Utilizing our discussion of the Oedipal/Electra, the Id/Ego/Superego, anima/animus, pre-conconcious,conscious, and subconscious desires, apply these concepts from psychology to one of the main characters in the novel. 200 words.
23 Comments
Bethany Balentine
4/28/2014 03:16:49 am
Milkman represents many of the traits of the Id to Superego phases. Milkman first begins as an Id, being with his mother, not having much care for others around him. He stays in this Id phase for quite a while, considering that when Milkman is in the car with his family and has to urinate he doesn’t think of the others in the car that have to yield to his desires just for him. It could even be said that he is not aware of other peoples needs until much older, because he doesn’t keep Hagar’s or his family’s feelings in mind. He begins to develop a strong Ego when Magdalene Lena confronts him about how he treats the family. It is not until Guitar confronts Milkman about their relationship and when Milkman begins to meet his father’s family members and hears the stories about his family’s past that he develops the Superego, and begins to deal with the moral issues within himself and his family. Within his unconscious he has the issue with the fact that he was breastfed to an older age, but he is still unsure of how to deal with this issue and doesn’t understand how it impacted his life. His subconscious is all about the money, the gold, and the women. Milkman isn’t thinking about much rather than that. Within his conscious, he is just aware of his family that he is around and everyday feelings that he deals with. The Oedipus complex explains the unconscious and the will to change but the person is not quite aware of why he/she should change or take action. “Fate” is a good way of explaining the unconscious. This is Milkman when he wants to confront his mother and his family with issues that he is not quite sure of yet. The Electra complex is the conscious, the desire to change for a reason. Milkman wants to first change for the gold, and then to change because he finds out about his family’s past.
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Georgie P
4/29/2014 03:06:40 am
In ‘Song of Solomon’, Ruth is described the subject of an Electra Complex. However, the difference is that she is not pushing her Mother away in order to unconsciously become the object of her Father’s desire – her Mother is dead, and so she has no way to resolve her Electra Complex and create a positive relationship between her and her Father. At the age of 16, Ruth still expects her Father to kiss her on the lips before she goes to bed and when her Father died, Ruth was found naked with her dead Father’s fingers in her mouth. This evidence clearly suggests an unresolved Electra Complex which has led to her unconscious desires becoming more conscious. This affects her relationships with her other family members in other parts of the novel. For example, Ruth encourages an Oedipal Conflict with her own son Milkman by continuing to breastfeed him beyond the normal age range. She feeds him despite the fact that Milkman would rather not be breastfed anymore, therefore satisfying the id aspect of her personality and ignoring the superego aspect of her personality. This shows that she has a weak ego and therefore is a selfish human being who ultimately wants her own way. The animus aspect of some Ruth’s personality appears to have stalled due to her lack of development; she is completely dormant and does not appear to have her own power let alone any masculine abilities. When her husband beats her she merely takes it, even sometimes encouraging the violence.
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Stephen Mitchell
4/29/2014 07:58:35 am
Doctors Note –
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rachel
4/29/2014 08:31:10 am
Milkman’s daily actions up until age 30, expose him as a man with little ambition. Ever since the day he realized that he could not accomplish the one thing that intrigued him, (the ability to fly; he seemed to lose all real desire and care for the world, often looking to the past but not towards his own future. In regards to his personality, he lives in the id aspect, focusing on his own wants and developing desires, without taking other people into considerations, and maintains a weak superego and underdeveloped ego. On top of an immature psyche, Milkman lacks any genuine relationship with females; a condition that possibly stems from his unresolved Oedipus complex.
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Tasha Snider
4/30/2014 07:49:25 pm
Ruth Foster (Dead) suffers from an Electra Complex. This fact cannot be ignored and is now the center of all her thoughts and actions (even subconsciously). Her father was the center of her entire childhood where she expected kisses every night on her sleep even when she was sixteen years of age which is not healthy and even her father recognized the bliss in her eyes as unnatural. Besides that she refused to have anyone but her father deliver her babies and was found lying naked next to his dead body with his fingers in her mouth. These all show her desire for her father which is coined by this complex. The issue is never solved as with her marriage she puts her new attachment onto her son who she breastfeeds until four and pushes towards becoming a doctor. This condition is not healthy and most be looked into more by a serious professional. Medication is recommended to help curve the insanity that she has been displaying. This is not healthy for her or her kids and shows as she encourages her husband to beat her for the attention. She needs medication as soon as possible cause this chick is crazy.
