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Master Builder Freudian Symbols Essay Research Paper

Master Builder Freudian Symbols Essay, Research Paper


Freudian Symbols in The Master Builder


The Master Builder, by Henrik Ibsen, is a play about individuality, morality, and


self. But beneath those very ambiguous descriptions lies a play with symbols that clearly


depict the collective unconscious. Through a careful psychoanalytical critique of the


text, the relationship between the symbolism and the psychological themes can be


discovered as they interact throughout the play.


Within a play, ?symbolism has a broader role as a kind of natural metaphor, or


mode of comparison? (Neu 115). A psychoanalytic criticism will concentrate in the


symbols within the play and discover their ?hidden meanings,? because ?elements of the


latent content are expressed not directly but symbolically in manifest content? (Erdelyi


152).


Solness, the primary character, is a successful but aging architect who uses others


to fulfill his own selfish intentions. He demands respect and fear from all characters who


interact with him. Even his old carpentry teacher refers to him as ?the chief? and refuses


to make decisions without Solness? consent (Ibsen 13). But, beneath the hard exterior, he


wrestles with instincts and dark forces. And yet, he can not surmount the sexual


obsession that drives him through life; Solness is a nymphomaniac and can not handle his


wife?s infertility which results in the loss of their sexual relationship. In an effort to


obtain sexual freedom, Solness destroys himself.


Hilda is also a nymphomaniac. Because she went through adolescence without a


mother, she was unable to successfully resolve an identity conflict as a child. This results


in her inability to develop her own gender identity, and she can not, therefore, create a


relationship with Mrs. Solness, but turns to Halvard to fulfill her sexual needs instead.


While both of the previously mentioned characterizations may seem, at first


glance, to be quite unrealistic, the actuality of each of them is much more plausible after


a close analysis of the Freudian symbols in the play. Then, an accurate personality for


each character may be obtained.


The first obvious symbol in the play is the characters? perpetual references to


?rooms.? Solness fears that the youth will not ?make room? for him, and the room


symbolizes the womb – a place where Solness can take refuge from his ever-present


desires and return to innocence (Ibsen 115). He emphatically shouts, ?make room – make


room – make room! (Ibsen 540).


And, ?make room? is precisely what Mrs. Solness does. Offering Hilda


hospitality, she immediately becomes concerned with preparing a room for the child.


Again, Mrs. Solness is presented as the mother and quickly welcomes Hilda into her


womb and intends to care for the child as a mother would. In contrast to Solness?


exclamation, ?There?s not that much room here,? (Ibsen 157) Mrs. Solness states,


?There?s more than enough room? (Ibsen 632). In the same way, Hilda is given the


children?s room and this symbolizes her role as Mrs. Solness? lost child. Unfortunately,


Hilda?s identity issues prevent her from assuming the role Mrs. Solness needs and wishes


her to undertake.


While, the room serves as a symbol of the womb, the various entrances and exits


serve a similar function as they designate the entrance to the womb – the uterus. Solness


fears youth will destroy the womb he is trying to create and cries, ?someday youth will


come here, knocking at the door? (Ibsen 542). Then as if on cue, Hilda arrives. Being


the symbol of youth, she implores that he (and his wife) ?open your door to the young.


Let them come in with you? (Ibsen 980).


The symbol of a bird is used to portray the wild passion of Hilda. As the act of


flying symbolizes the capability to perform sexually, the bird epitomizes the sexual


being. And, in the play, Hilda is the character with the wild and untamed carnal appetite.


When Solness asks her if she will return home, she tells him, ?Wild birds never like


cages. Birds of prey like hunting best? (Ibsen 2212).


But, the bird is not the only emblem used to depict the intense sensuality in Hilda.


When the reader gets the description of her, she is full of symbols the denote her


personality:


?She is of medium height, supple, and well-formed. Dressed in


a shortened shirt, sailor blouse open at the throat, and a little


sailor hat. She has a knapsack on the back and a long alpenstock?


(Ibsen 547).


While the initial description is rather self-explanatory, the most interesting section can be


detected through the symbols used in the description. She carries with her a lengthy stick


which is an obvious phallic symbol, and serves to represent her obsession with the male


genitalia. In addition, her clothing is that of a sailors? which can easily be paralleled to


water – the symbol for amniotic fluid. Indeed, this very deliberate depiction of Hilda?s


sexuality cannot be easily ignored.


