A Psychological Exploration of Repression and Self-Actualization in Literature and Film

    Psychology is the study of the human mind, its purpose is to understand how people think, feel, and act. Compared to almost every other subject, it’s still relatively new, in fact psychology only started in the late 1800’s, while most other subjects were created long before the birth of Christ. Then in the late 19th century, psychology branched into many different forms of psychology, each exploring different theories that try to explain human behavior. Among the many different branches, there are 2 very prevalent ones, psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology. Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud, and it emphasizes the influence of the unconscious on the behavior of humans, while humanistic psychology focuses on personal growth and self-actualization of humans. However, the theories of psychology aren’t extended to just us humans, I believe they can be extended to our works of literature where they help us understand how a characters' inner desires shape their actions, relationships, and fate. The Stranger by Albert Camus and the film 500 Days of Summer are both examples of how prevalent psychology is in literature and film; both stories illuminate a characters' journeys toward self-actualization and their hidden desires.

    Psychoanalysis was the start of psychology, and due to this fact, it’s extremely primitive. Psychoanalysis was theorized by Freud, and it mainly revolved around the unconscious mind. Freud believed that human behavior is driven by unconscious desires, repressed memories, and unresolved conflicts. “When conceptualizing the unconscious mind, it can be helpful to compare the mind to an iceberg. Everything above the water represents conscious awareness while everything below the water represents the unconscious… The things that represent our conscious awareness are simply "the tip of the iceberg." The rest of the information that is outside of conscious awareness lies below the surface. While this information might not be accessible consciously, it still exerts an influence over current behavior.” (Bornstein, 2025). Freuds theory of the unconscious then developed into more concepts like the id, ego, and superego. The id is your primal desires and instincts, it’s your feelings of immediate gratification and desires for pleasure. The ego is more like your moral compass, it’s your sense of what’s right and wrong. Lastly the ego is you, it’s the middle of both the id and superego; it tries to balance the desires for both. Many people compare the id to the devil on your shoulder, the super ego to the angle on your shoulder, and the ego to oneself. Another theory for psychoanalysis is the concept of transference, where an individual projects their feelings about one person onto another, which then reveals their hidden desires and conflicts. Lastly, " Freud believed that bringing the contents of the unconscious into awareness was important for relieving psychological distress."  (Cherry, 2023) This theory is about understanding internal conflicts rather than external circumstances, and how they affect a person. In literature and films, psychoanalysis allows us to explore characters' behaviors as expressions of their unconscious struggles, which then lets us take a deeper look into their motivations and actions.

    In The Stranger, Meursault pretty much embodies the principle of living purely through the id, he is only driven by his desires, and he is completely detached from the societal norms. His emotional detachment is immediately shown when he describes his mother's death with bleak indifference: "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know." (Camus, 3) This quote highlights his unconscious repression of grief and complete detachment from social norms. This shows how his id has complete control over him, as he prioritizes his immediate comfort over any emotions that will cause him to reflect upon himself. Another area is Meursault's confrontation with death, which serves as his existential awakening. While he is waiting for his execution, he reflects on his life, and the absurdity of it; he eventually accepts it and says, " For the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world." (Camus, 122) This moment shows Meursault’s growth as a character, where he finally breaks free from the shackles of his unconscious repression, and he embraces the truth of his existence. This is how Freud’s ideas help us see that a characters unresolved conflict must be confronted in order achieve psychological clarity. In the 500 days of summer, Tom illustrates the psychoanalytic concepts of transference and the unconscious. The love he has for Summer isn’t reciprocated. This is highlighted by the way he idealizes Summer, projecting his desires for happiness onto her. A scene that captures this is when Tom describes Summer as "the only thing keeping him together” (Webb, 2009), revealing his reliance on her for emotional stability. His reliance is completely one-sided because his feelings for her are so strong. However, he’s blind to this fact because he is projecting his own feelings of love onto her, and no matter how many times she hinted at this to him, he ignores her. This is explained by Freud’s theory of transference which explains Tom’s behavior as an attempt to fill the internal void by externalizing his needs onto Summer. Additionally, his unconscious plays a significant role in the way he acts. Tom continuously yearns for Summer’s love despite the clear signs of incompatibility, which shows how his unconscious desires blind him from reality. For example, when he goes to the party, the split-screen shows the juxtaposition of Tom’s expectations with reality. The scene shows how his unconscious fantasies completely overpower his perception. This relationship between his unconscious and conscious mind mirrors Freud’s theory that unresolved internal conflicts manifest into behavior.  This scene leads Tom to his existential moment which occurs after their breakup.  He is forced to reflect on his unrealistic expectations and recognizes his role in the relationship’s failure. This realization emphasizes Freud's belief that bringing unconscious conflicts to the conscious is necessary for personal growth. Both Meursault and Tom show how their unconscious desires shape their actions which ultimately leads them to self-awareness.

