The Analysis of The Old Wives' Tale from Freudian Theory:Id,Ego,Superego

Based on the structure of consciousness,Freud proposes the three structures of personality: id,ego,and superego,which are not mechanical parts,but are interacting and interchangeable.In The Old Wives' Tale,the family of Constance,a traditional one in the patriarchal society,has three members who are Cyril,the son,Constance,the mother,and Povey,the father.Like the three structures of personality,they represent respectively id,ego and superego.Repressed by the tyrannical superego,that is the father,id,the son abhors the father strongly.