Freud and The Scarlet Letter

According to Sigmund Freud, repression is "related to the ego". In other words, it is a way to protect ones ego from all the wrongs he has done in his life. He believes repression is "the corner-stone on which the whole structure of psychoanalysis rests"(http://www.enotes.com/repression-reference/repression). It is a main component to every individuals personality as some point in life. Repression helps people cope with problems and experiences from the past that truly haunt their current conscious. Freud also believes repression to be a “defense mechanism to achieve and aid repression”(http://www.victorianweb.org/science/freud/repression.html).“Thus a sickness”(124). Roger Chillingworth declared to Reverend Dimmesdale, who is blatantly dealing with repression of memory. Dimmesdale does not want to remember an affair he had with a married woman from his past, "a secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge"(page 132). He has deemed this act so terrible and guilt ridden that his mind is not allowing him to think of it at all. However, his bodies reaction to concentrating on forgetting such a significant event is taking a toll on the rest of his exterior and interior self. Dimmesdale "conscious that the poison of one morbid spot was infecting his heart's entire substance, attributed all his presentiments to no other cause"(page 128) but to resort to Roger Chillingworth and seek out his physician expertise. Chillingworth can sense all of this and identified that he is repressing a memory which has hurt his conscious greatly. By Dimmesdale trying so hard to repress this memory he has lost the drive for “immediate gratification” and is slowly deteriorating. Backing up Freuds theory, Dimmesdale defends himself against Chillingworth with repression forcing him to "deny, deny, deny".

This is truly a sickness for Dimmesdale, so much so that people surrounding him see the problem affecting his health and everyday life. However, repression is not an obvious matter. It is something deeply hidden that the person who is repressing the memory does not even know that he is doing so. He vaguely references this repressed memory when speaking to Chillingworth one day, he claims "...it may be that they[their secrets]are kept silent by the very constitution of their nature. Or, can we not suppose it?-guilty as they may be, retaining, nevertheless, a zeal for God's glory and man's welfare, they shrink form displaying themselves black and filthy in the view of men,,,no evil of the past [can]be redeemed by better service."The people around Dimmesdale do not see this change in behavior, the sudden change in thought that a good deed can not right the wrong. It is not like a clergyman to retain his secrets, he should repent. Yet, people around Dimmesdale simply believe his health had "evidently begun to fail"(page109). Truly, the negative downfall of Dimmesdale mental and physical health is due to his own brain activity. Chillingworth, the leech that he is, stuck himself onto Dimmesdale to learn what was actually causing these vivid changes, and intelligently noted the repression. When Dimmesdale unconsciously realizes what Chillingworth is about to bring out of it, Dimmesdale quickly reverts to another one of Freud’s defense mechanisms, projection. 

In Freud’s words, this is Dimmesdale “Attributing one’s own unacknowledged unacceptable/unwanted thoughts and emotions onto another. It reduces anxiety and allows expression of undesirable impulse or desire without conscious awareness”(http://www.psychologyfitness.com/category/freuds-defense-mechanisms/). These repressed feelings were Dimmesdales primitive desires towards his lover. He didn’t want them to exist nor be surfaced, so he found a way to project his deepest anger from the memory onto ``Chillingworth. “Not to thee! But, if it be the soul’s disease, then do I commit myself to the one Physician of the soul! He, if it stand with me as, in His justice and wisdom, He shall see good. But who are thou, that meddles in this matter?-that dares thrust himself between the sufferer and his God?”(124). Dimmesdale does not want to believe it is a sickness or a defense mechanism. Instead, he wants to believe that whatever it is, it is something simple enough and not within him, so that his one true God can fix him. He becomes so angry and frustrated, because in the depths of his mind and his heart, he knows what he is repressing. Yet, he does not want Chillingworth to mention the thing that causes so much pain; so all he can do is blame the person doing so.

Lethe Nor Nepenthe

page 67

"I know not Lethe nor Nepenthe." This quote made me very interested in reading and really figuring out what the two words mean. Lethe was the River of Forgetfulness in Greek mythology. This doctor is telling Hester Prynn that he does not know how to forget what she did. He can never forgive nor forget that she wears the Scarlet Letter. He does not know the River of Forgetfulness because will never let forgiveness stream through him towards Hester. He knows not Nepenthe which is an Egyptian drug(perhaps opium) used to dispel sorrow through forgetfulness. He cannot feel sorrow towards Hester because he can never forget her crime. He does not believe that this drug "exists" because he does not believe there is something to take away what she did, nothing to help him forget. The people of this town clearly believe that was Hester did was inexcusable and disgusting. They look down upon her and her baby, as if they are not real and deserving people.

