A Study on Charles Dickens from a Psychoanalytical Perspective -Focused on the Autobiographical Novels

초록

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate how Charles Dickens’ childhood traumas are reflected in his autobiographical novels — Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations. This research is mainly based upon Freudian psychoanalysis theory. With an in-depth exploration of Dickens’ responses towards his traumatic incident, the paper defines the core of the traumas and surveys how the defense mechanisms function to counterbalance Dickens’ childhood trauma only through the medium of art. Introductory part of this paper takes a brief look at the past criticisms on Dickens and clarifies the task of the paper. Section two deals with Dickens’ traumatic experiences, including his parents’ influence on his growth and his experiences in Warren’s Blacking factory which leaves him a permanent scar for humiliation, and reveals the origin of his trauma and its healing process. Section three discusses how Dickens manages to transfer his childhood trauma into his literary creativity, especially in his three autobiographical novels: Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations. The paper attempts to look into the fact that writing serves primarily as a mental therapy for Dickens to gain his salvation. In view of Freudian psychoanalytical approach, his creation of autobiographical novels apparently does much toward a self-treatment to overcome his traumas.

키워드