《为奴十二年》中艾普斯邪恶本我分析及其形成原因探析

【摘要】所羅曼诺瑟普的自传小说《为奴十二年》展示了19世纪50年代奴隶们最真实的苦难生活，也揭露出奴隶的痛苦大部分是来自奴隶主的残酷人性。而对《为奴十二年》的研究却很少有人在小说文本的基础上从精神分析的角度来探索小说中人物的人性。因此，本文将基于弗洛伊德的人格结构理论对小说人物Epps进行人格结构解读，探讨他邪恶膨胀的本我及其形成的原因。

【关键词】为奴十二年 人格结构 本我

【Abstract】The autobiography of Solomon Northup， Twelve Years A Slave， shows the miserable life of black slaves and reveals that most of their suffering comes from the cruelty of abusers humanity. In terms of humanity， few scholars interpret the novel Twelve Years A Slave from the perspective of psychoanalysis. Therefore， this paper will be based on Freuds theory of personality structure to analyze the character Epps evil personality， especially his evil id， and explore the forming causes of his inflated cruel id.

【Key words】Twelve Years A Slave； Personality structure； Id

1. Introduction

The novel Twelve Years A Slave reproduces Solomon Northups bitter experience that he was sold as a slave， after suffering and struggle for 12 years and eventually regained freedom in 1840s. This novel uncovers the tragic social reality of black slaves under the dark and inhuman slavery. And 150 years later， it draws public attention and scholars interpretation with its profound social and cultural significance. But scholars research on the basis of novel text of Twelve Years A Slave mainly start with social and cultural perspectives and few of them discuss the characters and their spiritual world. Therefore， this paper will use Freuds personality structure theory， treat a specific character as the research object， give the novel character Epps a psychoanalytic interpretation， to analyse his evil id， namely the id for violence， the id for immediate satisfaction and the id for possession， and explore that Epps evil personality is caused by the distorted external world， incapable ego and absent superego.

2. The Theory of Freuds Personality Structure

The theoretical basis of this paper is Freuds theory of personality structure. He believes that the construction of a complete structure of personality consists of three parts， namely， id， ego and superego. The instinct of self， is irrational in unconscious psychological part so-called the id， following the “pleasure principle” to avoid pain and displeasure， to seek for instant satisfaction. For example， the newborn babies crying and eating are completely driven by chaos， disorder， and disorganized id to satisfy the instinctive needs without thinking at all. There is no essential difference between them and animals. So the id “knows no judgments of value：no good and evil， no morality”. The so-called ego is the reality of self. It is the organized and orderly part of conscious structure of the psyche developed through peoples study and social practice， also the regulator between the id and the external world with the “reality principle”. Superego is the morality of self， developed from the ego and suppresses the id with the seeking of the “morality principle”. As the product of human civilization and social ethics， superego concerns the social virtues and taboos which is our awareness of what is right and what is wrong. If the id is summed up as “I want”， then the ego is “I can”， and super-ego is “I should”.endprint

Freud holds that the id， ego， and superego are interrelated and interacted. Id is eager to meet the requirements of desire and instinct to seek happiness in despite of the reality；superego imposes interference and restriction on human behavior and desire in accordance with ethical standards；and ego activities between id and superego to implement the wishes of id as the conditions permit meanwhile to obey the compulsory rules of superego. Therefore， “ego serves three severe masters ... the external world， the superego and the id”.

3. The Evil Id of Epps

The id represents the selfish， greedy， and aggressive side of the personality structure reflecting the biological aspect of human being， which is a kind of animal instinct， especially sexual impulse. So id is a chaotic unstable world containing many repressed instincts and evil desires which not to be accepted by society. On the one hand， id is the driving force of human activities， without it mankind will no longer have the passion， impulse and pursuit；on the other hand， id is also the source of evil humanity because it conceals all kinds of instinctive impulses that are not allowed to be made for human society， ethics， and legal norms， once the id inflates， too much desires and greed would bring distress to others. Therefore， for the id condition mentioned above， the following part is going to illustrate Eppss inflated id based on the novel text.

3.1 Id for Violence

As Northups autobiography and memory， the most common description of Twelve Years A Slave is the violence of the slave owner， Epps. When Solomon has just become Epps slave， the novel mentions that the greatest pleasure of Epps is waving his whip， listening to the slaves terrified screams， and looking on the lash scar dropping on slaves back. The thirteenth chapter of the novel is even named after the violence of Epps， it says in the beginning that the crack of the whip and the screams of the slaves continue from dusk until midnight everyday. Almost every day slaves suffer from whipping， and usually after weighing in cotton. The branches are broken accidentally when they pick cotton， slaves will be whipped；the amount of cotton is not up to standard， slaves will be whipped；slacking， quarreling and fighting， then undoubtedly slaves will be whipped. Besides， the shooting match always makes him more violent and crazy so that he can get indescribable satisfaction and pleasure through flogging defenseless slaves. In addition， he also loves to dance. After the carnival and dancing with slaves， he always becomes more cruel and ruthless to punish slaves because of trivial matters. Therefore， Solomon mentions repeatedly， this is my master， cold， cruel， heartless Epps.endprint

This morbid desire to obtain pleasure from the suffering of others is typical unrestrained violence desire. Violence is a natural and normal desire for every human being. But because of the conditional restrictions， such as the selective time， occasion and object， the id and desire for violence will be controlled within normal limits so that the usual social activities wont be affected. As we have seen， Epps violence id is excessively expanded without any restrictions， the consequence of this kind of expansion is the slaves bearing the bitter fruit of his evil humanity and enduring both physical and mental torture.

