Uncovering the Dark Dimensions of the Uncanny: A Freudian Psychoanalysis of Sequoia Nagamatsu’s Pig Son

Abstract

Psychoanalysis is the psychotherapeutic use of psychoanalytic theory by analysts to alleviate behavioral, emotional, mental, and cognitive issues that impede the analysis and ability to function satisfactorily. Frequent and intense psychoanalysis is further described as a particular type of individual psychotherapy that seeks to bring unconscious mental components and processes into awareness to increase self-awareness, improve adaptability in various domains of functioning, reduce symptoms of mental illness, and promote character development and emotional growth. Psychoanalysts feel that psychoanalysis is different from other modalities because of its depth, intensity, and long-term, frequent treatment sessions. They also think that psychoanalysis might be more beneficial to the analyst than other, shorter treatment approaches. The only systematic explanation of the human mind that can stand alongside the chaotic body of psychological knowledge accumulated over the ages in terms of depth, complexity, fascination, and tragic power is Freudian psychology. The human nature aspect of Freudian psychology is exactly what the writer has always focused on, yet switching from reading a great literary work to an academic psychology treatise is like shifting from one way of perception to another. Therefore, it is unsurprising that literature has been significantly influenced by psychoanalytic theory. This study uses the idea of the uncanny. The idea of the uncanny has been a central focus of psychoanalytic and literary discourse since it was linked to the exploration of hidden fears and repressed anxieties in human consciousness.

Keywords: Dark Dimensions, Uncanny, Freudian Psychoanalysis, Sequoia Nagamatsu’s Pig Son