The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison

The image has to come before the individual is established Lacan’s Mirror Stage Reaching the “Ideal I” Stages: Real, imaginary, symbolic The image has to come before the individual is established

Lack of love and affection creates negative sense of self Lack of love and nourishment make it hard for Pecola to move on from the pre-oedipal Mrs. Breedlove vs. Mom Absence of “m(other)” -Abel Lack of love and affection creates negative sense of self

Identifies with the image of the “other” The racial other Where there is lack, there is desire There is always desire for more Problem differentiating herself from the other because she is so caught up in IWI She is always looking in the mirror

Image of “beauty” is socially constructed This socially accepted image builds up Pecola’s desire to be what she is not Claudia is able to differentiate from and accept the other, this allows her to evolve to the symbolic realm

In order to evolve to the symbolic she needs to be pushed through the oedipal stage Cholly fails to take up the symbolic function Soaphead replaces Cholly as the symbolic figure His illusion registers her in the imaginary rather than symbolic Schizophrenic breakdown Other’s neglect leads to isolation and abandonment of self-worth

Events lead to her delusional state of mind Events stop her from emerging from imaginary to symbolic Due to lack of love from family and society desire for beauty and love intensify