In class we mentioned Freud’s concept of blindness as a form of castration, I almost gasped aloud because I made a connection. The first thing that came to my mind was Jane Eyre. SPOILER ALERT (even though its 166 years old, I don’t want to ruin it).
I’m going to be honest. I liked Jane Eyre until I was forced to write about it in my english class and realized how sucky I think everyone is. Rochester fetishizes Jane’s innocence and punishes his first wife for her lack of it, i.e. her supposed promiscuity. Blah, blah, blah, the book goes on and in the end, Jane leaves Rochester. When she returns to him, he has literally been blinded and is now dependent on Jane who has switched power roles with him. This is what I gathered from the passing Freud comment today. Rochester has been metaphorically castrated by Jane and by his wife because they hold some power over him based on their sexuality. Just a revelation that I wanted to share.
