Twentieth century American novels are affected by many outer-literary influences. For example, twentieth century American novels are influenced by naturalism, existentialism, and social conditions such as wars or the Great Depression. However, psychology or psychological theory inserts one of the greatest influences on the twentieth century American novel in terms of both style and character. Psychological theories presented by those such as William James, Carl Jung, and Sigmund Freud, have a major impact on authors such as William Faulkner, Willia Cather, and Toni Morrison. This paper will discuss the influences of psychological theory as evident in the following novels: The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner, My Antonia by Willa Cather, and Sula by Toni Morrison.

The first novel mentioned in the above list, The Sound and The Fury, borrows a stylistic influence, such as its stream of conscious format, from psychologist William James. William James (1842-1910) proposed a theory, which he appropriately named stream of conscious. Stream of conscious theory states that "consciousness is a continuous, flowing process and any attempt to reduce it to elements will distort it" (Schultz 157). James also proposed that consciousness is constantly changing and cumulative. Moreover, out of all of the environmental stimuli and images, the mind must choose what it will take into the conscious. Therefore, thoughts may jump around and by seeing one object, it may trigger another thought (Schultz 157).

This theory eventually lead to an entire literary genre, the stream of conscious novel. This type of novel, written by those such as James Joyce and William Faulkner, tries to express the inner workings of the mind by recording the thoughts of the characters as realistically as possible (Holman and Hamman 457). According to Holman and Hamman, Joyce tried to capture the stream of conscious process by "the removal of customary signals such as quotation marks, hyphens in compounds, and chapter numbers and titles" (457). However, one of the best examples of the stream of conscious novel and technique occurs in William Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury.

The Sound and The Fury is written almost entirely in a stream of conscious style that combines first and third person narration. In fact, the book is broken down into segments in which each section is a presentation of the events and the world as seen through the mind of a particular character. For instance, the book is divided into the following sections: Benjy, Quentin, Jason, and Dilsey. Consequently, the Benjy and Quentin sections are written using the stream of consciousness style. In fact, the Benjy section is told though the mind of a thirty-two year old retarded man. Therefore, it contains simple language, uncomplicated sentence structure, and concentrates mainly on basic images as appropriate for a retarded man. For example, " I went back along the fence to where the flag was" (Faulkner 3). "It was red, flapping on the pasture. Then there was a bird slanting and tilting on it. Luster threw." ( Faulkner 4). Also, since he is retarded, his thoughts do not flow in any certain chronological order nor are they rational. For instance, when Luster comments upon Benjy being snagged on a nail, Benjy’s thoughts (and the narration) flow back in time to an event when Caddy "uncaught" him and he proceeds to recall the time he and Caddy went through the fence on an errand for Uncle Maury (Faulkner 4).

The Quentin section, in contrast to the Benjy section, contains long complicated sentences, which reflect the complex problems Quentin is facing. Also, Quentin’s thoughts drift from past to present when triggered by something in the environment. The scatterdness of Quentin’s thoughts emulate the thought patterns of real life. In fact the opening scene concerns Quentin’s obsession with time and as Quentin contemplates time, he is reminded of things his father said and scenes from the past. However, his frantic associations reflect a disturbed character. For example, "…I began to wonder what time it was. Father said that constant speculation regarding the position of mechanical hands on an arbitrary dial which is a symptom of mind-function. Excrement Father said like sweating. And I saying All right. Wonder. Go on and wonder" (Faulkner 77). Soon after the passage quoted above, Quentin’s thoughts jump to a recollection of his sister’s wedding announcement in the quote, "The month of bride, the voice that breathed She ran right out of the mirror, out of the banked scent. Roses. Roses. Mr. and Mrs. Jason Richmond Compson announce the marriage of. Roses." (Faulkner 77). Clearly, Quentin’s thought pattern reflects someone who is disturbed.
Thus, the stylistic differences of the sections reflect the minds of the characters and the distinctiveness of which they view the events of the novel, as influenced by William James and the stream of conscious theory.

Psychological theory not only affects stylistic aspects of twentieth century American novels; it also exerts an influence on character development. Two psychologists, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, exert such an influence with their theories of the Great Mother archetype, the shadow and regressive defense mechanism respectively. Carl Jung’s theory of a Great Mother archetype represents a mother figure who is associated with positive and negative feelings. She is both nourishing and destructive, representing fertility and power respectively (Fiest 169). According to Jung, "the fertility and nourishing side is symbolized by a tree, garden, and a plowed field…" (Fiest 170). The destructive side is symbolized as "a grandmother, Mother Nature, mother- in-law, …or a witch" (Fiest 170). The great mother archetype is represented in the novels My Antonia by Willia Cather and Sula by Toni Morrison.

