The colloquial term ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ is so engrained in modern society that it is often used to describe young girls as such during their childhood. But how much importance do we place on this relationship? In today’s society, when we see a troubled young girl we immediately assume that her issues could stem from one of two things: her relationship with her father and her development as a young child. A reflection of this can be seen in literature and on screen. Films exploring the extreme outcomes of a fatherless child are often seen dominating popular culture and perpetuating the theories of psychologist and psychoanalysts alike. The developmental work of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan are amongst those who have explored the role of the father and the importance of a reliable and steady presence in a young child’s life. Although the two have slightly varying perspectives on the stages of a child’s development and the father’s role within them, both display clear arguments surrounding the idea of influence on a child’s behaviour and growth. In particular, the ideas brought about in Freud’s Psychosexual Stages and those in Lacan’s The Mirror Stage are influential in the discussion regarding the importance of a masculine father role. Park Chan-Woo’s 2013 film Stoker is an interesting film to analyse alongside these texts. Written by Wentworth Miller with a small cast of three main characters, and three supporting roles, Stoker contains several thought-provoking features that both corroborate and conflict with the arguments in both psychoanalytical texts.
Released originally at the Sundance Festival in January of 2013, Stoker explores the relationship between India Stoker and her estranged Uncle Charlie after the death of her father. With her Mother, Evelyn, hysterical and utterly unstable, Charlie appears at the funeral and decides to stay indefinitely to support the family. India, unable to bring herself to trust her Uncle, grows increasingly more suspicious as minor characters begin to disappear from her life. India, a clearly shy individual lives her life in a way many categorise as peculiar. She wears dark clothing and has a fascination with her shoes, which her father traditionally buys. Throughout the film, the viewer is reminded of India’s love for her father and the relationship they shared which is continuously brought up in an attempt to foreshadow the reveal of Charlie’s secret – he’s the reason her father is dead.
Sigmund Freud developed a theory that categorised the way personality is formed. He narrowed down his findings to three key elements that he believed contributed to the creation of personality and can be used in conjunction with psychoanalysis and the understanding of human behaviour. This theory was first explored in Freud’s The Ego and the Id, which was written in 1923. Described in basic form, the Id is considered to control all of our instinctual wants and needs including desires. The Ego is the understanding and acceptance of the self and realisation of identity. And finally, the Superego is the overruling force in our minds often acting as an authority. The next step after identifying the different elements of the brain is to understand the way that they work together, according to Freud, to construct a personality.
The Ego and the Id are combined to limit overindulgence or to allow occasional leniency in an attempt to ultimately please the authoritative, leadership of the Superego. Another name for the Superego would be the conscience that leads to speculation of Freud’s theories, as many are sceptical on the existence of such a thing. Arguably, the reason for categorising the functions of our brain was to allow for analysis into the power of desire over reason and vice versa. Fundamentally however, Freud suggests that the former is more dominant due to its instinctual nature whereas reasoning is heavily dependant on context and eternal forces. Yet, it is still easy to doubt the theory because of the recurring trend of ‘good people’ doing ‘bad things’ which further brings into light the age old question of Nature vs. Nurture and whether it effects our behaviour later in life. Believing strongly that development is broken down into stages is key to many of Freud’s theories, including the psychosexual development stages.
According to Freud, the development of a person is divided into five key stages that will help in psychoanalysis and understanding of human behaviour later in life. The stages are as follows: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency and Genital in that order starting from the first 18 months of a child’s life and ending around natural puberty age. The first stage, and arguably one of the most important, is the Oral stage, which is the root of Oral fixation and discovery of the mouth as ‘the centre of pleasure’. The reason why this stage is important when considering the development of a child is because of the decision to breast or bottle feed during the first crucial eighteen months of a baby’s life. After this stage comes the Anal stage where a child is between 18 months and 3 years old and focused on the development of societal norms and conventions. In particular this phase involves toilet training and is the root of a child’s cleanliness or lack thereof. It is from this stage that the popular term ‘anal’ referring to someone with an over attentive need to be clean and tidy is derived. Another of Freud’s ‘most important’ stages is the Phallic. This occurs between 3 and 10 years old and involves one of Freud’s most famous theories, to be described in full following the later stages, the Oedipus complex. The Phallic stage is the discovery of the genitalia and the identification of parent/child relationships. After the Phallic stage and just before the child reaches puberty comes the Latency stage. This stage is defined as a pre-sexual period where children socialise primarily within their own gender groups with sexual interest hidden beneath the surface. Finally, comes the Genital stage, which is the awakening of sexual desire and interest. Active interest in the opposite sex is shown and both genders are steadily evolving into sexual beings.
