Leaving the Nest, the Freudian Way: A Psychoanalytic Look at Lady Bird

Leaving the Nest, the Freudian Way: A Psychoanalytic Look at Lady Bird

Presenter(s)

Dunia Issa

Comments

11:40-12:00, Kennedy Union 312

Description

Sigmund Freud’s influence on literature and film is clear. He was a revolutionary who conducted multiple studies on the psychology of humans and what motivates us. From the study of dreams, all the way to exploring the sexuality of children’s and adults, Freud’s mark is evident in the media that we consume. One of his many concentrations are family dynamics and the different aspects that influence and modify them. For example, “The Family Romance”, and “A Child is Being Beaten” are two powerful essays by Freud where he explores the role of a child in a family dynamic from two different perspectives. Both theories intersect and demonstrate the need for individuation in the dynamic between the child and the parent. Nevertheless, even though Freud is considered the father of psychology, most of his studies on individuation are centered around males, leaving women high and dry despite it being represented on media extensively. With this research paper, I hope to shine a light on the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters as they grow up and when they reach adolescence. I will be looking at the film “Lady Bird” by Greta Gerwig. In this movie, Gerwig makes the relationship between mother and daughter, and their separation, a pivotal and driving point in the narrative and the development of the characters. I argue that by looking at “Lady Bird” through a Freudian lens, his theories on family dynamics, especially “The Family Romance”, demonstrates evident how necessary it is to understand these texts in order to grasp a rounded understanding of the media and the characters that we consume and relate to.

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Project Designation

Graduate Research

Primary Advisor

Bryan A. Bardine, Andy Slade, Shannon C. Toll

Primary Advisor's Department

English

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Institutional Learning Goals

Scholarship

Leaving the Nest, the Freudian Way: A Psychoanalytic Look at Lady Bird

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