Literary Analysis: Feminist and Psychoanalytic Readings
Literary Analysis of Key Texts
Anne Sexton’s “The Frog Prince”
Anne Sexton’s poem “The Frog Prince” presents a feminist retelling of the traditional fairy tale by revealing how women’s consent and bodily autonomy are ignored in patriarchal stories. Instead of portraying the frog as charming or misunderstood, Sexton describes him as threatening and disgusting, which highlights how the princess is pressured into an unwanted relationship.
Aggression and Entitlement
From the start, the frog is shown as aggressive and disturbing. Sexton uses harsh imagery, calling him “a soft bag of green” with “a bellyful of parasites.” When the frog demands, “Kiss me. Kiss me,” the request feels forceful rather than romantic. From a feminist perspective, this moment represents male entitlement, where women are expected to give affection even when they feel fear or disgust. The princess’s feelings are ignored, while the frog’s desires control the situation.
Symbolism of Loss
The loss of the golden ball is another important symbol. The princess describes it as more than a toy, calling it “my moon” and “my butter calf.” These images suggest innocence, identity, and emotional security. When the ball falls into the well, it marks the loss of her childhood and safety. The poem suggests this loss is unavoidable, as Sexton writes, “It was ordained,” showing how women are often pushed into adult roles before they are ready.
Invasive Demands and Authority
The frog’s demands grow increasingly invasive:
- “Let me eat from your plate.
- Let me drink from your cup.
- Let me sleep in your bed.”
Each request represents another boundary crossed. Even though the princess secretly believes, “those three you will never do,” she is forced to keep her promise. Her father, the king, supports the frog, showing how male authority values promises and social rules over a woman’s comfort and consent.
Unsettling Conclusion
Although the frog eventually turns into a prince, the ending remains unsettling. Sexton writes, “Thus they were married. / After all he had compromised her.” Marriage is not a reward but a way to cover up harm. Through this ending, Sexton criticizes fairy tales that normalize female suffering and present forced intimacy as love.
Overall, Sexton’s poem exposes how traditional stories silence women’s voices and excuse male control. From a feminist viewpoint, “The Frog Prince” is not a love story but a warning about coercion disguised as romance.
D. H. Lawrence’s “Second Best”
D. H. Lawrence’s short story “Second Best” can be effectively analyzed through a psychoanalytic lens, as it explores repression, desire, and emotional displacement within the character of Frances. From this perspective, Frances’s actions are driven not by genuine affection but by unresolved desire and inner conflict after losing the man she truly wanted.
Emotional Exhaustion and Repressed Desire
Frances begins the story in a state of emotional exhaustion and frustration. She admits she is “tired,” but quickly clarifies that “It’s not the journey,” suggesting that her fatigue is psychological rather than physical. Her long attachment to Jimmy, who is now engaged, represents a repressed desire that she has never fully resolved. Psychoanalytically, Jimmy functions as the unattainable object of desire, while Frances’s emotional energy remains fixated on him even after he is no longer available.
The Mole as Unconscious Symbol
The episode with the mole strongly reflects Frances’s unconscious state. The mole, blind and vulnerable, can be read as a symbol of suppressed emotions and instincts. Frances initially feels “keen pity for the little creature,” but later accepts its death with disturbing calm: “Something had died in her.” This moment marks emotional numbness, a defense mechanism used to protect herself from pain. Her growing indifference shows repression replacing grief.
Displaced Desire onto Tom
Tom Smedley becomes the outlet for Frances’s displaced desire. Lawrence explicitly states her motivation: “If she could not have the best… she would have the second best.” Rather than love, her interest in Tom is shaped by loss, pride, and the need to regain control. From a psychoanalytic view, Tom is a substitute object—chosen not out of passion, but because he is available and willing to desire her.
Acceptance of Emotional Hardness
The act of killing the second mole is especially revealing. Frances kills it deliberately and later presents it to Tom, using the dead animal as proof of power and readiness. This act symbolizes her acceptance of emotional hardness and her willingness to suppress sensitivity in order to secure a relationship. When she agrees to go out with Tom, her voice is described as “dead,” yet accompanied by “a thrill of pleasure in this death,” suggesting satisfaction through emotional surrender.
In conclusion, “Second Best” portrays how unresolved desire leads to repression and substitution. Through a psychoanalytic approach, Frances’s choice of Tom is not fulfillment but emotional compromise, revealing the cost of denying true desire.
Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” can be analyzed through a postcolonial lens because it explores the struggle over cultural identity among African Americans after a history of oppression. The conflict between Dee (Wangero) and her family shows how colonial histories shape ideas of heritage, power, and authenticity.
Rejecting Colonial Names
From a postcolonial perspective, Dee represents a generation trying to reclaim African identity after centuries of cultural erasure caused by slavery and racism. She rejects her given name, saying, “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me,” and renames herself Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. This reflects a postcolonial desire to reject colonial names and reclaim African roots. However, Dee’s understanding of heritage is shallow and disconnected from lived experience.
Cultural Appropriation vs. Lived Tradition
Dee treats cultural objects as symbols to be displayed rather than used. She wants the churn top “as a centerpiece for the alcove table” and plans to hang the quilts, even though they were meant for practical use. From a postcolonial viewpoint, this reflects cultural appropriation—turning lived traditions into museum pieces. Dee values African American culture only when it appears exotic or artistic, not when it exists as everyday life.
