Laura Montalvo Rios

The Importance of Psychoanalysis: Freuds Oedipus Complex and the Return to the Womb in Neon Genesis Evangelion It is needless to say that without psychology and all its various ramifications we wouldnt be able to have fully fleshed-out texts. Whether the texts are literary, movies, or even social issues of the moment, there has to be some psychological input that drives the characters, their actions and, therefore, the plot. For us studying literary theory, this is where psychoanalysis comes in; according to the American Psychoanalytic Association it is a theory about human nature, motivation, behavior, development and experience that scholars utilize to be able to study the psychological aspects of a certain text. Because human actions and reactions are what make any certain text move along, psychoanalysis has become one of the fundamental literary theories. And we cant speak about psychoanalysis without speaking of its most important figure Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud can be considered a pioneer in the field of psychoanalytic theory. In fact, he is considered by many to be the founder of the school of psychoanalysis itself. His theories are well known and studied around the world and, though controversial, continue to be regarded as important in the field of psychoanalysis. Freuds theories are particularly important when studying a literary text because Freud himself used texts to illustrate and confirm his own theories. If there is one theory that does this and is well known as one of Freuds most important contributions its his

theory on The Oedipus Complex taken from Chapter V of his text The Interpretation of Dreams. In this theory, Freud uses literary classics such as the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and William Shakespeares Hamlet as examples of a stage in the development of infantile sexuality that causes the male son to feel a deep sexual desire for the mother, while at the same time harboring a deep jealousy towards the father which, in this literary examples, usually ends in tragedy, with the son directly or indirectly killing the father. According to Freud, the chief part in the mental lives of all children who later become psychoneurotics is played by their parents, in other words the Oedipus Complex is simply a symptom displayed by the sons later on in their lives and which is repressed. Furthermore, he tells us that the Oedipus Complex is in our nature as humans or at least in that of the males, the sons, which are to whom Freud refers to in his work - , a curse laid upon us before our birth just it was upon Oedipus, the main character of Oedipus Rex who the complex is named after. The infantile sexual desire to be with the mother sexually is merely a metaphor of a sort of proverbial return to the womb; a return to the most simple and natural state. And the jealousy towards the father is simply a symptom of the impediment the father figure represents to this process. This is in essence what Freud talks about in his theory. However, according to him these infantile desires are repressed after childhood, the only period in which they are considered socially and morally acceptable, and only become expressed indirectly either through dreams or actions that the person cant fully explain. Though Freud speaks of how these feeling are repressed, the anime1 Neon Genesis Evangelion (Shin Seiki Evangerion) directed by Hideaki Anno, takes Freuds Oedipus Complex and

The Japanese term to refer to animation written and produced in Japan.

centers the whole plot of the TV series around it, by making its main character a physical representation of this theory. In the early 1990s director and animator Hideaki Anno had just gained popularity by working on various Studio Ghibli films, specifically director Hayao Miyazakis Nausica of the Valley of the Wind, and other famous anime series. During this time, Anno suffered a severe depression when one of the shows he was writing never took off. It was during this time that he wrote Neon Genesis Evangelion and started producing what would go on to become one of the most influential and stunning anime series ever created. According to Anno, when he set out to write Evangelion he wanted to explore what the human mind is all about inside. He says: I wrote about myself (his depression). My friend lent me a book on psychological illness and this gave me a shock, as I finally found what I needed to say. There is no doubt that Anno set out to make a show that was, at its heart, a personification of different mental illnesses and of psychoanalysis itself. This is what makes Neon Genesis Evangelion stand out amongst thousands of dull and meaningless anime series. It can be considered the first psychological anime, even if it masquerades as something else, and that deems it worthy of scholarly study. At first sight, Neon Genesis Evangelion may seem like any other mecha2 anime series, but really there is much more to it than that. The series and its final film which wraps up the series ending follow Shinji Ikari a 14-year-old boy who has just arrived in a post-apocalyptic new Tokyo, called Tokyo-3, after being summoned by his father Gendo from whom he has been estranged from a very young age. After arriving at the
2

