Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond series, was familiar with many forms of literary criticism. A major one of these forms being Psychoanalysis, he uses many Freudian concepts throughout his books. He was aware, as many literary figures are, of the role of psychoanalysis in our everyday lives. His use of the Oedipus Complex and the idea of phallic Father and Mother figures is very apparent, especially in his sixth novel of the series, Dr. No. This article will analyze the use of these Freudian concepts in this novel in attempt to portray the psychological constructs of Ian Fleming’s work.
In the beginning of Dr.No, Bond reports to M in London, after physically recovering from another mission. M seems to think he has grown soft. He sends him on his next mission in the terms of a “holiday in the sun,” a time to take it easy. Bond appears to be quite resentful of this. In this encounter the relationship between Bond and M can be easily analyzed. M is as Freud would say, the Father Figure, whereas Bond is the son striving to prove himself before him. In this sense, there is a rivalry between the two. This is described in Freudian psychology as the Oedipus Complex. In any work relationship this can be made apparent, as the rivalry between boss and worker is similar to that of father and son.
The hierarchy changes with the setting, however, when Bond leaves London for his “holiday” in Jamaica, on the case of his missing comrade Strangeways. He soon finds he must face a whole new rival, the larger threat of the disfigured villain Dr. No. Though Dr. No is indeed a literal rival, there are many psychological ways in which he poses a threat to Bond, as well as physical. The first is based on his cunning in devising a death sentence for Bond when he finally captures and must dispose of him. Bond does not know what to expect, but he does realize, when he hears the story of his life, Dr. No is a rival in cunning and intellect. Bond is unsure whether or not he possesses the mental or physical capacity to combat whatever Dr. No has waiting for him. This drives Bond to such fear for his life that later he tries to bribe the guard to let him go. This is not something we would expect of someone who was confident in his abilities to defeat a rival.
The second way Dr. No is a threat to Bond is culturally. Dr. No’s half-Chinese, half-German nationality is stressed in this late 1950s novel. This a period of the rising of Communist China, and following the fall of Nazi Germany, two of Britain’s great enemies. Because Dr. No has more military power than Bond, whose homeland is the greatest imperialist of history, this poses a threat Bond is also unused to. He must unconsciously have feelings of needing to put Dr. No “in his place” on the cultural hierarchy. The history of Germany and China as imperialist countries also makes this a matter of psychological national security. In other words, Britain finds its place on the top of the chain is threatened, and must defend it.
All of this, beside the actual physical threat of Dr. No, increases the life instinct in Bond, his Eros. This grants him with more of a will to defeat whatever Dr. No puts before him. His determination may also have some grounds in his rival closer to home, M. This can be noted in his cheeky telegram to M after his ordeal, “Regret must again request sick leave surgeon’s note follows”. One can see the son gloating when he does something his father did not believe he could.
Apart from the concept of rivalry, Bond himself appears to feel the need to be a father figure. His softness towards Honey, his “Girl Friday” can be characterized as having fatherly qualities. He feels that he must protect her from the dangers of Dr. No, and later, civilize and lead her into society. He creates plans to find her a job, clean her up and get her some nice clothes, as he says, “get her started in the big world.” He describes her as if “some beautiful animal had attached itself to him. There would be no dropping the leash until he had solved her problems for her.” For Bond, Honey is the little lost child in the mall who is now his obligation.
Honey in turn can be described as a mother figure as she has her own nurturing qualities. She cares for wild animals in her home, tames them, feeds them, and sleeps with them near. She also takes care of human beings as she sees fit, as in chapter ten when she “serves” Bond his dinner of pork and beans. And towards the end of the novel, when they are returning back to Jamaica, Honey becomes the dominant Mother figure, caring for Bond by rowing the boat all night, showering him off, cleaning his wounds and putting him to bed.
Honey has another role in Dr. No, one often filled by the female in Bond’s life. She represents Bond’s undesired vulnerability, his femininity. Bond is a very masculine person, however he has his very human moments of weakness, such as the scene in the hotel with the centipede. After he kills the giant insect that was crawling over his naked body, the ordeal for him has been so great that he instantly vomits in the bathroom. Honey can be seen as his defense mechanism. Instead of facing his own vulnerability, he instead uses her as the source of his weakness. He thinks many times when preparing to face Dr. No, “if only I didn’t have the girl…” As he is crawling through the tubes of Dr. No’s death trap, the thought of her being molested by giant crabs becomes his drive to get through alive. In other words, the thought of his own weakness being tested and exposed, watched by the eyes of Dr. No, was his drive. On page 180 when Dr. No says he is trying to see how long Honey can make it before she dies of terror like his former subject, he is also speaking of Bond. He wants to know how long before Bond becomes vulnerable and gives in to fear.
Though in the most basic sense, Bond is the dominant masculine figure and Honey is the feminine figure of Dr. No, these roles often reverse themselves. Bond has his moments of weakness and femininity, and Honey sometimes becomes the dominant figure. She is a very independent character, one who is used to taking care of herself, and this makes her none too vulnerable. This has its role in Dr. No as she becomes more of a heroine, rather than a damsel in distress as Bond would have first perceived her.
Ian Fleming uses these transitive roles to show the complexity of his characters, and in truth, the complexity of human life in general. Freudian psychology can help one to discover the roles of an individual in others’ lives, whether it be as a mother, father, sibling, rival or, more likely, a dynamic combination of these. Psychoanalysis sheds light on real life, and can thereby be used to great advantage in Literature.
Source:
Fleming, Ian. Dr. No. Penguin Books, 2002. First published by Jonathan Cape Ltd, Great Britain, 1958.
