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psychoanalysisandchill · 1 year ago

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Frankenstein’s monster – the wounded inner-child as saboteur

I had read almost the entirety of the novel, frustrated by the lack of material to psychoanalyse, until – in a moment of eureka - it suddenly dawned upon me; Frankenstein’s monster is merely a split part of his psyche which he is in conflict with and cannot seem to integrate. The monster is a product of Frankenstein’s vivid imagination, but ultimately an integral part of himself.

From the mysterious appearances of the monster, to the fact that few lived to tell about his existence and his endless yearning to fulfil his need for companionship leading to a desperate series of wicked and vengeful sabotage – I reread the novel through my freshly acquired lens and it all made perfect sense. Therefore, one should read the following psychoanalysis of the novel with the above principle in mind: monster as split part of Victor Frankenstein’s psyche.

Part 1: Puer Auternus – inflated by the psychic forces of the unconscious

With ardent zeal Victor Frankenstein enters university at Inglostadt, embodying the Puer archetype possessed by a naiveté which resembles the folly of a delinquent child. Upon his arrival, he dialogues with professor Krempe and with a hint of arrogant contempt tinting his words, he proudly announces his familiarity with the works of Paracelsus and Agrippa. Krempe, flabbergasted in return, gasps and wastes no time to enlighten Victor that his undertakings have been a waste of time. An oedipal drama between a prideful Puer and an ossified Senex plays itself out in their disagreeable interaction charged with foul contempt.

The birth of paradigm shattering inventions happen when a Puer Auternus on the loose commences himself with sedulous passion to his fresh, imaginative but also rather folly ideas. Indeed, the Senex, with his dry, dogmatic orthodoxy, is never the carrier of new, eccentric invention that defy the laws of nature and require a reconsideration of the established models of reality.

For a genius to fulfil his prophecy, he has to risk being somewhat of a fool in the eyes of the orthodoxy - in Frankenstein’s case: professor Krempe- after all, folly is merely the shadow side of genius, as genius borders on insanity and belongs to the domain of the absurd, without a hint of imaginative folly there is no creek through which genius could flow into the light of consciousness in order to actualize itself.

“…I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation. I closed not my eyes that night. My internal being was in a state of insurrection and turmoil…” (p. 40)

The psychic inflation running through his nervous system has rendered his personality megalomanic.

“No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success… A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child completely as I should deserve theirs.” (p. 46)

With childlike passion, the Puer archetype consumes himself in omnipotent fantasies, like Peter Pan he flies and is seldom rooted in the oppressive soil of reality, blinding him of the dire consequences his actions may have. In reality, all is oppressive and in the imagination, all is jolly, without imagination as the ultimate coping mechanism the Puer’s folly would never border on the absurd and touch genius. Indeed, in the above passage Frankenstein sounds deluded, such is also the nature of religious ecstasy, it’s totalistic in scope and transcends the humility and reason of the down-to-earth average joe.

“My limbs now tremble, and my eyes swim with the remembrance; but then a resistless and almost frantic impulse urged me forward; I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit.” (p. 47)

It is clear that Frankenstein has been blinded by his ambitious zeal and wishes to become god himself, a deep layer of the unconscious has been triggered and is possessing him. In his naiveté, he fails to relate to this fervent force as a phenomenon greater than himself and becomes unconsciously possessed by it through the process of identification with it.

Part 2: Loss of innocence – birth of the avoidant personality and wounded inner-child.

“I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (p. 50)

The birth of the monster marks the loss of innocence for Puer Frankenstein, the ardent zeal of his religious ecstasy is replaced with wretched horror as he descends from the high heavens to the pits of hell. He has ventured into the abyss of the unconscious, nose-dived into the land of the unknown with his folly naiveté as his sole companion. Having bitten the forbidden fruit, now comes the moment in which he has to pay for his expansion of consciousness with the loss of his Puer innocence as the reality principle has caught up to him.