The Oedipus complex is key to Freud’s understanding of the father figure and his importance in a child’s development. Occurring during the Phallic stage, Freud believes that the Oedipus complex, named after the Greek tragedy, leads to a child experiencing unusual sexual feelings for their opposite sex parent. For a male child, feelings for the Mother develop at the same time that the child distances from the Father through unconscious jealousy. From this Freud determines that a competition begins between Father and child for the affection of the Mother. The complex itself is centred on un-natural desires and fears of being outcast from society because of them. From these fears, the Ego steps in to suppress the child’s culturally inappropriate thoughts that then lead to identifying with the same sex parent. A similar experience is thought to occur within young women with the outcome being the same, she ‘identifies with and intimidates her [mother], thus forming the basis for her own superego’. It is because of this complex and the Phallic stage that children’s desires change from ‘self-gratification to seeking gratification from their opposite-sex parent’. This is often when a young girl is given the nickname ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ depending on how much gratification she needs. Children who grow up without the opposite sex parent are considered to search elsewhere later in life for this gratification, particularly in sexual partners.
Stoker, a Hitchcock inspired film is surprisingly not without Freudian moments. The gothic film combines sexual frustration with physical violence. The most notable Freudian element is the unspoken sexual tension between India and Charlie. Charlie, already engaged in a sexual relationship with India’s Mother clearly finds himself drawn to the teenager and is visually intrigued by her initial disdain towards him. His language is suggestive and mysterious as he tries to lure her in the same way. During a heavy scene of pathetic fallacy where India finds herself walking home through a rainstorm, she enters her home to see her vapid Mother and enthralling Uncle sat by the piano. ‘Come play with us’ Charlie says to entice his niece, his wording suspicious as it has connotations of childhood play and of adult play. He’s willingly taking on the male authoritative role in India’s life, which, considering his involvement with his brother’s death, his relationship with India’s Mother and his bizarre fascination with the child, is wildly inappropriate.
India loses her father in the Genital stage of her development yet, due to her clear lack of social ability it is possible that her development was stunted and she’s still processing the Phallic stage, a detrimental phase in which to lose a Father. It is possible that during the Oral stage, India was bottle fed by one of the house staff rather than breast fed by her Mother. Although we do not see her growing up in full on screen, this idea is derived from the strained relationship that is present between Mother and Child during the film and Evelyn’s overall disinterest in raising her child. Freud would suggest that the first stages are between Mother and child and can be the beginning of a healthy, loving relationship, however, from watching Stoker Freud would suggest that something happened during these phases that distanced Evelyn from India. This is what indicates India’s stunted development leaving her struggling through the Phallic stage after puberty. As Freud explored in the Oedipus complex, the opposite sex parent is fundamental during this stage. Without the presence of her Father during this stage, India looks to her uncle as the male figure whose attention she desires. In this particular case male authority replaces ‘Father’ and Charlie fits the profile.
The Mirror Stage is the beginning of a child’s conscious recognition. From this stage onwards, they are able to make a connection between their appearance and their mind. And from there the child’s ego is in development and the connection between feeling good and looking good is growing. Equally, the child experiences an awareness of separation between who the child is and who they see in the mirror. Without the mirror stage we can ‘never learn the difference between “I” or the “other” as distinct to oneself’. Typically, we admire and aim to be our mirrored counterpart, perceiving them to be aesthetically better looking than us. Lacan also seems to believe the mirrored child becomes a goal and a version of ourselves that we wish ‘to approach or take hold of’.
Over the course of the film, India’s strained relationship with her Mother is highlighted. Lacan’s theory would suggest that the loss of her Father combined with the poor relationship with her Mother is what results in a broken ideal of self. India clearly disconnects action from consequences that is seen through the violent nature she adopts in the second half of the film. India is introverted and detached from those around her, suggesting that during her Mirror stage she never fully connected with the idea that the mirror image was her own. Because of this she continues to live in an intensely mental state, focusing her energy inwards rather than concerning herself with the body and her image. In fact, of the few things that India shows concern about the primary is the memory of her Father. Reaching far beyond intelligence, her mind is concerned only with itself and the things that comfort her. Lacan would therefore suggest that whilst India posses an ego, in the way that we understand ego today, it’s not a substantial one. She seemingly never admired her mirrored image in the way that Lacan suggests all children do, making India an exception to his rule.