The Japanese word to refer to anime series about giant robots.

new Tokyo Shinji finds out why he has been summoned: he must pilot Eva Unit-01 a giant robot like creature manufactured by his fathers company Nerv to save humanity from the attacks of the extraterrestrial creatures called Angels. If these creatures where to reach headquarters at Nerv it would cause the Third Impact, the final apocalyptic event that will destroy the world once and for all. There is, however, much more to Shinjis story than what there seems to be initially. His attachment towards his dead mother and his hatred of Gendo are only the first indications of an Oedipal Complex. As the story progresses we find out that Shinjis mother, Yui, was a scientist working for Nerv and she was the one who developed the Evas. But it all ended too soon for Yui; as she conducted an experiment on the Eva Unit-01 something went wrong and she was absorbed into the Eva, prompting her death, of which Shinji was a witness. We slowly come to realize that, though Yui has ceased to exist in her physical form, her soul resides within Unit01 and this is why Shinji is the only person who can pilot it. Upon this revelation we can start seeing how Shinjis actions can be seen as oedipal. One particular representation of this is
Figure 1: Shinji enters Eva Unit-01's core through the entry plug.

the way in which Shinji enters the Evas core so that he can be able to pilot it. This is done through a cylindrical tube called the entry plug in which the pilot sits and which is later filled with an oxygenated liquid called LCL. After that, the entry plug is then inserted into the core of the Eva where the connection between pilot and machine is made. If we see Unit-01 as a representation on Yui then, through this process, Shinji is

metaphorically entering his mother in a sexual way through the insertion of the phallic entry plug (the penis) into the units core (the vagina). Furthermore, the LCL liquid inside the entry plug could be a representation of the amniotic fluid found within the amniotic sac when a woman is carrying a child. The entering of Eva Unit-01 becomes more than something merely sexual for Shinji, it also becomes a metaphorical return to the womb. This is taken a step further in episode 20 of the series when, through achieving a perfect synchronization with Unit-01, Shiji is absorbed into the LCL inside the Eva very much like his mother was long ago. For a moment, Shinji returns to an original form within the Eva and is only able to emerge when he realizes there are still people that need him in the real world; he is then, in some way, reborn from within the Eva. All these images and metaphors are nothing more than representations of the Oedipus Complex in a visual way, but we can also see the thought that this complex may have more to do with a return to the womb than with a sexual aspect, though the sexual aspect is still present. They also serve as foreshadowing for the end of the series in which Shinji must choose whether to stay in that state within the Eva or once again be reborn. Anno then takes the oedipal aspect of Shinji a step further by introducing the character of Rei Ayanami, a mysterious girl and pilot of Unit-00, and someone who Shinji is immediately attracted to. It is seeing Rei injured in the first episode that initially convinces Shinji to pilot the Eva for the first time. He even becomes increasingly jealous of his father, Gendo, when he sees that he is the only person that Rei has any real connection with and vice-versa. Though this may be viewed as simple jealousy because Gendo treats Rei as more of a daughter than he treats Shinji as his son, we soon come to realize that Rei herself a clone of Yui and therefore Shinjis oedipal feelings are

projected onto her as well. We can see this clearly in episode 15 where Shinji sees Rei wringing out a cleaning towel and later comments to her that she does this as a mother would, letting us know that some of Yuis mannerisms that Shinji was fond, have somehow been passed onto Rei through cloning and they are, perhaps, the first thing that attracts Shinji to her. Rei, however, is not the only other mother figure that develops Shinjis oedipal complex and his desire for a return to the womb. Misato Katsuragi is a 30something, single and attractive Captain (later Major) in Nerv who takes Shinji into her home after Gendo refuses to take him into his; in this process she becomes the only mother figure Shinji has had after his own biological mother passed away. The relationship between Shinji and Misato is a very complicated one. From the beginning there is an underlying sexual tension between the two which stems from Misatos constant flirting with Shinji. She seems to know no other way to relate to males, other than in a sexual way, so that is what she attempts to do with Shinji while completely disregarding that he is just a young boy. On the other hand, though undoubtedly sexually attracted to the beautiful Misato, Shinji seems to regard her in a very motherly way; picturing her as an innocent and caring person. This all changes when he meets Kaji Ryouji, Misatos ex-boyfriend with whom she had a very passionate relationship. Kaji acts as the Gendo to the Misato mother figure that Shinji sees; at first he is a friend to Shinji, but towards the end of the show Shinji realizes the extent of Kajis sexual relationship with Misato he becomes increasingly jealous of him, just like he is jealous of his father for the closeness he had with Yui and that Shinji didnt get to have for a long period of time. His view of Misato as

