going crazy. However, in the August of that year we have WW1. Jung began to believe in this "collective consciousness," that we all share. Where someone can have "visions" or "dreams" of something happening 1,000's miles away, totally unaware of the situation. Critics have often accused Jung of being mental himself, however it does make you wonder.

So, I would like to delve into the "psychology" of Middle-earth. Does Tolkien use the "conscious and unconscious" mind to explain his characters? An Economic Model? Is there a "collective consciousness" between the people's of Middle-earth? Freud's points, Jung's points, or if you have any other sort of "psychology findings" to add please do so.

As for a quick example of the "psychology" of Middle-Earth. I think we need to go to Boromir. He indeed is one of the deeper characters in Tolkien. He pushes down his thought of taking the ring, he supresses it and in a way it becomes "unconscious" to him. We don't see the Ring have any affect on Boromir, that is until Lothlorien. When Galadriel confronts Boromir with his "unconscious ambitions, desires," and indeed it is the "unconscious" Boromir who comes out in the end. For a while "conscious" Boromir had control, but as Freud said, "It's not our conscious self that is in control." Once, his unconscious desires awoke, they took over. Here's a quote from after Boromir went mad.

Quote:
He rose and passed his hand over his eyes, dashing away the tears. "What have I said?" he cried. What have I done? Frodo, Frodo!" he called. "Come back! A madness took me, but it has passed. Come back!"
I think it's clear in Boromir's words here, that he wasn't in "control" of what he was doing. His "unconscious desires" had arisen, and took control of his body, the blame is also forced upon the Ring, for it did "drive him mad." But, with him wondering what he had done, and his last line, would suggest that he was unconsciously aware of what he actually did. He just knows he did something wrong.
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Old 11-05-2004, 03:53 PM   #2
Estelyn Telcontar
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Here's an old thread with a link to a fascinating article that might interest those who take part in this discussion: Archetypes in Faerie - Tolkien and Psychology

And another: Psychological Depth in Tolkien's Characters - enjoy!
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Old 11-05-2004, 03:59 PM   #3
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Thanks for the threads Estelyn!
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