Personality Analysis of Gregory House
House According to Freud
University of North Texas
Dr. Gregory House is the title of the television show House M.D. He is a medical genius, but what truly captivates the millions of viewers is his Machiavellian and radical personality. What better way to analyze this controversial character than by the measures of another controversial character, Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytic theory.
Freud outlined five stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. Most of House’s problem stems from two sources his crippled leg and his childhood. By following Freud’s psychosexual developmental stages we can analyze the latter. We can infer from his manipulative, sarcastic, and suspicious attitude along with his catch phrase “everybody lies” that he is an oral aggressive individual. This equates to him probably being underindulged as an infant (Boeree, 2000). This makes sense since he was an army brat, and his parents were not probably at his beck and call.
What does not make sense is that House is sloppy, disorganized and reckless. According to Freud this would be because he is anal expulsive and he was raised by very lenient parents. However this contradicts his life because House mentions on multiple occasions that his dad was extremely strict on him ("Dr. Gregory House," 2010). House could also be fixated at the phallic stage judging by his narcissism and impulsiveness. As mention, House’s relationship with his father was rough at best, and House was sure that his father was not his biological father. This could create some major issue in a growing boy that would cause to be fixated at this stage.
However because of his problems at the earlier stages of his life, House has not fully reached the ideal genital stage where he can have mature relationships. Therefore we regularly see House bullying his friends and creating conflicts with his boss and current girlfriend, Lisa Cuddy. It is pointed out multiple times during the
University of North Texas
Dr. Gregory House is the title of the television show House M.D. He is a medical genius, but what truly captivates the millions of viewers is his Machiavellian and radical personality. What better way to analyze this controversial character than by the measures of another controversial character, Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytic theory.
Freud outlined five stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. Most of House’s problem stems from two sources his crippled leg and his childhood. By following Freud’s psychosexual developmental stages we can analyze the latter. We can infer from his manipulative, sarcastic, and suspicious attitude along with his catch phrase “everybody lies” that he is an oral aggressive individual. This equates to him probably being underindulged as an infant (Boeree, 2000). This makes sense since he was an army brat, and his parents were not probably at his beck and call.
What does not make sense is that House is sloppy, disorganized and reckless. According to Freud this would be because he is anal expulsive and he was raised by very lenient parents. However this contradicts his life because House mentions on multiple occasions that his dad was extremely strict on him ("Dr. Gregory House," 2010). House could also be fixated at the phallic stage judging by his narcissism and impulsiveness. As mention, House’s relationship with his father was rough at best, and House was sure that his father was not his biological father. This could create some major issue in a growing boy that would cause to be fixated at this stage.
However because of his problems at the earlier stages of his life, House has not fully reached the ideal genital stage where he can have mature relationships. Therefore we regularly see House bullying his friends and creating conflicts with his boss and current girlfriend, Lisa Cuddy. It is pointed out multiple times during the
References: Dr. gregory house - character bio. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0015927/bio Boeree, C.G. (2000). Frued and psychoanalysis. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/psychoanalysis.html. Shore, David (Creator). (2004). House M.D. (television series). Los Angeles: 20th Century Fox.