In My Antonia, Jim creates a Great Mother archetype out of Antonia in his attempt to reconcile his idealistic view of her by elevating her in his mind. For example, Jim states "she lent herself to immemorial human attitudes which we recognize by instinct as universal and true" (Cather 226). This statement undoubtedly refers to an archetype, for archetypes as defined by Jung are "generalized and compose the contents of the collective unconscious" (Fiest 165). Jim also describes Antonia in terms of fertility images, which symbolize the Great Mother archetype. For example, "She had only to stand in the orchard, to put her hand on a crab tree…to make you feel the goodness of planting and tending and harvesting at last" (Cather 227). To further the image of Antonia as a Great Mother archetype, Jim also says "She was a rich mine of life, like the founders of early races" (Cather 227).

Another book in which the influence of Carl Jung and the Great Mother archetype is present is Sula, written by Toni Morrison. In Sula, the character Eva represents a great mother archetype, for she embodies both nourishing and destructive characteristics. For example, when Plum is about to die due to stopped up bowels, Eva saves him by physically relieving his blockage. In fact, even her name Eva suggests Eve, the first mother of the world. However, she also possesses destructive powers, as when she later burns Plum to death. Another example that demonstrates both nourishing and destructive powers occurs with the Deweys. By treating the three physically different boys as one, she nourishes a deep bond of friendship and brotherhood that the boys desperately need. However, this nourishment also causes a destruction of the boys, for it destroys their individuality.

Another Jungian concept, the shadow, is present in Toni Morrison’s Sula. The shadow "represents those qualities we do not wish to acknowledge but attempt to hide from ourselves and others" (Fiest 167). According to Jung, to be whole one must recognize that they are capable of evil. Also, Jung states "it is easier to project the dark side of our personality onto others" (Fiest 167). One character in Sula, Nell, has a principle conflict in recognizing that she is capable of evil. This conflict stems from actively watching the death of Chicken Little. For even though it was Sula who releases Chicken Little into the water, Nell secretly enjoys it. Later in life when confronted by Eva, Nell is challenged to confront her "shadow" and the possibility that she is capable of doing wrong. At first Nell projects all of the responsibility of the deed onto Sula. Then, while walking briskly away from the hospital, Nell begins to rehash the events of Chicken Little’s death and the words of Eva. For example, she asks herself "Why didn’t I feel bad when it happened? How come it felt so good to see him fall?" (Morrison 170). Moreover, there is evidence that Nell comes to reconciliation with her "shadow" when she realizes that all she needs is Sula and releases her feelings with "a fine cry-loud and long-but it had no bottom and it had not top, just circles and circles of sorrow" (Morrison 174).

From the examples mentioned above, it is evident that psychologist Carl Jung greatly influenced the authors Willa Cather and Toni Morrison and the portrayal of the characters in My Antonia and Sula respectively. However, the contributions of Sigmund Freud also influenced twentieth century novelist, Toni Morrison in particular.

A Freudian concept that has influence upon Morrison is regression. Regression is a defense mechanism activated by extreme anxiety or stress in which a person "reverts back to an earlier stage" (Fiest 34). It may involve curling into a "fetal position" (‘Fiest 34) or staying covered up in bed all day (Fiest 34). Nell and Plum demonstrate regression. Nell, upon the revelation that her husband and Sula have an affair, gets into a fetal position in the bathroom as revealed in the lines "She looked around for a place to be. A small place. She sank to the tile floor next to the toilet." (Morrison 107), and "This very grief…had twisted her into a curve on the floor…" (Morrison 108). Plum copes with life after the war through regression by lying in bed all day. Thus, Freud also contributed to the twentieth century American novel.

Twentieth century American novels have many influences, however, it is arguable that psychology and psychological theory exerts one of the greatest influences. For psychology’s influence affects both the style and character development. The psychological theories of William James, Carl Jung, and Sigmund Freud is particularly inspirational to the authors William Faulkner, Willa Cather, and Toni Morrison.

Bibliography

Fiest, Jess. Theories of Personality. 3^rd ed. Gulliford, CT: Brown & Benchmark, 1994.

Holman, C. Hugh and William Hamman. Handbook to Literature. 6^th ed. New York:

McMillian, 1992.

Schultz, Duane P. and Sydney Schultz. A History of Modern Psychology. 6^th ed. New

York: Harcourt Brace Collage Publishers, 1996.