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society that actively affect the society. Thus, he uses literature as a “medium” to point out false consciousness in the society.
2. Psychoanalytic-Marxism
Psychoanalytic-Marxism serves a literary theory to comprehend the novel to analyze Hugo’ ideology transformation which is reflected in Les Miserables.
Ideology is not only a set of belief, it is also praxis
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. Therefore, Les Miserables can be seen as an example of ideological praxis that reflects Hugo’s concept of
socialism. Les Miserables depicts a transformation life of the characters and the social interaction between them and Hugo’s ideology transformation. In fact,
Raymond Williams confirms that literature as a mediation that reflects the relation between art and society, superstructure and base
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. Yet, as literature is a mediation, psychoanalytical concept perceives it as a repression and sublimation of
particular psychotic condition by a concept of ideological rationalization
165
. Marxist concept perceives mediation or active reflection as a relation
between literature and society that indicates a repression in psychoanalytical concept. Indeed the relation, which refers as mediation or active reflection by
Marxism and refers as repression by psychoanalysis, is not a separable agency of medium between literature and society
166
. Thus, Hugo’s idea of literature as a secretion of a society and his idea of God in social movement creates a complex
picture of Marxist concept which regards literature as a mediation or an active reflection. Marxist concept also sees literature as a repression in psychoanalytical
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L. Althusser, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses, 636
164
R. Williams, “Cultural Theory”, 98 - 99
165
R. Williams, “Cultural Theory”, 96
166
R. Williams, “Cultural Theory”, 96 - 97
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concept. To analyze the transformation of Hugo’s ideology that is depicted in Les Miserables, psychoanalytic - Marxism functions as the literary theory to
comprehend the novel. Wolfenstein describes that psychoanalysis and Marxism have been
developed due to a concept where the psychotic dimension could be seen in a subject - object relation
167
. As a literary theory, Marxism is developed based on a social theory to study collective relationship in the society which is constructed by
relation of power and economic distributions. While psychoanalysis is neurotic theory that Freud has developed based on individual psychological analysis.
Unlike Marxism, psychoanalysis puts an emphasis on individual psychological condition by analyzing the unconscious notion of a person.
Based on the characteristic of each theory, Wolfenstein suggests a literary theory which puts scientism behind it
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. To see the whole picture of a literary text, more than one literary theories are necessary to analyze different focus and
perspective of the work. For instance putting psychoanalysis and Marxism at the sa
me time to analyze Hugo’s ideology and the transformation process
169
. The reconstruction of these two literary theories creates three points to analyze Hugo’s
ideology transformation depicted in Les Miserables. Wolfenstein’s psychoanalytic – Marxism underlines three important
points. Firstly, it is the desire and passion concept. The traditional psychoanalysis analyzes the concept of drive and constructed desire. Human desire is constructed
167
E. Wolfenstein, 7
168
E. Wolfenstein, 7
169
E. Wolfenstein,167
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by its social condition since someone was a baby. According to psychoanalysis, family, especially parents, construct human desire that develops human
unconscious drive. A person gets a baby into the Oedipal stage which shehe has to pass. On the other hand, Marxism focuses on the social relation which sees family
as part of production means. In this case, psychoanalytic-Marxism places desire in particular social relation.
The idea of how human develops its unconscious desire is supported by Kleinian psychoanalysis
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. Klein explains that human desire is constrained by herhi
s social conditions. In her studies, she analyzes children’ imagination in a similar way as Freud has analyzed human dream. Children’ imagination projects
its unconscious drive which has been constructed. According to Klein, how children pick their favorite toys or how they create such imagination result from
their unconscious notion. In fact, their unconscious drive happens to exist, for it has been constrained by the social life, such as the parents who give the infant
experience of fear and anxiety that creates Klein’s conception as follow:
171
170
E. Wolfenstein,129
171
E. Wolfenstein,167
talion morality
depressive morality reparative Hate
Love
Depressive Position Paranoid-schizoid position
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Fear and anxiety refer to any experience that goes against the infant’s pleasure drive. In line with Freud, this concept of Kleinian psychoanalysis actually
confirm Freud idea that states human psychotic dimension is built due to repression
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In this case, psychoanalytic - Marxism put scientism behind it. It deconstructs psychoanalysis and Marxism to reconstruct psychoanalytic -
Marxism in which Wolfenstein places human psychotic condition within particular social relation. The classical version of Marxism draws the different between
classes; the class which owns the means of production and the class who does not. It makes Marxism aware of society and its false consciousness
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. Then psychoanalytic - Marxis
m places an individual’s psychotic dimension within herhis social condition that is seen as social machine of desiring production.
