 |
| Google Image |
 |
| Google image |
Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) an Austrian neurologist known as the father of psychoanalysis (wikipedia) created a theory which drew a connection between the mother and baby relationship and sex.
Freud investigated the behaviour of the newborn child and his argument declared that "the sucking of the infant is the first sexual act of a human being" (Smith Joan, 103), whereby the 'sexual pleasure is first bound up with the action of feeding at the mother's breast' (103).
When first discovering this, I thought it was quite bizarre and a disturbing way to think of such a natural act. I was not alone. Freud had and still has many opponents who refuse to think of "sucking babies as having a sexual life" (103). Nevertheless, Freud's explanation is not invalid, and it would be unwise to ignore a possible explanation of how the act of eating has become sexual considering its literary support.
For example, within Elizabeth Gaskell's novel Cranford (1853), the characters share the same insecurities as Freud's theory explains.
Below is a passage from chapter three- "A Love Affair of Long Ago":
 |
| Google image |
Gaskell's use of the negative adjective, 'unpleasant' echoes the feeling Freud's theory expresses. To the women, the 'sucking' of oranges mirrors the sucking of a baby feeding on his mother's breast. This passage therefore suggests the act of breast feeding to be sexual rather than nourishing, as the women feel a level of discomfort towards it. This is made evident through the parenthesis which indicates their prudish Victorian society and the stigma towards the verb 'sucking', as Miss Jenkyns shies away from using it. Gaskell emphasises the sex within the act of eating through the semantic field of concealment: 'privacy', 'withdraw', 'curious' and 'silence'. The lexis used portrays the act of eating as a private, intimate moment, not to be shared in public, similar to sex. So the act of 'indulg[ing] in secret resonates the idea of sexual pleasure behind closed doors.
Joan Smith, author of Hungry for you (1996), states that the 'obvious explanation of this theme is that the mouth is itself a sexual organ, the one with which human beings generally make their first sexual contact with each other' (85). Joan's response reiterates Freud's theory that relies on the fact that 'sexual activity has not yet been separated from the ingestion of food' (85).
As eating and sex are not 'distinguishable' (103) this makes the separation of the two difficult.
Works Cited
- Gaskell, Elizabeth. Cranford. A Public Domain Book. Kindle ebooks.
- Smith, Joan. Hungry For You: From Cannibalism to Seduction- A Book of Food. London: Vintage, 1997. Print.
I really enjoyed writing on this topic for my close reading! I like the way you mentioned Joan Smith's quotation in relation to Cranford and the mouth, look forward to your next post :))
ReplyDeleteThanks Amra x Glad you enjoyed reading it. I really enjoyed researching this topic too. I found that is was a very weird way to look at food and eating, but as Cranford shoes Freud's ideology was shared. I look forward to sharing my future posts with you ;)
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that the mouth is a sexual organ and therefore the act of consuming food becomes sexual! It's a great topic and I cannot wait to read the next post
ReplyDeleteThank you Kristhine. I look forward to sharing my future posts with you!
DeleteThis is such a different and great way to look at food! I've enjoyed both your posts, you've clearly done a lot of researching and I found your Freud and Gaskell's comparison really interesting. Good luck with the rest of your blog :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Olivia. I am really enjoying researching this topic! I look forward to sharing my future posts with you!
Delete