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Trey.C
4/30/2014 11:06:15 pm
Macon Dead is certainly a curious psychological case, considering how scarred he was from various tragedies in the past, so much so that it induced some homicidal urges. This is because that past trauma had broken away the few psychological bastions that Macon had which kept him from becoming sociopathic. The first major factor is witnessing the death of his father. When Macon was twelve, his father was killed by a rich white family who wanted to seize his large, prosperous farm, Lincoln’s Heaven. This event had made Macon afraid of people looking to seize what he owns, so he became unnaturally miserly, thinking that if you wanted to survive in this world, you have to own thing, master it, and dominate what you have. In this aim, Macon would commit acts with a ruthless indifference towards other people, including his family, whom he virtually terrorizes every day by his presence. At first, however, he was unaffected by this because he had an anima, someone who is his equal in everything: Pilate. His familial love for her in the early days of his life kept him away from sociopathic tendencies, however, this relationship was broken when Pilate, while her and Macon were hiding in the cave near Circe’s home, threatened Macon not to touch the white man’s gold. Without this connection, Macon’s compassion with the rest of mankind soured, and he became the man Milkman had known throughout the novel.
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Ryan M
5/1/2014 07:44:11 pm
Ruth Foster is someone who is suffering from the Electra Complex. Ruth is someone who should not be ignored and is now the center of all her thoughts and actions. Everything Ruth Foster thinks about comes from the electra complex. Her father, when in childhood, was the center of her world and as a child she expected kisses every night on her sleep even when she was into her teenage years. Which is a little wierd and is not healthy. Ruth Foster would say things like no one can have my babies execpt for my father. She was even found lying naked next to his dead body. This condition is not healthy and most be looked into more by a serious professional. Medication is recommended to help slow down or change the thought process of herinsanity that she has been displaying.
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Yahaira S.
5/3/2014 11:09:34 pm
In the novel, Milkman was mostly driven by his Id. He basically lived to satisfy himself only, not taking into regard the feelings of others, such as Hagar for example. Once Milkman got tired of her, he dropped her like nothing. Within his conscious Milkman knows he can't live with his father forever. However, he isn't driven to go out and live on his own with his own family. Instead, he lives off of his father even when he is an adult. When Lena finally slaps him with the truth of his actions and character, he begins to develop the Ego. He realizes that being selfish can hurt him at the end of the day and he tries to become a more considerate person. Within his unconscious Milkman has always wanted to know more about himself and has wanted some questions answered. By talking with Pilate, he was able to have some questions answered and going on a journey to learn more is what drove him. Finally, when Milkman is on his journey, he develops the Superego by having to be more independent and solve problems on his own. While Milkman is in Shalimar and Guitar almost kills him and all he sees is Hagar, he comes to realize how horribly he treated her. By humbling himself and admitting to treating the people in his life badly, wanting to make amends, and being more self-reliant, Milkman becomes a whole new person.
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daniel c.
5/4/2014 05:27:46 am
Ever since the early childhood of Milkman’s life, he displayed the Oedipal complex with his mother by being breast-fed a tad bit longer than a child should be. Later in the novel, Milkman’s dad strikes his mother and Milkman retaliates by hitting his dad. He then says he would promise to kill him if he were violent towards Ruth again. This part of Milkman’s life impacts him the rest of his life because he now has trouble keeping relationships, and if that making any. Milkman has always been a person who lacks the consideration for other people and always puts his desires and basic needs first, which meets the Id aspect. Slavery and being abused at a younger age played a significant role in Milkman’s life on how it shaped whom he would be. As Milkman begins to get older his ego begins to develop a little bit better and he begins to assume responsibility. Milkman’s pre-conscious at an early age is a bit of a roller coaster since he was breast-fed for such a long period. At times Milkman would just be walking and begin to feel disturbed around his mother and what made things worse was he didn’t know how to deal with the situation. Milkman’s conscious doesn’t get any better at a later age because Milkman doesn’t do anything serious with his life and is afraid to step in the “deep end” of things.
