Freud and the Victorian Period (Essay)

Freud and the Victorian Period1


Most people have heard of Sigmund Freud. He lived from 1856-1939(World Biography 103), which means that he lived during the Victorian Period. Interestingly enough, the Victorian Period was a time of great repression. Many of Freud's theories relate directly to it. Freud paved the way to modern psychology especially with being credited with discovering the method of psychoanalysis (World Biography 103). Freud is also well known for his theories on sexuality and repression. Freud's theories on sexuality and repression were directly related to the Repression of the Victorian Period.
Those living in the Victorian period followed many different ideals. The Victorians were expected to have self-denial. Self-denial to them was being able to deny themselves pleasure like a piece of clothing, or a treat of some sort if they knew they really couldn't afford it, or even if they could going without because they believed in being thrifty.(Mitchell 262). Another really big ideal of the Victorians was self-control. Self-control was applied to so many different things. One was supposed to control their emotions, put on a happy face even if they were having problems. There was a taboo against talking about personal and family problems. Going right along with self-control, the Victorians also believed that people should be self-sufficient. In other words, being self-sufficient meant being ashamed if they needed help financially, emotionally or otherwise. It also meant that one shouldn't complain because not complaining was considered a virtue (Mitchell 262). The Victorians strictly pursued the morals they believed in. Life in the Victorian era was full of many ideals that were practically impossible to follow.
The Victorian morals were directly related to Freud's ideas on the id, ego, and superego. Freud thought that many anxious mental disorders were caused by conflicts with the id, ego, and superego (Nicholas 196). The id is the unconscious piece of one's personality; it never has any contact with the outside world. It drives desire, but is comparable to a toddler because it wants instant gratification with the least amount of pain involved. Along with the id, there is the ego. The ego is like the peace keeper between the id and superego. It keeps the id from going overboard with its desires, and makes sure that if the id's desires are fulfilled that they are in time with what the superego wants. It is basically the realist in this mess of constant irrational desire. The superego is the conscious part of personality. It isn't present at birth, and isn't fully developed until someone is about 7 years old. It has 2 parts: the familiar conscience and the ego ideal. The conscience is like someone's personal rules and regulations. It can be very strict if one breaks their own rule. The ego ideal is like a personal cheerleader. It motivates and pushes people toward their goals (Nicholas 220). This all relates to the Victorians. For example, if someone of the Victorian period had a desire to tell someone about a bad feeling they felt, they would repress it because that is what they were taught to do when they were young. The desire would be because of the id. The ego would know that the superego would want the id to not have its desire fulfilled. The superego would be pleased knowing that the moral code of this specific person was being executed. The Victorian's morals are directly related to Freud's id, ego, and superego ideas. For Freud this repression brought the inspiration to discover his ideas of the id, ego and superego.
The Victorian morals are connected to the defense mechanisms. A defense mechanism is what a person uses unconsciously to protect themselves from her/her anxiety. Any defense mechanism can be used to protect from anxiety. For example, one person might need to suppress or not gratify a need for something (self-denial). In place of the need, the person could use a defense mechanism called compensation where they use a different action to satisfy the original desire. A good example of this is when an ex drug addict starts to smoke to replace one addiction with another. Another defense mechanism that could be an example is sublimation. Sublimation is when a person redirects their urge into something more productive (Nicholas 221-222). For example, some people clean when they're anxious or upset. If self-control was the anxiety producer, another example of a defense mechanism that could be used would be repression. The person wanting their self control could repress whatever was messing with their self control. They could also use intellectualization, or separating their emotions from their thoughts. Victorian morals relate to Freud's defense mechanisms because the Victorians used the defense mechanisms when they didn't follow one of their morals.
The Victorian Period was filled with sexism. Women were considered fragile and weak. They were considered so weak that they shouldn't play sports, or even study some subjects in school. It was thought that women couldn't even have a paying job. They were essentially like minors, economically relying on their husband or family members. It was very hypocritical. Women were like a dog on a leash relying on someone else, but they were expected to rule the household. What's even worse is women had no real place in society. They were supposed to marry. Being married supposedly helped them to continue the species, give them duties, and protected them from the "danger" of the outside world. Women were expected to accomplish all of the things above, so many women were taught to please men, help children, and suppress their own wants. There was an obvious sexism during the Victorian Period (Mitchell 265). For Freud, this meant growing up in a sexist environment and in turn making his theories just as sexist.
Freud's Oedipus Theory is linked to the sexism of the Victorian Period. According to Freud, from birth until adulthood, everyone goes through stages of psychosexual development. The most pertinent stages are: oral, anal, and phallic. The Oral stage is from 0 to 1 year. During the oral stage, there is a focus around sucking and biting things. The next stage, the anal stage, is from ages 2 to 3 years. This time the focus is around the anus, and keeping and getting rid of waste. The next stage is the phallic stage, which is from 4 years to 5 years. The focus is now around the genitals and masturbating (Nicholas 223). This is when Freud says that the attraction to one's mother develops. According to Freud, everyone from a young age is originally attracted to their mothers. This is because people's mothers are their first caregiver, and in the beginning a pretty big source of pleasure and satisfaction. The phallic stage is when this attraction starts to take more shape and split by gender. For boys, their attraction to their mother becomes a problem. His father is blocking him from his mother. The boy eventually gets so aggravated that he develops a hatred for his father. But he can't act on this hatred because he is afraid his father will castrate him, also commonly called castration anxiety. This fear eventually leads the boy to repress his feelings for his mother and learn to identify with his father. Similarly, girls also develop an attraction to their mothers. For girls however, their interests turn to their father. The girl realizes that she cannot replace her father and possess her mother, because she lacks a penis. She becomes jealous and feels like she has been cheated; essentially developing what Freud calls penis envy. Subsequently, like the boy, the girl learns to identify with her mother to try to get to her father (Cash 124) (Nicolas 392). The Oedipus Theory is very sexist. Girls being jealous of their fathers just because they have a penis is implying that girls are not comfortable being female because they think being male is superior. It also shows the effect living in the Victorian Period had on Freud, it gave him the idea that females are compliant and weak and that males are the better half of the species. Freud's Oedipus Theory is directly related to the sexism of the Victorians.
Sigmund Freud has definitely left a firsthand look at how the Victorians lived, without even meaning to his theories relate directly to this fascinating period of time. His many theories that related to the Victorian Period included the defense mechanisms, his ideas on the id, ego and super ego, and the Oedipus theory.