3.2 Id for Immediate Satisfaction

In addition to violence， Epps has a typical infantile appetite for instant satisfaction as babys state. Like Bressler describes that unchecked by any controlling will， the id operates on impulse， wanting immediate satisfaction for all its instinctual desires. Babies are closest to the id；anything they wants must be satisfied at once otherwise they will wail without ceasing. While as an adult， Epps also stays in this condition. According to the description of the novel， in despite of time and place， as long as Epps has dance interest， all slaves have to cheer up to dance with him no matter how tired they are or how much work they will have to do tomorrow. Even after sacrificing the whole nights sleep， the cotton slaves picked could not be less than even a pound of standard weight. The whip still waved on the head， and the master would never consider whether they have been affected by a sleepless night. Epps is only in pursuit of his own pleasure， regardless of reality and others condition. In his logic， all slaves should have a good-night-sleep and always be energetic to complete heavy work although they danced all night， which is the typical symptom of id expansion.

Epps is just careless and instinctive like a baby who wont consider whether their adults are busy or tired. A baby is a baby because they dont have to think about reality situations， they also have no ability to hurt others. But if the adults like baby only consider their own id， own instincts， and own desires for instant satisfaction despite the external reality， then it will inevitably cause unnecessary trouble for the people and things around them， delay the usual work， hinder normal process， and burden others as Epps does.

3.3 Id for Possession

Apart from the id for violence and instant satisfaction， Epps has an inflated appetite for possessions as well. The desire to possess something is an instinct of human identity. Because of this desire， we have private ownership and the concept of private goods. But too much possessive desire will lead to the evil of humanity.endprint

In Twelve Years A Slave， Epps never regards blacks as human beings but regards them as “personal chattels”， a purely living property. His possession of slaves requires not only the possession of the flesh， but also the spiritual possession. Take the poor girl， Patsy， for example， she simply visits her friends， but Epps thinks she betrays him for seducing his lewd neighbor and whips her into a coma with her back badly mutilated. This whiplash destroys her vitality that she could not step out of the vigorous pace， her heart filled with sorrow and her eyes are not radiant any more. The evil id of personality of Epps has killed a young girls soul. Besides， when Solomon takes the irrefutable evidence to prove he is a free man and ask to leave， Epps has no guilty for torturing him nor any pity or sadness for his leaving， but only anger and malicious invective for his losing of private belongings. In fact Epps would rather Solomon is dead than he is a free man out of his control， because he wants to hold all these things whether alive or dead， physically， spiritually and completely. It is his excessive possessive id that spawns a lot of malevolent thoughts and evil deeds.

4. Causes of the Evil Id

When it comes to the causes of Epps evil id， we must take into account the relationship relates to id among the personality structure systems. As noted above that ego has three masters， id， external world and superego， Freud also clarifies ego is struggling to defend itself from three dangers or masters：from the external world， from the libido of the id， from the severity of the superego. Although this is the three factors that affects ego， it can also be shown that in the theory of personality structure， id， ego， superego and external world are closely related to each other， and each of them will be influenced by the other three of them. Therefore， external world， ego and superego can prove to be the causes of the evil id by the same reason， which is a corollary.

4.1 The Distorted External World

The story took place in the southern slave states of the United States from 1840s to 1850s， the social environment of this age was inseparable from slavery， which provided strong legal endorsement for slave trade. When the law has tacitly ruled that the master is in possession of the power of life and death of the slaves and， to some extent， denies the contract spirit that all men are created equal， the social environment in this place is no longer normal， and the distorted society will affect human nature and become worse.endprint

In this novel， Solomon mentions that there is a patrol where he lives， they can arrest， shot and even kill any black slaves leaving master plantation without permit. He does not know whether the law or the public gives the right to patrols to kill others， or whether both the law and the public are crazy in this place. As a matter of fact， what is very worth mentioning is when Solomon was sold as a slave， the resistance of the abolitionist movement and rhetoric was skyrocketing. Between 1846 and 1861， the south America from the coast to the hinterland defended slavery that slavery should be viewed as the most secure and stable system in the world， it is admitted by the constitution， the natural law and moral law. So the south America was more committed to slavery at this time. Thus the pathological society allows him to indulge in id， lust and evil without breaking the social norms and being punished by law.