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Beau
5/4/2014 05:26:13 pm
Milkman begins as an Id, nurturing off his mother, not having much care for others, for example when he is in the car and has to urinate, stopping the car just for him. He stays an Id for quite a while, wandering with him being the only thing on his mind, all the way up to the age of 30. Milkman also seems to lack the possibility of being in relationship; a condition that possibly stems from his unresolved Oedipus complex. Milkman’s id complex is exposed when he wants to find the gold, for nothing but personal desires. He wishes to become independent from his father, as well as very successful in life. Milkman's superego is underdeveloped and weak due to the fact that he grew up with a father whom neglected him and a mother who used him as a crutch. Milkman unconscious state is when he wants to confront his mother and his family with issues that he is not quite sure of yet. The Electra complex is the conscious, the desire to change for a reason. Milkman wants to first change for the gold, and then to change because he finds out about his family’s past.
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Jurrien A.
5/4/2014 06:58:57 pm
A quaint Freudian analysis of Macon Dead Jr.. Mr. Dead obviously has the most apparent of the many psychological issues that every character in Song of Solomon seems to have. Traumatized at the tender age of twelve by the sight of his father being shot dead by a wealthy white looking to seize his father's farm, Lincoln's Haven, he obviously developed some problems as a result. His reaction to the trauma he witnessed was the permanent distrust of white individuals as well as an over-protectiveness of the things he owns with along with a domineering attitude towards the things he lords over. At first he was unaffected by his trauma because he had Pilate as a balancing factor. His fatherly love for her in the early days of his life kept him essentially blinded from his trauma, this relationship was broken when Pilate threatened Macon not to touch a dead white man's gold whilst they were hiding in a cave near Circe's home. With this relationship now severed, he slowly spiraled into madness, or rather, psychopathic tendencies to the tune of a morose elegy.
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Hope
5/5/2014 01:07:34 am
Throughout Ruth Foster’s entire life from a child until past the time she was married exhibited signs that she suffered from the Electra Complex. Her unnatural attraction to her father was proven in her overly affectionate way in which she acted towards him. This began simply as a toddler’s cute displays of love, for example, the way that she would kiss him “goodnight” every night. However, this ritual lasted up through adolescence and into her teen years. The joy and satisfaction became even more obvious in her eyes as she aged, even to the point where her father realized it was beginning to be unhealthy. It was assumed that she would move on from this attachment to her father after marriage, that she would be able to shift this affection on to someone more appropriate, her husband. However, this did not actually work out. Ruth, though she did demonstrate some affection towards her husband, was never able to replace her father as the focal man in her life. She requested that her father be the doctor to deliver her babies despite her husband, Macon’s, protests. Macon recognized this as an unhealthy attachment that she had to her father and began to have deeper suspicions. These suspicions were essentially confirmed the night that Ruth’s father died. Macon went in to the room only to find Ruth lying naked next to her dead father with his fingers in her mouth. This was the end for Macon, from that night on he did not willingly spend time with Ruth as husband and wife and Ruth’s Electra Complex was finally addressed.
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Julia
5/5/2014 01:25:29 am
In the novel, Song of Solomon, Milkman goes through the main traits of the Id to Superego phases. In the beginning, Milkman is driven by his Id; not caring very much about the things around him. He stays in this phase for some time; with the excessive partying and playing with other people's emotions. The Ego phase comes after he is confronted by Magdalene Lena about how he treats the rest of the family and they all had enough of him and his ways. The Superego only surfaces after Guitar confronts Milkman about their friendship and after he begins to meet his father's family and starts to hear stories about his family's past. This pushes him to deal with the moral issues with himself and with his family. His unconscious deals with the fact that he was breastfed way longer than children are supposed to be breastfed and he doesn't know how to deal with this information or his mother after coming to this realization. His subconscious is all about money, the famous 'treasure', and women; for the longest time this was all his attention was focused on. Within his conscious, he is aware of his family and his everyday emotions.