Mama and Maggie’s Connection
In contrast, Mama and Maggie represent a lived, continuous connection to heritage. Mama understands the quilts as part of family history, made from “scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn” and even pieces from “Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform” from the Civil War. Maggie knows how to quilt and would use them naturally. When Dee protests that Maggie would put the quilts to “everyday use,” Mama finally realizes that true cultural survival comes through practice, not display.
Rejection of Performative Heritage
The story’s ending reinforces this postcolonial message. Mama gives the quilts to Maggie, rejecting Dee’s performative version of heritage. This decision challenges postcolonial identity movements that imitate African culture without understanding its meaning. Walker suggests that reclaiming culture should not copy colonial systems of ownership and display.
In conclusion, “Everyday Use” critiques superficial postcolonial identity formation. Through Dee, Walker shows how reclaiming African heritage can become another form of domination when it ignores lived history. True cultural identity, the story argues, survives through everyday use, memory, and community.
Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”
Andrew Marvell’s poem “To His Coy Mistress” is often read as a romantic carpe diem poem, but from a feminist perspective it reveals how male speakers use persuasion, fear, and social pressure to control female sexuality. The poem centers on a man attempting to convince a woman to abandon her “coyness,” which he treats as a flaw rather than a choice.
Objectification Through Praise
In the opening section, the speaker pretends to respect the woman’s refusal by saying, “This coyness, Lady, were no crime,” but this respect is conditional and imaginary. He describes a fantasy world where he could wait endlessly, praising “an hundred years” for her eyes and “two hundred to adore each breast.” From a feminist viewpoint, this exaggerated praise reduces the woman to body parts, turning her into an object of male desire rather than a person with agency.
Fear and Decay as Tactics
The tone becomes more aggressive in the second section when the speaker introduces fear as a tactic. He warns her that “Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near” and vividly describes her death, where “worms shall try / That long-preserved virginity.” This imagery is disturbing and threatening, suggesting that a woman’s worth is tied to her sexual availability before aging or death. Feminist criticism highlights how the speaker uses fear of decay to pressure the mistress into sex, rather than respecting her autonomy.
One-Sided Urgency
In the final section, the speaker calls for immediate sexual action: “Now let us sport us while we may.” Although he frames this as mutual desire, the urgency is created entirely by his argument. The repeated “let us” hides the power imbalance, making his desire seem shared when it is clearly one-sided. The mistress never speaks; her silence reinforces how women’s voices are excluded in patriarchal literature.
Overall, “To His Coy Mistress” reflects a male-centered view of love and sexuality. From a feminist approach, the poem exposes how persuasion can function as coercion, presenting male desire as logical and female resistance as unreasonable. Marvell’s poem ultimately reveals how women are pressured to surrender control over their bodies in the name of romance and time.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams”
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” can be understood through a psychoanalytic lens as a story about desire, illusion, and loss. Dexter Green’s obsession with Judy Jones reflects unconscious longing, idealization, and emotional fixation rather than genuine love. His “winter dreams” represent fantasies created to fill inner emotional emptiness.
Unconscious Dictation and Idealization
From early in the story, Dexter is driven by imagination rather than reality. Fitzgerald states that he was “unconsciously dictated to by his winter dreams,” suggesting that his actions come from unconscious desires. Judy becomes the central object of this desire. Dexter does not love Judy for who she truly is, but for what she symbolizes—beauty, wealth, and fulfillment. Psychoanalytically, Judy functions as an idealized figure, shaped by Dexter’s fantasy rather than her real personality.
Emotional Dependence and Repetition
Dexter repeatedly ignores Judy’s harmful behavior because his desire depends on illusion. Even when she mistreats him, he remains emotionally attached: “He loved her, and he would love her until the day he was too old for loving.” This reflects emotional dependence and repetition compulsion, where Dexter relives pain in hopes of achieving satisfaction. Judy’s unpredictability strengthens his obsession because she keeps his desire unresolved.
Conflict Between Stability and Illusion
The contrast between Judy and Irene Scheerer also reveals Dexter’s inner conflict. Irene represents stability, reality, and emotional safety, but Dexter sees her as “no more than a curtain,” showing his inability to invest emotionally in healthy relationships. His unconscious clings to excitement and loss rather than comfort. From a psychoanalytic view, Dexter associates desire with suffering, making peace feel empty.
Collapse of Fantasy
The story’s final scene marks the collapse of Dexter’s fantasy. When he learns that Judy has “faded,” he realizes that the dream itself is gone: “The dream was gone. Something had been taken from him.” This moment represents the death of his idealized image, not just of Judy, but of his younger self and his emotional illusions. Without the fantasy, Dexter feels emotionally numb, admitting, “I cannot cry. I cannot care.”
In conclusion, “Winter Dreams” portrays how unconscious desire and idealization can trap individuals in emotional cycles of longing and loss. Through a psychoanalytic approach, Dexter’s suffering stems not from Judy herself, but from his dependence on illusion. When the fantasy disappears, so does the emotional intensity that once gave his life meaning.