Repression
I think that repression is demonstrated in Eyes Wide Shut. As a culture one is not supposed to talk about sex and this represses Fridolin from his sexual urges. As Frued explains, when something is repressed it causes the person to have a compulsion. I think that this repression causes Fridolin to have a sexual compulsion which leads to all of his encounters. His encounters are being driven by this sexual urge to have sex with different women, and even though he never does, he comes very close. I think that Fridolins strong drive for sex is caused by a long time of repression and his conversation with his wife about their sexual urges sort of sets off this compulsion to have sex with other women.
2 comments:
What trauma do you think he is repressing? Is he repressing a trauma? I think perhaps he is repressing what his wife had fantasized about and in that instead of dealing with it, he decides to equal it with giving into to his id and attempting to follow through on his compulsions that had been previously checked by his ego.
I think both Fridolin and his wife are repressing their sexual urges because of the constraints of society. Both are sexual beings but can't really express it very well. Sexuality in the Dream Story seems to very often be portrayed as something depraved--the orgy-party, the sexual fantasies that Albertine has that make Fridolin angry and feel like he wants revenge on her for having those fantasies. The prostitute, a sexual creature, who is almost mocking Fridolin because he doesn't seem to truly want to have sex... The young girl, Pierrette, in the costume shop with those two mysterious men... Is sexuality portrayed that way because Fridolin has been sexually repressed? I think you make an interesting point.
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