Hi there... This is one of my writings on THE HAIRPIN by Guy d Maupassant. If you're here to look for writing materials, please do, but be polite and remember to say "thanks". Good luck in your research. :)
NAME: PETER MARLLONE PETRUS
NAME: PETER MARLLONE PETRUS
UNIT: PISMP TESL 1 SEMESTER 1 JAN
2012
Literary Criticism:
Psychoanalytic Theory
Psychoanalytic
literary criticism refers to literary criticism or literary theory which, in
method, concept, or form, is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis
begun by Sigmund Freud. Through his clinical work with patients suffering from
mental illness, Freud came to believe that childhood experiences and
unconscious desires influenced behaviour.
The
Hairpin, by Guy de Maupassant, is about a man, who suffered
extreme heartache after his lover betrayed his loyalty and unconditioned love.
This man, whose name is never known, adores her lover, Monan Lescaut, more than
anything in this world. In the story, we could see that he is constantly
praising Lescaut about how feminine she is, how beautiful she is, and how she
is incomparable with any other woman in this planet.
However,
after the horrible incident which brought to the end of their courting period,
where Monan Lescaut almost blind the man’s eye with a small hairpin, this man
was extremely consumed by rage that he exiled himself to a stranger’s country.
In one particular line of the story, we could get an insight on the
psychological condition of this man.
“……We
did indeed dine alone, on a terrace facing the sea. At the beginning of the
meal, I spoke to him of this country, so rich, so far from the world, so little
known. He smiled, answering indifferently.
"Yes,
it is a beautiful country. But no country is attractive that lies so far from
the country of one's heart."
"You
regret France?"
"I regret Paris.”……” - “The Hairpin” Guy de Maupassant.
Hence,
we could tell that the man has apparently been through a bitter time in his
past, to the extent that he decided to carry on with his life and leave his
hometown to a faraway country which is quite unfamiliar to the rest of the
world. The man has been in this “unfamiliar” country for almost ten years. Yet,
through this line, we could tell that he still is having problem in overcoming
his bitter past. Then, not until we reach this line that we will find what
really is going on with his life.
“…And
if I did but tell you what an agonising life I had lead with her! When I looked
at her, I wanted to kill her as sharply as I wanted to embrace her…”
It
is made clear to the readers here that the man in this story, is madly in love
with his woman, Monan Lescaut, but at the same time, is too consumed by rage
that he feels like wanting to take away her life. The presence of irony is
vivid here. This man is in love with Monan Lescaut, alas she has betrayed his
faithfulness. This made the man feels an extreme devastation in his dear heart.
In
psychoanalytic theory, the “ego” is Sigmund Freud’s term for the predominantly
rational, logical, orderly, conscious part of the human mind. Another aspect of
the psyche, which he called the superego, is a projection of the ego. According
to Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality, the superego is the component
of personality composed of our internalized ideals that we have acquired from
our parents and from society. The superego works to suppress the urges of the
id and tries to make the ego behave morally, rather than realistically. The
superego almost seems to be outside of the self, making moral judgments,
telling us to make sacrifices for good causes even though self-sacrifice may
not be quite logical or rational.
In
the story The Hairpin, the man is psychologically controlled by his
superego quality. Although he is in great agony from the betrayal, the man
responds with action that is considerably acceptable to the society. Otherwise,
the man would have strangled Manon Lescaunt to her grave at the moment he
discovered she was being unfaithful in his love.
On
the other hand, the short story of The
Hairpin by Guy de Maupassant uses a lot of symbolism elements in the
storyline, as far as I am capable of seeing. Lacanian psychoanalytic method of
criticism would attempt to relate symbolic representation in a text, with the
real life. In this particular short story, the hairpin is one of the many
symbolic elements that can be found through the writing. A hairpin, as the
world would know, is a seemingly harmless feminine accessory, which created for
the purpose of keeping women appears tidy and pretty. However, Monan Lescaut
appeared to use this harmless piece of metal as a potentially fatal weapon
against a man.
In
real life, women – many would think about beauty, softness, and many other nice
words. However, women are also capable of being the worst nightmare of other
creatures against her species. Women are also capable of doing the work those
of men, and they could have been better in it. Thus, the world should think
twice, or trice, before going for an attempt of underestimating the women’s
ability.
On
top of that, the oranges on the trees surrounding the man’s dwelling are also
one symbolism element in this story. A ripe orange fruit, to most sensible
human, is a beautiful structure. Round in shape, unique texture on the surface
of the skin and coated with a rich colour like that of the sun. Inside, it is
capable of delivering two different tastes on the taste buds – either sweet or
sour. Once again, Guy de Maupassant embalmed the female sex with inanimate
object. Maupassant’s actions of creating such symbolisms demonstrate the
fragmentary nature of sentient beings. Thus, accepting this fact is expected
through this demonstration.
To
sum up, The Hairpin by Guy de
Maupassant managed to deliver its message towards his reader very well.
Overall, this story is emphasizing on the protagonist’s troubled mind over the
history of his past. Symbolisms are also found abundant in this piece of
writing, though the symbolization contains an apparent element of sexism.
Lastly, this story is a good read, and worthwhile.
(987 words)
REFERENCES
Bressler, Charles E. (undated). Literary
Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and
Practice
Fifth Edition. Longman.
Cherry, Kendra. (2010).
Psychoanalytic Theories of Development. Retrieved on 20th
March 2012 from http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentecourse/a/dev_
psychoanaly.htm
Eyre, Jane. (undated). Psychoanalytic
Criticism and Jane Eyre. Retrieved on 20th
March 2012 from http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~rlbeebe/what_is_psychoanalytic
_criticism.pdf
Lee, Elizabeth. (1996). Feminist
Theory -- An Overview. Retrieved on 19th March
2012 from http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/femtheory.html
Switala, Kristin. (1999). Feminist
Theory Website: English Introduction. Retrieved on
19th March 2012 from http://www.cddc.vt.edu/feminism/enin.html
thanks a lot
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