Neurosis and psychosis are used to describe the conditions or illness that affects mental health.
Causes of Neurosis
Both neurosis and psychosis result from repression, but the later is the developed/extreme stage of the first. The libido or the sexual instinct and unacceptable elements and ideas are not at rest in the Unconscious. They always attempt to invade the Conscious. But Ego tries to stop this repressed part. So, the conflict between the Unconscious instincts and Ego becomes inevitable. The consequence of this conflict, i.e., the conflict between Ego and Id, is neurosis.
Freud states something more about the cause of neurosis. He says that neurosis can be caused by -
a. Repression, and
b. Trauma
Effects of Neurosis
According to George Boerce the effects of neurosis are: anxiety, depression, melancholia, anger, confusion and low sense of self worth, hallucination, cynicism and obsession.
A neurotic person also suffers from the inability to reconcile his thoughts with his actions.
Psychosis is the later extreme stage of neurosis. There is a clear distinction between neurosis and psychosis. "In neurosis, the mind still has a relationship with reality, but in psychosis the unconscious takes over altogether and expresses itself directly"(Ryan, 36). "Psychosis does not disavow the reality, it only ignores it; psychosis disavows it and tries to replace it. We call behavior 'normal' and 'healthy', if it combines certain features of both reactions-if it disavows the reality as little as does a neurosis, but if it then exerts itself, as does a psychosis, to effect an alteration of that reality"(Freud, 570).
Now we shall show how these factors of neurosis and psychosis can be applied to the personality and actions of Hamlet.
Hamlet is obviously a neurotic. His neurosis is the result of repression and trauma.
Hamlet's Oedipus Complex proves the existence of his repression. He has two father figures who stop him from the possession of his mother. He has to repress his unlawful desire for his mother. As a result of this forceful repression, his Id dominates his Ego. This conflict results in Hamlet's neurosis.
Hamlet's neurosis is also a consequence of his trauma. The unnatural death of his father, the hasty marriage of his mother-beloved with his uncle and his father's order for revenge create traumatic experience to him. It is here relevant to state that Hamlet, though he possesses royal blood, is not a traditional prince or warrior. Rather, he is a philosopher with a sensitive mind. Undoubtedly, he is burdened with the order of revenge. This order becomes a traumatic experience because he is not ready to bear it. His mind is already burdened with the thinking of mother-beloved. Thus, repression and trauma create Hamlet's neurosis.
The mental state of Hamlet supports his neurotic disorder. He suffers from anxiety and depression. Again, his father's death and mother's hasty marriage with his uncle who kills his father produce his depression. The events thereafter, including his two bosom friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's being employed to spy upon him and lastly kill him, further his depression. Thus, he falls into melancholia. Throughout the whole play Hamlet remains a melancholic figure. His melancholic mind says:
The time is out of joint! O cursed spite
That ever I was born to set it right! (ACT I, Scene v)
Hallucination is an effect of neurosis. Hamlet experiences hallucination. His second encounter with the ghost is hallucinatory as only he, not his mother, can see it. It is the hallucination of his troubled mind.
Hamlet suffers terribly from mental confusion. He cannot take clear decision whether he will believe the ghost or not. Indecisiveness goes to the characteristic of neurosis.
Hamlet's sense of self-worth is low. Even he decides to commit suicide as expressed through his soliloquy "To be or not to be". This soliloquy proves that he has lost his confidence. His consideration of the world is also a sigh from the very deep of his mind:
How weary, stale, flate, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world! (ACT I, Scene iii)
Only a neurotic mind, so burdened with melancholy, can express this type of pessimism.
But, Hamlet is by no means an insane. Insanity is nearest to psychosis. Because’ like a psychotic an insane loses his contact with reality. Hamlet never loses his contact with real and practical world, except in his very temporary hallucination. His staging drama, escape from being killed and using Ophelia as a weapon all are performed in a crafty way.
So, Hamlet is not a psychotic, rather he is a neurotic.
It is Ophelia who suffers from psychosis, because, she loses her connection with the real world and commits suicide.
Jungian ‘Anima’ and ‘Shadow’ in Hamlet
Anima: According to Jung, anima is the universal idea of men about women. Men have been living with women from the beginning of the civilization. This process has created in men a universal belief about women. Through this co-habitation anima is created in men. Naturally, anima is ideal. It is an ideal concept about women. Women in real life possess some differences from this ideal belief. But, if the difference is high, there creates misunderstanding between men and women.
Such is the case in Hamlet. Hamlet’s mother Gertrude is his anima. But his expectations produced from his belief in anima face differences from his real-world mother. He cannot identify complete anima in Gertrude, though he is obsessed with his anima. This fragmented experience makes his relationship with his mother complicated.
Shadow: According to Jung, shadow is the dark side of the human beings. It is the animal-instinct full of cruelty and selfishness. In Hamlet it is Claudius who represents shadow.
Lacanian ‘Imaginary Order’ in Hamlet
Lacan’s theory of the Imaginary Order is relevant to the discussion on Hamlet’s personality.
A child’s Imaginary Order comes after the Mirror Stage. It is the world of images. In this stage the child still perceives itself an inseparable part of its environment. It still feels control over its mother. It feels a union of mutual satisfaction with her. But, in the Imaginary Order the child lacks individuality because of its excessive mother-fixation.
Hamlet also reflects the same case. His neurotic state is accelerated by his feeling of the lack of individuality. He lacks individuality because his mother-fixation. He still lives in the stage of Imaginary Order. His lack of individuality is the inherent cause behind his inaction, dilemma and other complexities.
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