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Angelique K.
5/7/2014 04:53:25 am
In “Song of Solomon”, Milkman is seen going through several different stages as he progresses throughout his life. When Milkman was four years old he realized that he wasn’t able to fly, and at that instant he seemed to lose all of his ambition and drive to do anything. Milkman shows all the characteristics of an id until he is about thirty years old; he believes that everything and everyone should revolve around him, because his needs are the most important. As Milkman ages and starts to become aware of relationships he still remains in the id stage, this is seen when he is with Hagar, he only uses Hagar to please his own needs and he could careless about how she feels. Part way through the novel Magdalene, Milkman’s sister, confronts him about his selfish nature and she informs him that is actions really hurt other people, at this moment he starts to enter the ego stage. While in the ego stage Milkman finally begins to realize that he isn’t the only person with needs and desires, others have them as well. As the novel progresses, Milkman starts to develop a superego, this occurs when he starts to learn about the Dead family past and when Guitar makes him aware of the fact that they are growing further and further apart. The superego stage allows Milkman to develop and become aware of his moral values, he was taught some of them by his parents, however, he never really followed them because he wasn’t aware of what was right and what was wrong. Ruth, Milkman’s mother enforced the Oedipus complex on him by breastfeeding him till around age 4, she did this because she was lacking physical attention from Macon and she thought that her son could fill her need for affection. Milkman had a hard time establishing relationships, not only with women, but also with his parents, this is mainly due to the fact that Ruth wanted him to love her and no one else. Throughout the novel Milkman’s unconscious makes him only interested in himself, however as he ages he tries to develop and use his conscious to become aware of the needs and desires of other people, not to mention the fact that he wants to leave the Dead household in order to truly experience what life has to offer.
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Molly R
5/7/2014 07:54:53 am
In "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison, she uses psychological and Freudian theories to add characterization and depth into her novel; one of these being the Electra complex, which is present in Milkman's mother Ruth. Ever since youth, Ruth displayed a certain affinity for her father: expecting kisses every night, even after an appropriate age. Additionally, when Dr. Foster dies, Ruth is found lying next to him, naked, with her fingers in his mouth. Which is actually really gross. This then got amplified when Ruth married Macon Dead and starting wanting him to beat her just to experience some form of attention. She then transfers these feelings to her son, Milkman in the form of breast feeding him way too long. Basically, Ruth has some "daddy issues" that, after the absence of her father, she relayed to her husband and son.
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Raegan C.
5/7/2014 11:53:20 pm
In Song of Solomon, Milkman demonstrates the four stages of anima (feminine unconscious) development in an animus (masculine conscious) as defined by Carl Jung. The first stage of anima development is Eve (named for Eve, the first woman in the Bible, and the archetype of both wife and mother). Milkman demonstrates the Eve development at the beginning of novel when he is first christened “Milkman”. He, at the time subconsciously, recognizes the slightly inappropriate (slightly in proportion to everything else that happens in this book) nature of his relationship with his mother, and this registers as the first object of his desire. The second stage is Helen (Helen of Troy), demonstrated by Milkman as he meets the industrious, independent Pilate, Reba, and Hagar. In this first meeting, Milkman is introduced to a completely different kind of woman than his docile mother and sisters. The third stage is Mary (THE Mary), at which point Milkman finds a woman above unvirtuous pursuits (Circe), and learns about the legendary past of his grandmother Singing Bird, and his great grandmother Ryna. The fourth and final stage of development is Sophia (great word for wisdom), a stage Milkman only achieves at the end of the novel when he recognizes the fact that the women in his life are individuals outside of their gender, and that they all have positive and negative traits.
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CJ W.