In terms of the external world， apart from the bad influence of social environment， unfortunately， according to the novel， Epps families， his wife and son， also indulge his id precisely and concretely. He loves his wife. He is willing to satisfy his wifes any strange ideas and all her requirements， as long as the request would not cost too much money. As for Mrs. Epps， regrettably， her greatest wish is to sell or kill Patsy. But for Epps， Patsy is of great economic value because she is so capable that she can do two or three times work as much as others. Besides， Epps always covets the beautiful young girl. For whatever reason， he is reluctant to sell or kill her. As a result， when Mrs. Epps is furious， the only best way to quell her anger is Epps satisfying her request to flog Patsy. He is so glad to meet this demand because he can also get pleasure from others suffering. Except the demand of his wife， his sons admiration and imitation also distort his mind. Epps eldest son adores him so much that he imitates his father to whip the slaves and speak dirty words. He is even proud of it because doing this can arouse his fathers laughter and obtain his praise. Such worship and imitation are no doubt an encouragement to his indulgence in id and lust， cruelty and violence.

4.2 The Incapable Ego

Connect with external world， ego is the part that exerts influence and restriction on id. Ego controls id as man rides a horse， the rider must tighten the rein to control the horses normal run. Therefore， contrary to the passion id contains， ego stands for reason and common sense related to the outside reality. In this aspect， egos growth depends on the normal and healthy social environment， life custom and family influence， if the reality of the society is distorted then the growth of ego will be distorted too. Ego could limit the id， but the distorted ego not only fails to play its proper role in limiting and regulating， but also promotes the expansion of the id and intensifies the evil degree of the personality.endprint

As the earlier part has illustrated that the society with slavery in which individual has right to harm and kill others is undoubtedly distorted and dysfunctional. As a member of vested interests and upper middle class of the morbid society， it is taken for granted that Epps ego has been branded with social mark and distorted by the diseased life environment. The society will not condemn his wickedness and self-willed， the law will not punish his violence and the harm he brings to others， which in fact is a covert encouragement， encouraging him to be more cruel and violent， make his desires of id more expansive. Meanwhile， for the influence his families bring to him， Epps has being set up a bad example to his son all the time， while his sons behaviors then encourage him in turn to continue to aggravate his cruel， twist his ego， indulge his id and desire. It is a vicious cycle of human nature between them.

To sum up， what mentioned above is the ego follows reality principle， regulates the id to fit the social norm. But when society is distorted， family expectations is not appropriate， the ego of Epps is of course has been distorted by the external world， by the social norms and slavery law， by his wifes lack of mercy and his sons unkind naivety. Consequently， the dysfunctional ego of Epps is useless and incapable in his structure of personality. It does not play the regulatory role between reality and id to suppress the expansion of id. As a result， Epps instinctive impulses and desires swell up in varying degrees which brings the slaves unbearable tribulations.

4.3 The Absent Superego

The superego is a “moral self”， composed of “conscience” and “self ideal”. The strength of the superego is to guide the ego， restrict the id， and follow the ideal and moral principle. So superego， the moral judicial branch of the personality structure， punishes the behaviors of violating social norms and moral ethics through conscience and self ideal， which makes people feel guilty and remorseful and stop doing bad things. In this sense， the superego of Epps does not exist nor work， the first reason is his behaviors to a certain extent do not violate the social customs and laws；the second reason is he does not have any feelings like remorse and guilt.

As mentioned earlier， the external world， the social morality and the norms of law are distorted at all. In addition to the patrols， Solomon also mentions one thing he thinks could adequately reflect the state of the local community， that is， Marshall， also a plantation owner， killed the man who talked with him about industrial acquisitions. Because two of them had a quarrel， so the man was shot by Marshall and lost his life. But Marshall was not imprisoned but acquitted. He returned to his estate， continued his normal， brutal life， and made friends with many people like Epps as usual. This is the life state under the distorted social norms and laws. Therefore， as to Epps， the crazy and cruel things he does to slaves do not， to some extent， violate social morality and the law. As for personal morality， he has nothing more. After the murder of Marshall， he has a better relationship with Marshall and defends him on various occasions. In addition， Solomon describes in the novel that as long as can bring benefits for Epps， he can watch the slaves tongue is uprooted， watch them being burnt to ashes by fire， or watch them being torn to pieces by dog， with complete indifference. He has no conscience and no guilt， so he doesnt have superego at all， whats more about the inhibition of superego on the id indeed？endprint

5. Concluding

No doubt Epps id and desire are so powerful and his ego can not limit the development of his instinctive desire， which makes id dominant in the three parts of personality structure in the end. As a result， this imbalance of personality brings misery to slaves， some of them even pay the price of lives but the culprit does not care. All in all， this paper interprets the character Epps in the novel from a new psychoanalytic point of view for exposing the humanity and the unfriendly social environment to black slaves at that ages， with the hoping that the interpretation will advance the study of such a great novel， help the readers have a deeper understanding of human nature.

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作者简介：屈培洪（1994-），女，贵州师范大学研究生，英语语言文学专业。endprint