FIRST LOVE, LAST RITES

3^RD SEPTEMBER 2012

THINGS TO EXPLORE WHEN LOOKING AT IAN MCEWAN’S ‘BUTTERFLIES’ FROM A FREUDIAN PERSPECTIVE:

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER:

1. McEwan’s nameless protagonist has never met his father (or doesn’t remember him ever being in his life) - thus discuss the importance Freud places on the father figure in a young boy’s life and what effect the absence of one can have.

2. He is an only child –discuss, explore.

3. The mother was the prominent figure throughout his life, thus explore the consequences Freud suggests.

4. Protagonist displays signs of alienation and self- obsession- explore.

5. Displays signs of sexual repression.

6. He blames his mother for his alienation.

7. Commits a crime AFTER his mother’s death, why? Could it be because of grief? Explore. 

FUTHER READING

McEwan, Ian. First Love, Last Rites. London: Picador, 1976.

Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: The Will to Knowledge vol. 1 Translated from the French by Robert Hurley. London: Penguin, 1998.

Freud, Sigmund. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud vol.  19:  The Ego and the Id and other works. London: Vintage Classics; The Hogarth Press, 2001.

Malcolm, David. Understanding Ian McEwan. South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2002.  

Roith, Estelle. The Riddle of Freud: Jewish Influence on His Theory of Female Sexuality. Taylor & Francis Group, 1987.

Perelberg, Rosine Jozef. Freud: A Modern Reader. London: Routledge, 2005.

Perls, Frederick S.  Ego, Hunger and Aggression: A Revision of Freud’s Theory and Method. Gestalt Journal Press, 1992.

SUGGESTION: COMPARE THE PROTGONIST IN ‘BUTTERFLIES’ WITH THE PROTGONIST IN ALBERT CAMUS ‘THE OUTSIDER’