Freud’s Pleasure Principle in Philip Roth’s Trilogy; The Breast, The Professor of Desire, The Dying Animal

Abstract

This research explores the patterns of pleasure principle as evident in Philip Roth’s trilogy, The Breast, The Professor of Desire, The Dying Animal. The question of libidinal desires and their fulfillment in the real world has remained a major pre-occupation with human beings from the beginning of this world. In this research, the researcher will highlight the Freud’s view that all of human actions in the world revolve around pleasure principle. The Ego provides a socially acceptable way of fulfilling the desires of Id. Textual analysis has been used as a research method to interpret and analyze the text with the help of extra-textual knowledge such as cross references, Freud’s theory of pleasure principle and secondary resources. The purpose of this research is to highlight the actions which are governed by pleasure principle and how Ego plays an important role in taming the untamed libidinal desires. Id wants the immediate gratification of its desires but Ego puts a check on Id’s demands and provides it a proper way to execute its tasks. Roth’s trilogy, The Breast, The Professor of Desire, The Dying Animal, deals with the protagonist’s divide between the demands of the Id and check put on them by the Ego. This research will also highlight the way in which the protagonist, Kepesh, maintains a balance between his libidinal desires and the societal expectations from him. The reason for conducting this research is that Freud’s pleasure principle with regard to Philip Roth’s work has often gone unnoticed. This research delves into this very aspect of Freud’s pleasure principle and how Kepesh maintains a balance between his desires and the expectations of society from him.