5/8/2014 11:09:29 pm
In "Song of Solomon", Morrsion utilizes Freud's theory of the Oedipus Complex to correlate with Milkman's life. From the beginning of his childhood, Milkman always had animosity towards his father, Macon Dead. As he matured, his feelings of hatred towards his father intensified; in fact, there was even an instance where he got into a physical altercation with him. Milkman is likely underdeveloped and weak due to the fact that he grew up with a father that more or less hated him and a mother who used him as a crutch. However, as time went on, Milkman's relationship with his mother, Ruth became stronger. He confronts his mother one night at as she is at his grandfather’s grave. Ruth explains the infamous story of her incident with her father and how he got the name of Milkman. Around the same time, Milkman, who was after the gold, begins to look for someone else; his own self. This displays Milkman's change from the Id complex, to the Superego complex. Everyone who Milkman met in the town talked so highly and superior about Macon Dead, which is in complete juxtaposition from what Milkman views his father as. Milkman's initial quest to find the gold and bring it back to his family, becomes a quest to find out more about his family's past, and more specifically, his father’s past.
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Conner Brown
5/10/2014 08:42:07 pm
Throughout "Song of Solomon" Milkman undergoes the development of the id, ego and superego which takes him over 30 years and almost the entirety of the novel to complete. In the beginning of the novel, when Milkman was still in his adolescence, he displayed characteristics of the id complex. One example being when Milkman was faced with the basic instinct to urinate and, unaware of others around him, decides to do so on either his older sister's dress or the new tree in his front yard. It seems his ego development has been retarded by failed aspirations and an unhealthy household. By the time Milkman is older, around the age of 12, he has developed the ego, and learns how to manipulate others for his own personal gains in a way that is not immediately reject-able. This phase encompasses the majority of the novel, lasting into his 30s, and leading him into issues such as his relationship with Hadgar. Never marrying, Milkman dated Hadgar to satisfy his physical desires and doesn't view her as anything more than "the third beer." Eventually he leaves her and in response Hadgar makes several attempts on his life. It's not until Magdalene called Lena confronts him about his selfish ways, and his "pissing on others" when the seeds of a superego start to develop. It takes a rigorous and life-threatening journey in search of gold, and later the secrets of his family past, for his superego to fully develop. He displays all his progress at the end of the novel when Pilate is shot, and Milkman, at Pilate's request, sings for her. It is at this moment, Milkman has a fully developed superego, and in reward, learns how to fly.
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Buse D
5/19/2014 04:22:35 am
In the novel Milkman is selfish and never really cares about anyone else which meets the ID aspect. He doesn't care about the feelings of others. Hagar is an example because Milkman just used her and after he got tired of her, he just dropped her like she was his property. Since the early childhood of Milkman’s life, he displayed the oedipal complex with his mother by being breast-fed when children normally stop which he has his name from but I think it is also a commentary on his character. Milkman is juvenile. The breast feeding for past the point where he should have stopped shows also that he didn't grew as an adult the way he should have. His name is not just a commentary on his past but also a meaning of the dark history of environment and death that haunts the past of the family. As Milkman begins to get older his ego begins to develop a little bit better and he begins to assume responsibility and also when Lena tells him the truth of his actions and character. Milkman's superego is underdeveloped and weak because he grew up with parents who weren't a good role model for him. Throughout the novel he develops a Superego by having more independence and figuring out the answers to his questions as he talks to Pilate. Also by facing his problems and figuring them out. The Electra complex of Milkman is the desire to change, it is his conscious. He becomes a whole new person as he realizes that he treated people badly like Hagar and by admitting this to himself, he finally wants to change as a person.
