Robert Ross Epigraph

The second epigraph in the book is “Never that which is shall die” – Euripides. Robert’s final act on earth captures his essence. All the characters who have a transcript in this novel remember Robert Ross in different ways, depending on their relativity of truth; some consider him a hero, and some a traitor. Although he is dead, the metaphorical footprint he leaves on the world in his final act, remains in the mind of all those who knew him. Robert Ross’ eventual demise at the end of the novel, is a result of the reoccurring mental conflicts of his id and superego, resulting in neurosis, which takes a toll on his character, mentally and physically.

Certainly, the id and superego can be burdensome at times, which is where defence mechanisms
In this text, Freud explains how “the dream itself is thus the manifest content of the disguised wish. In order to disguise the latent content, the censor makes use of a number of techniques, such as displacement, condensation, symbolization, and pictorialization” (Stevens 103). Displacement is the defence mechanism of directing a feeling or thought onto a substitute object. The first time we see this, is when Robert sees Taffler having sex with Swede. The narrator describes how “He threw the boot across the room and shattered the mirror. Then he threw the other boot and broke the water jug” (Findley 40). This is an obvious identity crisis moment for Robert, as he has to re-evaluate his notions of sex and love. The man who Robert looked up to as mentor, was not who he thought he was. Psychologist Anthony Stevens claimed that Frued believed “the forbidden wishes responsible for the production of dreams were predominately sexual in origin” (Stevens 104). At this time in history, homosexual acts were illegal. The panicked expression on the face of both Taffler and Swede express their awareness of the taboo act in which they are committing. Robert using displacement to react to this situation, hides manifest content behind latent content; perhaps indicating that he may be homosexual as well. His anger comes from his envy of Taffler because he is unable to do what he is doing, due to his psychological baggage holding him back. This scene foreshadows Robert Ross’s rape. His act of rage, parallels the scene following his rape, where displacement is used again. The narrator describes in broken-sentence structure, “He tipped the water jug. Water. He threw the jug in the corner. It broke into sixteen pieces.” (Findley 176). The