Freudian Psychology - Tumblr Posts
A Fall Theory on Neverland and Youth
There is potential in the entertaining possibility of contrasting the brothers’ “dotage” and apparent age and appearances with the Lost Boys’ youth. We already know Rafal gets tired of the youth and life around him. We’ve already seen him feel at ease in an old body, and compare himself to the reclusive Rabid Bear Rex.
Rafal: These Id-driven freaks!
Rhian: [sigh] Be polite, Rafal. You were a child once.
Now, briefly onto a concept of Freudian childhood since I find it relevant. Not all children are cherubic. Some are Id-driven little freaks! Through no real fault of their own. They just haven’t been taught societies’ standards. It is parents and society that form a child’s Superego after all. The Id is the only structure we’re born with, and has no need to develop.
Next, it’s a common-enough refrain that children are cruel, merciless, and demanding. (If you’ve ever read the impactful short story “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury, that’s a good point of reference.) They exhibit unsociable behavior. There’s even such a thing called Peter Pan Syndrome. Thus, I would think everything is a game in Neverland, or so treated as a game by its inhabitants. If anything, I think Neverland politics are probably some ludicrous version of Never politics but burlesque and childish. It was said to be founded by Nevers. Probably, it’d be a wild mix of obvious egocentrism, greed, all about gain and profit (the pirate element to it), deception, living in the moment, probably involving some measure of hedonism, impulsivity, incivility, actual antisocial behavior, and zero trust among all parties. So basically, children exploit each other, and have no loyalties, except to themselves. Children are fundamentally unreliable. Driven entirely by instinct, consumed by it. The Pan is probably an amoral being.
And, Soman has such vivid characterization always. It must be in his nature to be edgy. It would be nice, nay, immensely satisfying, to see "child" characters that aren't paragons of purity and innocence but in fact, something of the opposite. This is a fascinating idea, partly derived and interpreted from the retelling of Peter Pan from Beasts and Beauty or something I heard about a particular view on children, being bloodthirsty, backstabbing, demanding retribution, being uncivilized and wild without any parental or societal influence to form their morals in a vast, isolated wilderness, in a world that isn’t ruled by the tyranny of adulthood. Although, this idea may actually belong to J. M. Barrie. Soman probably draws from it. I've never read the original Peter Pan, so I wouldn't know.
In a Modern AU:
For context, Rhian is a literature professor who has to deliver a talk at a conference about the chivalric romance genre, and he can't drive himself safely while his stomach is turning with anxiety. And besides, he has to rehearse his speech. However, he did not agree to Rafal being the one to drive him.
[Rhian is standing by the side of the road, on the driveway. Rafal is already in their car, in the driver's seat.]
Rafal: Get in. What are you standing there like a sluggard for?
Rhian: What! No! You're a maniac on the road, Rafal! I'd rather take my chances with Thanatos behind the wheel than you. I'll take the train to my conference instead.
Rafal: [shrugs and says mockingly,] Pardee, suit yourself, Eros. [He presses down on the gas pedal, and speeds off into the distance with an astronomical acceleration, tires skidding through a clouded puddle with a great SPLOOSH, soaking Rhian to the bone—all while wearing an expression that rather did resemble one of a patient who ought to be sealed in a psychiatric ward.]
Rhian: [He remains dead still, trying to keep his hands from shaking with fear and anger, so he won't strangle Rafal the next time he turns up. Then, he blinks the frigid, bone-numbing slush out of his eyes and attempts to stave off the heat of public ridicule in his face, but he's still cold, wet, and redder than ever, and just heaves a resigned sigh.] I'll ready the straitjacket for when he gets arrested.
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If anyone would to know what exactly were the references the brothers made, here are some quotations I've found to explain them:
"In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the death drive is the drive toward death and destruction, often expressed through behaviors such as aggression, repetition compulsion, and self-destructiveness."
"Eros was the god of love, fertility, and passion in ancient Greece. Thanatos was the human manifestation of death."
"Thanatos, or the death drive, generates the tendency of an organism to seek its own destruction and return to a state of non-existence."
"In Freudian psychology, eros, not to be confused with libido, is not exclusively the sex drive, but our life force, the will to live. It is the desire to create life, and favors productivity and construction. In early psychoanalytic writings, instincts from the eros were opposed by forces from the ego. But in later psychoanalytic theory, eros is opposed by the destructive death instinct of Thanatos (death instinct or death drive)."
"Whether by "first sight" or by other routes, passionate love often had disastrous results according to the classical authors. In the event that the loved one was cruel or uninterested, this desire was shown to drive the lover into a state of depression, causing lamentation and illness. Occasionally, the loved one was depicted as an unwitting ensnarer of the lover [...]"
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Also, you can expect the concept of the Thanatos drive to make a minor appearance in Rafal's psyche in TOTSMOV41, if I have the opportunity to allude to it. I think the concept just lends itself well to Nevers in general. And, the Eros drive, its counterpart, works just as well for most Evers.
