What is a Freudian reading?

Answer 1

A Freudian reading is essentially the application of the Freudian model to the characters in a book. Freud's model of the psyche contained three elements: # The id: Undisciplined desires for pleasure, sexual gratification, aggression, and so on # The superego: the conscience which registers the prohibitions of morality and culture # The ego: the place where the conflict between the id and the superego works itself out. One common element of the Freudian model is the Oedipal complex, where the son never grows out of his attachment with his mother. A Freudian reading is reading the book with these concepts in mind and using them to judge how/why the characters act the way they do.