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Gabrielle L
5/19/2014 06:26:06 am
Milkman’s journey is filled with attributes of Freudian theories. For example, he undergoes the Id, Ego, and Superego throughout the novel. By the time he was a teen to his twenties, he was still an Id—a selfish being. When he was young, he had no remorse for urinating on Lena; he did what pleased him. When he spent time with Hagar, he didn’t love her at all. He used her feelings towards him to his advantage and threw her away like trash her when he felt like it. He did not take to heart his family’s feelings at all. He was a man all about worldly desires and had no worthy ambitions. He teamed up with Guitar to steal ‘treasure’ from his aunt Pilate. Treasure? Just another want of his. However, this journey to selfishly get the gold led him to develop the next two stages. He only begins to have a sense of his selfishness before when Lena finally rages about how he treated his family. He realized that his actions and words can harm people not only physically, but psychologically. Hagar had become crazy, and Lena had developed a peculiar hate towards him. Then, Milkman finally develops his superego when he starts his journey to find the real ‘treasure’—the history of his ‘Dead’ ancestors and current family after about thirty years. It is his internalized ideal subconsciously acquired from society. Using knowledge and clues gained by his parents, mentors, and a few others, he reflects on them to discover his roots. As shown by his remorse for his past treatment of Hagar, his love for Pilate, and worthy desire to ‘fly’, he has finally learned to suppress the Id, making himself behave more morally.
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Sarah
5/25/2014 08:36:43 am
Electra Complex is clearly a disorder Ruth Foster suffers from throughout her life. By definition Electra Complex for Freud, is when throughout the childhood the child desires to sleep with the father and to kill the mother. Ruth’s attraction or magnetism to her father was always existent, but seemed a bit more subtle during her childhood years. When saying goodnight to her father, she would always show her affection through kissing him goodnight. This was not initially looked upon as corrupt until this custom continued into her adolescent years. It became a bit unnatural when her enjoyment of these sexual encounters was more obvious. Although her father did notice her unhealthy attraction, he was not worried for he believed the desire would fade upon her marriage. She did show little love and acknowledgment to her husband, but still in the back of her head lied a longing for her father causing trouble within her marriage. Macon began to have suspicions about Ruth’s issues when she requested her father to help deliver her children rather than her own husband. He was truly fed up with the problem when Ruth was found naked next to her dead father. With this, Macon was unwilling to continue a marriage when knowing Ruth will forever having feelings for her father over her own husband, leaving him with no other choice than to separate himself from her.
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Alyssa
5/27/2014 02:49:25 am
In Song of Solomon, many characters, including the flawed and dynamic Milkman, stimulate discussion on the presence of varying psychological issues. In Milkman’s story, there is a hint of an Oedipal complex due to his mother’s practicing breastfeeding much further than the average age, but more demonstrably there is a development between Freudian levels of consciousness. Milkman endeavors to escape the stifling embrace of the Dead household. His subsequent journey illustrates his development from an immature, mercurial Id driven boy, to a more realized ego, and then superego. Through most of his youth and adolescence, Milkman’s sole interest was in his own pleasure, with complete disregard for consequences or the feelings of others around him. This attitude is most clearly exemplified in his relationship with Hagar, as she loves him deeply while he only uses her for his own sexual satisfaction and as means of stroking his ego. When Hagar is no longer interesting to him, he avoids her and leaves her to stalk hopelessly after him to the point of insanity. Later, he begins to develop an awareness of the repercussion that his current course in life may hold, and the significance of other’s feeling as his sister, Lena confronts him. His superego culminates as his hedonistic attitude is slowly replaced in a more powerful search for meaning and discovery representing not only his family’s history, but a deep rooted, impassioned part of African American history.
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Angela B.
6/1/2014 09:32:16 pm
One of the complicated characters in Song of Solomon is Milkman’s mother Ruth, who unconsciously and consciously shows different sides of her personality’s id, ego and superego. She strongly represents the Electra complex when she has intimately close relationship with her father through her whole childhood. She completely seems to ignore her id and ego when it comes to her family life, suffering because of Macon’s abusiveness. Her basic needs are strongly violated but she puts up with it, at the same time knowing the situation being wrong and not fulfilling her needs as a wife or a mother. She consciously remains with the family and even though she feels undesired and not appreciated, she holds the unconscious id up with her consciousness: financially dependent on her family, she knows that she couldn’t leave just to satisfy her superego. On the other hand, Ruth doesn’t always show signs of submissiveness and push down her id and ego. Despite her shield of obedience and quiet essence, that she hides herself behind, she still remains independent and strong. Her resistance to Macon’s command to kill the fetus in the womb showed the conscious action of pleasing her own id.
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