an innocent and virginal mother figure is also lost as he realizes how she truly behaves around men. The oedipal complex and the desire to return to the womb doesnt present itself only through Shinjis character, though; it also presents itself in more indirect ways through secondary characters. One of these cases is particularly important to our study because it presents the Oedipus Complex in a completely different way than Freud intended it to. As we know, Freud made it particularly clear in his theory that the Oedipus Complex applied only to men; men where the only ones that could feel a sexual desire for the mother and a jealousy towards the father. In Neon Genesis Evangelion Anno presents us the opposite of this. It is not an Electra Complex, which is widely considered the opposite of the Oedipus Complex, in which the daughter is sexually attracted towards the father and jealous of the mother; rather it is an Oedipus Complex with a daughter feeling a desire for a return to the womb and feeling hatred towards the father. This is the case with the character of Asuka Langley Soryu, the third and last pilot of the Evas. She is the pilot of Unit-02 and another object of sexual tension for Shinji, though she does not pose as a mother figure as Misato and Rei do. Even though she seems hardly gets along with Shinji, the truth is they are very similar people with a great anger towards the world; they just express it differently. Shinji shies away from human contact, avoiding hurting people, while Asuka is extroverted and, on more than one occasion, makes hurtful comments without realizing it. She does, however, come from the same background as Shinji. Like Shinji, Asukas mother, Kyoko, was also a scientist working on the construction of the Eva units and she suffered an accident while being subjected to the same experiment as Shinjis mother. Unlike Yui,

though, Kyoko was not completely absorbed into the Eva, only the maternal part of her soul was. After this accident, Naoko went clinically insane and started believing her real daughter was a doll, while believing Asuka an impostor and even trying to kill her in various occasions. It is because of this that she is institutionalized into a mental hospital. She later commits suicide and whatever relationship she and Asuka had before the accident is lost forever. Unlike Shinjis oedipal complex, Asukas complex is not really sexual. Even if the images of her entering the Eva are the same as Shinjis, because she is a woman the thought of a sexual attraction towards the mother is not possible at least in Freuds view of the theory. Asukas complex is more about wanting a return to the womb, wanting to be with her mother again; the mother she knew before the accident, not the mother who tried to kills her. She also doesnt have the same worshipping view Shinji has of his mother, her feelings fluctuate between longing to have her mother again and resenting her for all the things she tried to do to her. Asukas father, like Gendo, became estranged from his daughter as soon as Kyoko was put in the mental hospital, when he started having an affair with the doctor attending to her. Asuka is a witness to this affair and it marks the beginning of Asukas cycle of hatred towards her father which later seems to translate to all of the males in her life she believes every one of them will turn out like her father. As the series progresses and hits its climax, we come to realize that Nervs and, particularly Gendos, purpose is not to fight the attacking Angel creatures at all; rather the plan Gendo has schemed is something he calls Instrumentation. At the moment the last Angel infiltrates Nerv headquarters and makes contact with Lilith the extraterrestrial being, the seed of life from which humans are born, which is kept in a

basement at Nerv the apocalyptic Third Impact will be set into motion.

