Cronenberg’s Spider: A Psychoanalytic Perspective

Abstract

This article examines Spider (Cronenberg, 2002) structurally and thematically with a psychoanalytic perspective. It briefly discusses the psychosexual and psychic configuration of the protagonist, Dennis Cleg, and his fantasy. In the analysis, Cleg’s childhood memories are examined by focusing on Sigmund Freud’s concepts of the Oedipus complex, family romance complex, and fantasy formation. After Cleg witnesses the primal scene between his parents, his repressed sexual desires for his mother reactivate and he begins to see his mother as an object choice. He creates a fantasy where his mother is replaced by a prostitute figure, Yvonne. Thus he can express his sexual desires while preserving the innocent image of his mother. However, this split perception causes him to misinterpret reality, and repress the truth of his mother’s murder because of psychosis and hallucinations. When he realizes that Yvonne is, in fact, his mother, he gets into a melancholic state and this situation contributes to psychosis and hallucinations. The film demonstrates how serious psychological disorders can be exacerbated by trauma, repression, and erroneous fantasy construction.