A psychoanalytic criticism of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Melville's Moby Dick

This thesis aims to provide a psychoanalytic criticism of two significant novels of 19th century American Literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Herman Melville's Moby Dick are analyzed under the light of Freudian psychoanalytic theory. The main objective of this study is to show the connection between the main characters, their psychological states and how their actions are influenced by their psychological states. In the first chapter, this study gives the necessary background information about Freud's and Lacan's psychoanalytic approaches, Derrida's deconstruction theory, and the biography of both Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. The main objectives of psychoanalytic criticism are highlighted and psychological concepts of psychoanalytic approach are introduced to the reader. The second and third chapters include a detailed psychoanalytic analysis of both The Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick. Main concepts related to psychoanalytic criticism, id, ego, superego, unconscious, conscious are analyzed in relation to the central characters of both The Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick. The inner conflicts of the characters and how their lives are affected by their repressed desires and childhood traumas are analyzed. The effects of id, ego and superego are discussed during the analysis of the main characters of the novel by making references to their childhood and past memories. In addition to this detailed psychoanalytic analysis of the characters, the major symbols of two novels are analyzed with the help of deconstruction theory. In the fourth chapter, a summary of this thesis including the conclusion drawn from this study is mentioned. Key Words: Sigmund Freud, Psychoanalysis, Repression, Desire, Deconstruction, Oedipus complex