Secondly it is the insanity in sanity concept. According to Wolfenstein, the concept of insanity, based on psychoanalytic-Marxism, is created since the sanity
concept exists
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. Since the beginning Marxist and psychoanalysis concern about the degree of rationality and irrationality. As there is a rationality concept, things
outside the rationality are considered irrational. The sane area refers to the dominant ideology of the society. From the dominant ideology point of view, the
insanity concept is the element that notices social relation as a false consciousness, and it considers against the dominant ideology or the concept of sanity.
172
Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guatari, Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, New York: Viking Press 296
173
E. Wolfenstein, 135
174
E. Wolfenstein, 136
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In other words, the emergent is seen as an insane idea within the dominant frame. Both psychoanalysis and Marxism agree every social condition is
constructed. Thus, both the insanity and the sanity are built by certain social process, including social structure. Any emergent can be seen as an insane idea
within the dominant frame that gives a new meaning to sanity and insanity idea where an insanity exist as something with different ideology that appears in sanity.
Psychoanalytic - Marxism analyzes the psychotic dimension of the emergent by putting it as the insanity within the sanity. For example Hugo’s double
consciousness is developed by his social and family background. It leads him to see social structure as something which is purposely structured by the society and
the power of authority. The insanity within sanity concept would point out Hugo’s psychotic condition that leads him to transform his ideology.
Thirdly, it is the concept of recognizing the psychotic and social dimension of an individual. Psychoanalysis recognizes the Oedipal stage of human being and
Marxism recognizing the mutual recognition and class relation in a society. Through this concept, it would be possible to analyze literary text as a repression
and a mediation or an active reflection at the same time. In addition, analyzing the psychotic dimension within social context would support the analysis of Hugo’s
faith in God. The third point of Wolfenstein psychoanalytic - Marxism idea looks closer at Hugo’s psychotic dimension which is reflected in his idea of human and
God relationship. Based on psychoanalysis, the idea of human and God relation shows certain degrees of Oedipal stage. God is created by human mind to control
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the human neurotic animal.
175
Meanwhile, Marxist sees Human and God relation as subject - object relation. Eagleton also explains that in some degrees human has
need to labor due to their social relation and social class to survive
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. Wolfenstein agrees with Marxist idea that God is mistakenly regarded as The Creator; in fact, it
is human creation. The three points of psychoanalytic-Marxism involve the reading
mechanism to analyze Les Miserables as an active reflection of society. This Marxist reading places Les Miserables in superstructure area which can be used to
be a medium to shape the society and reflect it at the same time. Meanwhile, Hugo’s intention and his idea about society depicted in Les Miserables is still a
product of social structure. The ideology as a praxis is indeed the whole way of living which in psychoanalysis point of view, the conscious action is constrained
by the unconscious notion, especially desire which is developed by social interaction.
175
T. Eagleton, Literary Theory an Introduction Oxford: Blackwell Publishing 132
176
T. Eagleton, Literary Theory an Introduction,133
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CHAPTER III CONSTRUCTING HUGO’S IDEAL SOCIETY
“Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society is culpable in not providing a free education for all and it must answer for the night which it produces.”
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Les Miserables is a model of social construction that Victor Hugo uses to show the true picture of the society, and how the society could be transformed into
his utopia. The discussion in this chapter consists of two sub-chapters. The first sub-chapter discusses the revolutionary characters in Les Miserables. The second
sub- chapter discusses Hugo’s idea of ideal society in Les Miserables.
A. The revolutionary characters
As a character-based novel with the author as the main character who is projected in the narrator of the novel, Les Miserables is indeed written as a medium
for Hugo to spread his idea. Vargas Llosa quotes Jean Cocteau’s definition of the Les Miserables
’ narrator, “Victor Hugo was a madman who thought he was Victor Hugo”
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. Cocteau refers Hugo as a madman who has different perspective to the social order which is depicted in Les Miserables. Further, Andre Breton defines
Victor Hugo as a surrealist who describes the society in its real form so the readers would be able to see how the society looks like
179
. The main focus in the first sub-chapter discussion is that the narrator, Hugo, frequently interrupts the story to
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V. Hugo, Les Miserables, 123
178
M. Vargas Llosa, The Temptation of the Impossible, 9
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M. Vargas Llosa, The Temptation of the Impossible, 9 - 10