Humanistic psychology emphasizes the human’s innate potential for growth and self-actualization. Abraham Maslow was a famous psychologist mainly known for his contributions to the creation of humanistic psychology and the creation of the hierarchy of needs; the hierarchy of needs pretty much outlines the progression of needs that motivate human behavior. “Maslow believed that these needs are similar to instincts and play a major role in motivating behavior.”(Cherry, 2024) The hierarchy begins with basic physiological needs, these are food, water, air shelter, clothing etc. Then it progresses to safety, which includes the desire to have control and order in their life. Then its love and belonging, which is the need for emotional relationships and connection to groups.  It then progresses into esteem, which consists of self-worth, accomplishment and respect. Finally, at the top of everything, is self-actualization which is one’s full potential. Humanistic psychology contrasts with psychoanalysis because it focuses on conscious experiences and the individual's ability to change. It highlights the importance of unmet needs and how they shape behavior and relationships.

    Meursault’s journey in The Stranger showcases his progression toward self-actualization. However, due to his extraordinarily odd personality he exists on the edge of Maslow's hierarchy. This is because he shows pretty much no concern for love, belonging, or esteem. His disinterest in social norms and relationships proves his lack of belonging within any of these levels. However, this all changes when he is in prison; in prison he is forced into introspection, through his entire life he has avoided any sort of self-reflection. He had never felt any sort of meaning in life until he was thrust into prison, and then for the first time in his life he found meaning in life. Even though his meaning was found through his execution, by embracing the universe’s indifference, Meursault achieves a form of self-actualization. He found meaning in the absence of everything. As he reflects, "I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again" (Camus, 1942). This is highlighted by Maslow's idea that self-actualization involves finding purpose beyond external validation. Tom’s journey in 500 Days of Summer is a much better example of the humanistic progression through Maslow's hierarchy. Initially, he is stuck on the level of love and belonging, which he seeks fulfillment through his relationship with Summer. His unmet need for esteem drives his dependency on her, which is shown by his strong desire for a relationship with her. However, after their breakup, Tom is initially distraught but then begins his journey of self-discovery. It starts with his pursuit of his passion for architecture, which he gave up before he met Summer. This shift represents his movement toward self-actualization as he redirects his focus from love and belonging to personal growth. Additionally, the final conversation between Tom and Summer highlights his new perspective: where he sort of gives up on love and thinks that he should do whatever is in his best interest. However, in the film’s ending, where Tom meets Autumn, he becomes self-actualized as he gains a newfound understanding of himself and fate. This is because after his relationship with Summer he gave up on fate and love, but after he met Autumn, he completely changed. This newfound understanding highlights Maslow’s idea that “The growth of self-actualization (Maslow, 1962) refers to the need for personal growth and discovery that is present throughout a person’s life. For Maslow, a person is always “becoming” and never remains static in these terms.” (McLeod, 2024) Despite their differing contexts, Meursault and Tom both achieve self-actualization by confronting their unmet needs and reevaluating their priorities. 

    The psychoanalytic and humanistic theories allow us to see the complex nature of human behavior which could then be integrated into literature and film. Freud's focus on the unconscious allows us to understand characters like Meursault and Tom, whose actions are shaped by hidden desires. Maslow's hierarchy of needs shows us that growth leads to self-actualization, which in turn illuminates how our unsatisfied needs drive our behaviors and relationships. Through The Stranger and 500 Days of Summer we see how these psychological theories help us gain a deeper understanding of characters’ inner desires.