“Mingled with this horror, I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were now become a hell to me; and the change was so rapid, the overthrow so complete!” (p. 52)

Overwhelmed by the sudden rapid shift of his state of mind, the innocent child deals with the traumatic event through splitting his consciousness: the monster coming to live and gaining personal autonomy, marks the moment in which the psyche has become split as the conscious personality cannot bear to face that wretched part of himself so he forcefully gets repressed and disassociated into the depths of the unconscious, where he lives on autonomously, yet unintegrated. Frankenstein’s monster is analogous to the inner-child ignored by an avoidant adult whom much rather abandons the child than to provide it the companionship it so desperately needs.

Part 3: The first reunion between split parts – An opportunity for reconciliation

“Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous,” (p.96) the monster warns, or rather pleads upon their first dialogues encounter. It isn’t by chance that the encounter manifests in nature, far from the confines and constraints eponymous to civilized society. When man dwells in the liberty of nature long enough, the ego barriers loosen and from the abyss of the shadow unconscious content resurfaces, finding its way to the center stage of consciousness, illuminated by its luminous light.

“Begone! Relieve me from the sight of your detested form,” (p. 97) Frankenstein hurls back. The initial resurfacing of a split sub-personality, the monster as wounded inner-child, is always met with horror and apocalyptical protest by the conscious personality, however reason assists in establishing a frail, but much needed, union between two split parts as the monster and Frankenstein gravitate towards each other:“I weighed the various arguments that he had used and determined at least to listen to his tale,” (p. 98) Hearing the pleas of the wounded inner-child and approaching it with reason and curiosity become the foundation on which the laborious undertaking of integration can take place.

As the monster tells his tale Frankenstein learns how he has been the eager voyeur of a tiny family - described as the cottagers - damned by unfortunate circumstances. The wounded inner-child of the avoidant personality tends to spectate from a distance so as not to get burned twice by the unjust vengeance of lovers from the past. Yet their deepest yearning is that of unconditional companionship, but the avoidant personalities conviction that his wounded inner-child is cursed by irredeemable hideousness hinders him from authentically relating to his surroundings.

“His words had a strange effect upon me. I compassionated him and sometimes felt a wish to console him, but when I looked upon him, when I saw the filthy mass that moved and talked, my heart sickened and my feelings were altered to those of horror and hatred.” (p. 148)

The dialectic plaguing Frankenstein’s psyche isn’t Hegelian in nature as it never reaches the point of synthesis throughout the novel. Adam yearns for his Eve as the monster demands of his creator a companion resembling his own hideous form, wounded inner-child sees his anima in equally wounded girls, but the avoidant personality could never admit to harbouring fancy for somebody as hideous as he believes himself to be. Instead he “might claim Elizabeth and forget the past, in my union with her” (p. 156)

Part 4: Failure to reconcile and integrate – the inner-child metamorphosis into saboteur

Frankenstein proofs himself treacherous as he destroys the female monster he had promised his original creation. Herein lies the great tragedy of the avoidant personality inability of providing his wounded inner-child with companion, not even that of an equally hideous monster, thus the monster commands in response “You are my creator, but I am your master; - obey!” (p. 171)

What follows is an exchange enflamed with fiery conflictual insults and threats. The hopes of reconciliation between the psychic parts are to be found in the ashes of their exchange and since the avoidant personality has gained awareness of the inner-child, disassociating him to the depths of the unconscious is no longer possible, from here on the monster/inner-child will lurk in the land of the subconscious and act as saboteur as he leaks into the domain of consciousness and temporarily disrupts the will through violent acts of possession.

Indeed, it is Frankenstein that is accused of the murder of his friend Clerval whose dead body is found on the beach. “I am the cause of this - I murdered her. William, Justine, and Henry – they all died by my hands.” (p. 190) but rather than actual murders the death of Frankenstein’s beloved are symbolic for the death of precious relationship brought about by the uncontrollable rage tantrums of a saboteur, pouring through the creaks of a ruptured psyche. Indeed, the monster appears in mysterious ways, particularly on his wedding night, as Frankenstein is pre-occupied with “inspecting every corner that might afford a retreat to my adversary” (p. 201).

