Dr. Sigmund Freud believed that between birth and puberty, humans went through multiple stages that develop the personality; all involving sexual aspects. If one stage of the theory is not properly achieved, there can be serious consequences. In both The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, the protagonists showed how Freud’s theory of how repressed sexual desires affect who you grow up to be. This was portrayed in both novels through both characters, who not only went through the phallic stage, but also experienced the repercussions of fixation of said stage, and in consequence, had to figure out how to deal with the aftermath of the repercussions.
To begin, the phallic stage that both protagonists experienced…show more content… First and for most, defense mechanisms are a subconscious way to avoid unpleasant emotions. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie used two separate mechanisms, the first being the act of rationalizing and the second being regression. In his rationalization, Charlie, who was quite fond of his abuser, Aunt Helen, felt guilty for her death, seen as she passed in a car accident on her way to get him a present. He blamed the repercussions of her abuse to convince himself the situation he was put in was normal. Not only did Charlie rationalize the situation, but he regressed it as well. He fell back into an early mental state and could “already feel [himself] going to a bad place [he] used to go” (Chbosky 43), unable to properly deal with his emotions when he lacked support from friends and family. In contrast, Nabokov’s protagonist represses his feelings, as he had “so called normal relationships […] [he] was just consumed by hell-furnaced of localized lust for every passing nymphet whom as law abiding poltroon [he] never dared approach” (Nabokov