However, unlike we have been told before, this event

Figure 2: A berserk Unit-01 devours Gendo.

does not refer to the end of the world at all; it is simply a process through which all humans will cease to exist in their present form. They will no longer be individuals; they will become one by returning to their original form, a primordial soup similar to the LCL liquid inside the Eva entry plugs. Gendos plan for this Instrumentation is simply to reunite with Yui and he has selfishly used Shinji as the instrument through which this process can occur. Though Gendo plans this whole production to be able to reunite with Yui, he does not get his wish; he dies before Instrumentation begins in the final film End of Evangelion, as an image of Unit-01 eating Gendo is presented. This scene metaphorically shows us how Shinji has completely fulfilled the role of the physical representation of the Oedipus Complex by killing his father, now it is time for Shinji to complete the process by returning to the metaphorical womb, not only of his mother, but of humankind in general. At this point the Third Impact begins and we get to see it from two points of view the last two episodes of the series (25 and 26) present the events occurring in Shinjis psyche during the process of Instrumentation, while the final film End of Evangelion presents the actual events of the Third Impact and Instrumentation from a third person perspective. During the film we see how Shinjis mother figures

Yui, Misato, and Rei all combine into one form to convince him to accept Instrumentality, to become one with them; essentially to return to the womb. For a while we see Shinji accepting Instrumentality both physically and in his psyche, as he realizes that perhaps humanity would be better off if all the individuals become one,
Figure 3: An image of Rei shows Shinji how easy it is for human beings to become one during Instrumentation.

mainly because Shinji, like any child, feels

safest inside this womb here he feels like he cant hurt anyone or be hurt. However, Shinji soon realizes that hed rather be himself, an individual, and learns to accept his flaws. Through this acceptance of himself Shinji rejects Instrumentality and is reborn, like he was episodes before, as new individual. Shinji finds himself on a deserted beach with the remains of the world around him and a sea of LCL, where all the humans who have accepted Instrumentality have become one. He is not alone though, Asuka is with him; she, like Shinji, seems to have also rejected the return to the womb. The image of this ending is a very powerful one through which Anno presents us the two characters who where the physical representations of the Oedipus Complex rejecting the return to the womb they so longed for, simply because they learned to believe in themselves, to accept themselves, and decided to return to their individual forms. Neon Genesis Evangelion is not only about Freuds theories or the
Figure 4: Shinji and Asuka wake up, seemingly alone in the world, after rejecting Instrumentality.

Oedipus Complex, it is a work of art in animation that presents many psychological and psychoanalytical theories. Hideaki Anno has done a fantastic job at presenting a series that is more than just entertainment; a series that is worthy of literary and critical research. We could study so many aspects of psychoanalysis and psychology in the series, and keep coming up with theories for as long as I can imagine. Neon Genesis Evangelion is simply one example of the importance of psychoanalysis in any type of text, and it just proves why psychoanalysis may be the most important school of theory in literary studies; because without it we wouldnt really have a text. All characters must have a personality, traits, etc., and all of those are determined through the study of psychoanalytic theory. That is why I find psychoanalysis the most intriguing and important part of literary theory.

Bibliography: End of Evangelion. Dir. Hideak Anno. Animefreak. Web. 2 May 2012. <http://www.animefreak.tv/watch/neon-genesis-evangelion-end-evangelion-online>.

Eng, Lawrence. "In the Eyes of Hideaki Anno, Writer and Director of Evangelion." Eva Otaku. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://www.evaotaku.com/omake/anno.html>.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum Edition Vol. 1-7. Dir. Hideaki Anno. ADV Films, 2004. DVD. Episodes 1-26

Ortega, Mariana. "My Father, He Killed Me; My Mother, She Ate Me: Self, Desire, Engendering, and the Mother in Neon Genesis Evangelion." Mechademia 2 (2007): 216-32. Print.

Kraemer, Christine Hoff. "Self and (M)other: Apocalypse as Return to the Womb in Neon Genesis Evangelion." (Christine Hoff Kraemer). Academia.edu, 22 Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. <http://cherryhillseminary.academia.edu/ChristineKraemer/Talks/41824/Self_and_M_ot her_Apocalypse_as_Return_to_the_Womb_in_Neon_Genesis_Evangelion>