Introduction
“Lucy” by Jamaica Kincaid is a short story that follows the journey of a young Caribbean woman as she leaves her home to work as an au pair in the United States. From a psychoanalytic approach perspective, the story can be interpreted as a representation of Lucy’s psychological journey as she navigates her newfound cultural identity. Freud states that therapeutic efforts aim “to strengthen the ego, to make it more independent of the super-ego, to widen its field of perception and enlarge its organization” (The Dissection 99). Lucy is challenged as she tries to reconcile her Caribbean identity with the values of her new American surroundings. Her difficult adventure tells the story how “she was no longer the girl she had been, but she was not yet the woman she was going to become” (Kincaid 89). “Lucy” by Jamaica Kincaid can be interpreted from a psychoanalytic approach perspective as a representation of Lucy’s psychological journey as she navigates her newfound cultural identity and experiences feelings of loss, displacement, and self-discovery.
The Ego and Identity Crisis
The story reveals a number of psychoanalytic ideas, including an identity crisis, as a manifestation of the struggle with one’s ego. Lucy constantly experiences an existential crisis in which her personality desperately tries to define itself in society. She notices that she is an alien and does not belong, saying: “I am always on the verge of losing myself” (Kincaid 95). Lucy’s conflict between unattainable group identity and her ego deepens when she recognizes:
I am not what they say I am, I am not what they want me to be, I am not what they think I am. I am who I am (Kincaid 59).
From a psychoanalytic perspective, Lucy’s identity crisis can be understood as a manifestation of her ego’s struggle to assert itself against the expectations imposed by the American family she works for (Kim 1027). In Sigmund Freud’s “Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego” (1921), the concept of identification is explained “as the earliest expression of an emotional tie with another person” (Group Psychology 11). This idea can be applied to Lucy’s experiences in America as she tries to reconcile her newfound cultural identity with her Caribbean heritage.
The Concept of “the Other” and Trauma
In America, Lucy experiences a sense of ostracism and trauma due to her feeling of being “the Other.” The concept of “the Other” refers to the idea that individuals or groups are defined in opposition to a dominant cultural norm, resulting in feelings of alienation and otherness (Kim 1027). Lucy’s trauma can be attributed to her feeling of being ostracized by the American family she works for and the cultural norms she is expected to conform. In the story, the reader sees how people inflict much psychological trauma on Lucy because her appearance and culture are different. The young woman tells readers how she “was screamed at, called names I had never heard before and was beaten” (Kincaid 65). In addition, she “was humiliated in front of all the other servants” (Kincaid 45). These are multiple negative repeated experiences at different psychological and physical abuse levels that lead to a stable psychological trauma.
In the context of Lucy’s experiences, her feelings of alienation and otherness resulting from being “the Other” can be understood as emotional traumas. Freud believed that symptoms of neurosis are often residues of emotional experiences, which he referred to as “psychical traumas” (Five Lectures 9). The specificity of the formed sensations and reactions is explained “by their relation to the traumatic scenes which were their cause” (Five Lectures 9). Lucy’s experiences of ostracism and trauma as a result of her feeling of being “the Other” can be understood in the context of Freud’s views on trauma. The repeated experiences of physical abuse she faces and the cultural norms she is expected to conform to can be seen as contributing to her sense of trauma. Moreover, psychological abuse was also used against her when she “was treated like a child, I was not allowed to have an opinion” (Kincaid 85). Understanding the root cause would require exploring her cultural and emotional experiences as a Caribbean immigrant in America.
“Desire” and Self-discovery
In Jamaica Kincaid’s “Lucy,” the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery is intertwined with her desires. The author reveals heroine’s strong wish to explore the world: “She felt as though she was searching for something, but she did not know what it was” (Kincaid 24). Lucy’s desire to escape her life in the Caribbean and find a better future in America is a central theme in the novel. This desire is motivated by her longing for independence, autonomy, and a sense of self-worth, all aspects of self-search. From a Freudian perspective, desire is an unconscious drive rooted in the id, the most primitive part of the psyche. The id is responsible for our basic desires, such as the desire for food, sex, and power, and the satisfaction of these desires is what drives our behavior (New Introductory Lectures 71-100). In the case of Lucy, her desire for a better life and her pursuit of self-examination is driven by her unconscious needs and desires.
As Lucy begins to explore her new life in America, she begins to uncover aspects of herself that were previously hidden. She knew herself as a Caribbean girl and was trying to become an American, but she noticed unique traits and elements in her personality. A person’s ego always has characteristics suppressed by culture but inherent in the personality itself by its nature. By shifting from one culture to another, people can more clearly see these things in themselves. For example, Lucy realizes she has a strong wish for education and knowledge, which she had never considered before (Kincaid 25). Lucy finds out about her interests and passions:
I was beginning to understand that the world was a much bigger place than I had ever imagined, and that there were many things that I wanted to know about it (Kincaid 35).
This quote highlights how Lucy’s aspiration for knowledge and self-search leads her to a greater understanding of herself and the world around her. Her journey can be seen as an example of how unconscious desires shape our behavior and drive our pursuit of self-discovery.
Conclusion
The analysis of “Lucy” by Jamaica Kincaid from a psychoanalytic approach perspective provides a deep understanding of the protagonist’s psychological journey. Throughout the novel, Lucy navigates her newfound cultural identity and experiences feelings of loss, displacement, and searching for her new self. The author showed this continuous process in the heroine’s odyssey where “she was finding herself, and she was losing herself, and she was doing both at the same time” (Kincaid 67). The sources analyzed in this review support the idea that Lucy’s journey can be interpreted as a representation of her psychological journey, shaped by her experiences of trauma, identity crisis, and desire. From a Freudian approach, Lucy’s experiences of trauma, including physical and psychological abuse, are rooted in her feeling of being “the Other.” Her experiences of ostracism result in a pathological symptom of trauma, which is expressed through her feelings of loss and displacement. Lucy’s journey of self-discovery is also driven by her desires, rooted in her unconscious needs and desires.
Works Cited
Freud, Sigmund. “The Dissection of the Psychical Personality.” New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, Translated by James Strachey, W.W. Norton, 1995, pp. 71–100.
Freud, Sigmund. Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis. Translated by James Strachey, W.W. Norton & Company, 1989.
Freud, Sigmund. Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Translated by James Strachey, W.W. Norton & Company, 1990.
Kim, Mia. “The Examination of Pathological Symptom of Trauma in the Context of Jamaica Kincaid’s novel,“Lucy”.” Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT) 12.10 (2021): 1025-1033. Web.
Kincaid, Jamaica. Lucy. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1990.