When a child is looking at itself in the mirror, there is a clear and distinct discovery of the reflection as a separate person, yet it is not only the discovery of themselves but also the discovery of their counterpart which is discovered in the mirror stage ‘such as the image of the mother who holds the child, for instance – that the child will constitute in imagination a true corporeal unity.’ Although the majority of the Mirror Stage is carried out in front of a mirror, it is also possible to be influenced by people acting as a reflection. India’s mother, Evelyn, is cold towards her child, obviously accepting of her daughter’s favouritism for her deceased husband. It’s entirely possible that Evelyn was never comfortable with motherhood and never fully embraced her child. And it is because of this that India has grown without a motherly influence and likely never saw the influential and symbolic image of mother holding child in a loving embrace.
The lack of a father figure in India Stoker’s life leaves her growth stunted and with strange infatuations with male authority figures in her later life. Her actions seen later in the film are entirely influenced by her replacement-father, Charlie. It is his violence that she mirrors, perhaps unknowingly, because he represents the masculine figure that she no longer has in her life. The bizarre sexuality present in the film between India and Charlie is clearly an extension of Freud’s Psychosexual Theory. She sees her mother’s sexuality and seemingly aims to imitate it – however it could be said India was attracted to the violence and not the man. Her actions, which are undoubtedly morally questionable, are considered to be a direct result of the loss of her father and the lack of support she receives emotionally from her mother. However, the film challenges Freud’s theory as India choses the life over her mother over her killing companion. Ultimately, India proves that she knows right from wrong, when it comes to family, and protects her mother by killing Charlie.
Whilst there are elements of truth in both Lacan and Freud’s theories of development in a child’s life, it is also exaggerated. Stoker exhibits scenes of anger and revolution against the parent of the same sex, yet the film’s protagonist is not jealous of her mother. Instead, she pities her mother’s attempt to change her ways. And in terms of her father’s death impacting her life choices, it’s far more likely that it was the actions of Evelyn and her cold demeanour towards her child that led to India’s choices with Charlie. Something that Freud and Lacan explore but do not explicitly relate with the downfall of a healthy child is the involvement of the parent of the same sex. Yes, there is envy and comparison but both theorist seem agreed on the role of the opposite sex parent being the most influential.
In conclusion, it would be easy to consider the death of India’s father as the catalyst for her journey into violent behaviour yet closer inspection reveals influences from her Mother led to her actions. The lack of emotional connection and affection with her Mother, distorted the behaviour that India deemed acceptable. So once Charlie enters her life and kills so violently in front of her, India imitates his actions. Copying his actions as if her were a mirror and she was fascinated with being like the mirror image, which is supported by Lacan’s theory. Psychoanalytical theories can be applied to film in order to develop characteristics and to deepen the existing themes and underlying feelings of a film. Stoker stands as the perfect example of a film that both solidifies and challenges the theories that are applied.
[1]
Sigmund Freud, The Basic Writings of
Sigmund Freud, translated and ed. By Dr. A. A. Brill, (Toronto, Canada:
Random House, 1995)
[2]
Jacques Lacan, The Four Fundamental
Concepts of Psycho-Analysis, (London, UK: The Hogarth Press, 1977)
[4]
Sigmund Freud, The Ego and the Id
(Eastford, CT: Martino Publishing, 2011)
[5]
Stefanie Teitelbaum, ‘Id’, in Encyclopedia
of Psychology and Religion: L-Z, ed. by David A. Leeming, Kathryn Madden
and Stanton Marlan (New York: Springer, 2010), p. 442
[6]
Douglas Bernstein and Peggy Wright Nash, Essentials
of Psychology (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008), p. 423
[7]
Janell L. Carroll, Sexuality Now:
Embracing Diversity, 4th edn (Belmont CA: Wadsworth, 2010), p.
29
[8] Douglas
Bernstein and Peggy Wright Nash, Essentials
of Psychology (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008), p. 423
[9] Douglas
Bernstein and Peggy Wright Nash, Essentials
of Psychology (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008), p. 423
[10]
Adam Cash, Psychology For Dummies, 2nd
edn (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2013), p. 154
[11] Yiannis Colakides, The Mirror Stage: International Video Art
Exhibition, (Limassol, Cyrpus: NeMe, 2008), p. 10
[12] Joel Dor, An Introduction to the Reading of Lacan: The Unconscious Structured
Like a Language, (Paris, France: Éditions Denoēl, 1998), p. 96
[13]
Jacques Aumont, Aesthetics of Film,
(Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1992), p. 201
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