Document Type : Research Paper

Author

• Elnaz Khojaste Zonoozi

Assistant Professor, Department of Persian language and literature, Faculty of literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Psychoanalytic criticism is a method of showing how literature influences and is influenced by the human mind. The Novel Tough-skinned by Sananz Asadi is published recently and has a simple narrative but a psychoanalytic theme. The plot of the story is narrated by the homodiegetic narrator. Torrential rain has brought the narrator’s father’s corns out of the grave, and upon seeing this scene, all of the narrator’s repressed memories of his father emerge from his unconscious mind. Throughout the narrative, the instability and irresponsibility of the father’s character is observed, and the audience finds out the same behavioral pattern in the narrator and his brother. This research aims to answer the questions of how the main characters of this novel can be analyzed from the perspective of Freud’s theory, and whether the narrator unconsciously uses defense mechanisms in his narrative, using qualitative research. According to the research results, the Ego hasn’t been formed in the father and his unstable behaviors are a sign of id-dominance. The character of the narrator and his brother are established in the pre-Oedipal stage and don’t have a stable Ego. The defense mechanisms like “Suppression”, “Reverse reaction”, and “Displacement” has shaped the narrative. Hereditary and social determinism has passed on the father’s dysfunctional personality to his children, leaving behind a sick and defective generation in society.

Keywords

• Freud
• Unconscious
• Id
• Ego
• Defense mechanisms
• Tough-skinned