A tale of tortured souls : a psychoanalytical study of Toni Morrison's a mercy

Abstract EN

This paper examines Toni Morrison’s A Mercy from a psychoanalytic perspective with significant reference to the role of the unconscious in directing the characters’ behavior.

Sigmund Freud’s ideas and postulations have been adopted in this paper.

To Freud, human behavior is directed by factors which are usually unaware to the humans ‘the unconscious’.

This idea -as explained later in this paper- is significant in a sense that it reveals new hidden dimensions of human characters through Morrison’s successful choice of a certain literary narrative technique.

The psychoanalytic reading of Morrison ideas and techniques helps readers to create new meanings and to provide new ideas in understanding African American fiction.

Finally, this paper tries to prove that a stable character is a balanced character in which the social and psychological aspects are well-integrated.