Is That a Symbol?

In Is That a Symbol it similarly uses the phrase "sure it is" as a reoccurring and frustrating question. Like in Bartleby the reader becomes so frustrated with "I'd prefer not to". The routine question the author talks about leaves things "hairy". Sure it is and I'd prefer not to are such broad and general answers to what could be a very direct question. It is almost like answering a question with another question, the answer only brings you farther from what was intended or hoped for. Foster argues you should interpret the symbol as as a maximum, not just forcing it to mean something, these broad answers don't have to have an obvious meaning. To interpret the meaning of these literary symbols we must "bring something of ourselves to the encounter."
My personal experience as a reader did match his recommendations of symbolism because as easy as it may be to simply relate two different texts, to find an underlying or deeper meaning to anything you must have depth and understand within yourself. To find another meaning or another reason of creation you must be able to look to yourself for an answer. The reason everyone has different answers and meanings to what a symbol in a passage may be is because every individual has his or her own experience in life, leading them to think one thing or another.

Thoreau

Thoreau had some beautiful and intelligent words to say. I felt I could relate most to the line "Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think that they must have such a one as their neighbors have." People believe that to be "wealthy" in life they must have what is equal or rather better than the objects their neighbors own. Whether it is a necessity or a "want", people feel they deserve what ever is better than those around them. Many people feel entitled to have the better house, the bigger house, the cleaner house than their neighbor. However, by continuously pushing and pushing to have better than what is next to them, there is no time left to appreciate and be grateful for the floor they are standing on, and the four walls that surround them. It is not the size, color, or beauty of a house, but the fact that one can simply own a house, and be sheltered by a home. Many men don't realize what a home is because they just see it as a comparable object to the house of their neighbor. A man is poor when he can not realize the luxuries he has, he becomes so blinded by the objects owned by others. Living in such a prominent area, I can clearly see this idea happening daily. People want the newest trend, the bigger house, the nicest car, and they don't necessarily want it because they like it, but simply because the girl standing next to them has it! It can be very hard to not be jealous. But if someone wastes their entire life trying to one up their neighbor, they will not be able to enjoy life or the things they already own. Thus, making them miserable and poor.

Not doing something I am suppose to do

I was suppose to do my homework, considering I have had over a week of hurricane sandy related no school. Luckily, I even HAD power due to the generator my parents so graciously installed after irene! Now lets see, I had to write this post, memorize a 2 and a half week old spanish dialogue, math homework, AND entrepreneurship homework. I....have not done any of it, obviously with the exception of this blog. Instead, I have eaten, watched a lot of TV, watched a lot of movies, slept, and seen my friends. Not doing things I am suppose to do is stressful because it hangs over my head, however, it feels VERY good to relax and not use my brain.

Money doesn't buy happiness so some say. And I agree, I cant go to a store, approach the counter, and ask for a big box of happiness in bulk. But what this saying means isn't a literal function. The majority of people without money stress for years on end, praying to stay sane, not lose their home, be able to support their families. Money is a helpful asset, it is something that is looked at as so materialistic that it is taken for granted. Money isn't as superficial as people expect it to be. Money helps people in more than simple ways. Everything in life is a chain reaction, many beginning with an income. Money helps people to to afford, not just the things they want, but the things they need. People need food and people need water. Money is what gets people these products, without having to sift through garbage cans or beg on the streets. The majority of people we even see living on the streets have a type of mental disability. Many of those homeless people are judged for that sole reason. But, how are we suppose to know if they had that disability prior to being homeless. We don't, and we judge them for it. There are high chances that that person had a mental breakdown from being shut out of everything in life because they lacked the one thing that helped that to acquire necessities, money. Money can buy happiness, when money is present people are able to have the things they need, support their families, and have the room to do things they want on the sides. Many people abuse this privildege and that is where the materialistic money derives from. However, if you were to think about it more closely you could realize that money is just the beginning, it is the source of all good and all evil. People need money to thrive in the 21st century, plain and simple. Money isn't the sole reason for happiness but it definitely is the beginning of the road down a path to happiness. Money takes away stress, it provides food, water, shelter, clothing, not designer clothes, but simply clothes to have on our backs. Not everything needs to be seen in the exaggerated light. Money does provide happiness, even if we can't go to a store and pick it up off the shelf that easily. Working hard provides money, and money provides a smile.