Yet his dear Elizabeth is murdered moments after retiring to their bedroom. A mere moment of the avoidant personality dropping his guard is enough for the wounded inner-child to gush through from the tear in his psyche and sabotaging his most treasured union.

“As I heard it, the whole truth rushed into my mind, the motion of every muscle and fibre was suspended; I could feel the blood trickling in my veins and tingling in the extremities of my limbs.” (p. 201)

With every encounter with the monster Frankenstein grows more restless, the great psychic split plagues the body and makes itself known in physical symptoms. “A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death” (p. 181) The greater the avoidance the more severe the physiological deregulation becomes.

Great neuroticism plagues him as he regains control and witnesses the carnage brought about by his inner-saboteur. “Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change,” (p. 203) Every time the saboteur emerges and ruins a relationship dear to him he loathes his existence and despises the change brought about by his behaviour, to which he feels victimized.

Part: 5 The vengeance of revenge

It is solely revenge which clouds Frankenstein’s mind as he chases the monster around the world. Frankenstein remains blinded about the proper manner in which one should confront the shadow and turns towards it with the hopes of destroying its content – there is no salvation in self-loathing. He joins his inner-child in the seventh circle of Dante’s inferno as he rises against himself and seethes with violent ardour.

“…a well-known and abhorred voice, apparently close to my ear addressed me in an audible whisper, “I am satisfied miserable wretch! You have determined to live, and I am satisfied” ” (209)

The monster, solely appearing in a sonic form, deepens the mystery of its supernatural nature, alluding to the possibility that it perhaps has no existence outside of Frankenstein’s imagination. When he does become visible he is described as “ghastly and distorted” and hastes away “with more than mortal speed.” (p. 210) It has, however, succeeded in making Frankenstein miserable, thus there is intimacy between them, but it’s nature is deeply disagreeable and violent.

Part: 6 Reflections and death – failure to integrate

“Despondency rarely visited my heart; a high destiny seemed to bear me on, until I fell, never, never again to rise.” (p. 219)

At the end of life, when all has been ruined and the avoidant personalities demise has actualized, there remains nothing but the bitter aftertaste of frustrations. Waton offers of friendship is rejected with the excuse that new friendship may never substitute the old ones, but Frankenstein is so pre-occupied with the destruction of his inner-child that he is rendered incapable of relation.

Frankenstein’s death marks the moment at which the conscious personality becomes disarmed from his defence mechanisms and the wounded inner-child experiences a cathartic emergence into the light of consciousness, for the first time, without resistance. Waton enters his cabin and witnesses the monster towering over the lifeless corpse of his creator. He will be the sole witness whom will live to tell since the cottagers, the inner-child has no reason to sabotage anymore as the avoidant personality has died and his own death looms around the corner. The monster’s final words retell a tragedy of shattered hopes and innocence lost too soon. With every utterance, his remorse is made known, he agrees with Waton when being accused of being a wretch and announces his plans for suicide.

Disappointment is the ultimate destiny for every wounded inner-child who remains unacknowledged by his creator. Whilst Frankenstein admits at his moment of death that he “created a rational creature and was bound towards him to assure, as far as was in my power, his happiness and well-being” (p 225) he fails to realize that he could’ve fulfilled the monster’s wish for happiness through offering him his own companionship and held on to the erroneous view that only the construction of a female counterpart would’ve been a viable solution to the monster’s yearning.

Shelley, M.W. (2018) Frankenstein: Or the modern prometheus. London: Vintage.

#psychoanalysis #carl jung #frankenstein #frankenstiensmonster #mary shelley #english literature #freud #psychology #gothic #goth aesthetic #romantic goth #gothic style #inner child

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