A Psychoanalytic Study of Byronic Heroes

By Kathryn Frazell

This culminating project examines Byronic heroes using psychoanalytic theory across four case

studies in media, including classic literature, theater, film, and television. The Byronic hero is a

literary archetype inspired by the poet George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824). Typical

characteristics include angst, arrogance, cunning intelligence, criminality, desire, passion, dominance,

and otherness. The characters I have chosen to study include Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre (1847),

the Phantom from the 2004 film The Phantom of the Opera, James Bond from the 2012 film Skyfall,

and Damon Salvatore from the hit television series The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017). Through

examining the actions of these characters through a psychoanalytic lens, I argue that the Byronic

hero is driven by his experience of intense loss and state of melancholia, as defined by Freud. When

a subject is in a state of melancholia, they have lost an ideal or love object, and they fail to move on

with this intense loss. They become outcasts of society through this loss. In addition to Freud, I also

incorporate psychoanalytic theories and ideas from Melanie Klein and Silvan Tomkins. The purpose

of my study is to examine how Byronic heroes, who are in a state of melancholia, deal with the

losses they have suffered from.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0CMDFFZW3
• ISBN13: 9798868957338
• Release Date: October 2023
• Publisher: Pradeep Kandimalla
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"