Even the flowers in Mrs. Solness? garden are used to symbolize and contrast the


beauty and lust within Hilda and Mrs. Solness. Coming up from the garden with a


bouquet of flowers, Hilda asks Mrs. Solness, ?don?t you go down even once in a while


and visit all those lovely things? (Ibsen 2002)? Mrs. Solness replies that, ?it?s grown so


strange to

me, all of it. I?m almost frightened of seeing it again? (Ibsen 2005). She is


quite unable to appreciate the innocent sexuality of the garden because her age and her


experiences have caused her to become disassociated with sex and love and hope. The


death of her children and the perceived infidelity of her husband has given her an


inoculation against the powerful beauty within the garden.


And yet, the fact that Hilda is referred to as ?princess? and not ?queen? creates a


very distinct dichotomy between the role she plays and the role Mrs. Solness plays with


regard to Solness. While there is evidence to support that Mrs. Solness can be Halvard?s


mother figure, Hilda can only be the opposite. Solness tells Hilda, ?the princess shall


have her castle? (Ibsen 2588). Rather than give her the title of queen (and mother), she is


given the role of the innocent child (princess).


While many of the symbols in the play portray the sensuality of the characters,


there are still more symbols which serve as windows into the psychological minds of the


characters. For example, the castle, churches, and books represent the three components


of personality: the id, ego, and superego. The castles in the sky symbolize the id for


Hilda initially and Solness eventually. The id is the part of the personality containing


energy with sexual and/or aggressive instincts; the pleasure principle. Hilda expresses


her desire for a sexual relationship with Halvard through her wish for a castle in the air


and similarly, Halvard imagines that the kingdom will allow him to give in to his


desperate urge to be gratified through intercourse with Hilda.


If the castle represents the id, then the churches logically symbolizes the


superego. The superego is defined as ?the past of the personality that represents good


and conscience , that distinguishes right from wrong in moralistic terms? (Berger, 39).


However, the death of Solness? children gives him the strength to repress his superego


and, as a result, he ceased creating churches. He tells Hilda, ?from the day I lost them, I


never wanted to build another church? (Ibsen 1410). Interestingly, while Solness did


build churches, they all had terribly elongated towers. As the tower undoubtedly stood


for a phallic symbol, its presence essentially decreased the strength of the superego


image. Where the church failed, the tower was able to defy gravity and led him closer to


redemption – or so he thought.


The third component of the personality is the ego. The ego is the part that


regulates between the demands of the id and the limits of the superego (Berger 39). The


play uses books to represent the ego. Because books contain both morality and sexuality,


they allow a reader to live vicariously without dealing with the repercussions of either.


While the ego might have redeemed Solness and Hilda, both refused to read the books.


Hilda says, ?I can?t connect with them anymore.? And Solness agrees and states, ?it?s


exactly the same for me? (Ibsen 1260). Indeed, the id has gained enough strength to


obliterate both the ego and the superego. The characters are quite doomed to accept the


consequences of their actions.


Notable the consequences which essentially characterize the play?s conclusion are


also very stereo-typical images of sex within Freudian philosophy. It is quite clear that a


number of objects are used to denote the genitals symbolically in the final act. The


climbing of steps is most commonly used to symbolize sexual intercourse. Thus,


Solness surmounts his deadly fear of climbing as he begins the ascent to the top of the


tower (another previously discussed phallic symbol). While Mrs. Solness is afraid for


her husband and wishes he would turn around and descend, Hilda emphatically


encourages him to continue upward saying, ?He?s climbing and climbing. Always


higher. Always higher? (Ibsen 2650)!


And yet, the symbolism does not end there; Solness? death is a portrayal of his


failure to perform sexually. His inability to climb without falling symbolizes his ability


to obtain either gratification of redemption through sex. Instead, he plummets to his


death and Hilda is left staring at the tower of possibilities. Without Solness, there could


be no castle and her superego is refused fulfillment.


It is also very necessary to note the impact Freud?s symbols have on minor


characters as well as the major ones. Kaja is the one character with steady control over


her own identity. She is secure in her sexuality; this can be portrayed by her profession


as bookkeeper. According to Freud, ?weapons and tools generally stand for male


genitalia, while materials (things worked upon) stand for female genitalia? (Sulloway


338). Although Kaja uses a pencil (male), she is a keeper of books (female), and as a


result, has created a very even balance for her sexuality. Unfortunately, even she can not


resist the strength of the superego which is represented by old Solness.


Through a careful examination of the symbols used in Henrik Ibsen?s The Master


Builder, a very successful Freudian analysis of the play and its characterizations can be


revealed. Indeed, it becomes clear that the characters are driven by forces – sexual forces


- quite out of their control, and it is the forces which ultimately destroy Solness? life and


Hilda?s chance for gratification.

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