Sigmund Freud, the founder of modern day psychology and psychoanalysis, described human consciousness as the combination of three elements, id, ego and superego. The id is what controls our personal desires, the superego controls our ideas about where we fit in society and the ego is in between these two elements balancing their effects to help us make rational decisions. Despite the fact that these theories were developed well after Flaubert wrote Madame Bovary or Tolstoy wrote The Death of Ivan Ilych the main characters of each (Emma and Ivan) both represent people who have become dominated by one aspect of their subconscious. Whereas Emma is dominated by her id, seeking only selfish pleasures in life, Ivan is dominated by his superego, letting society 's standards run his life for him. Even though there is this major difference in their subconscious motivations, both Ivan and Emma are seeking essentially the same thing: fulfillment in life. To Emma this means romantic escapades with Dukes in the royal court, but to Ivan fulfillment in life is marked by proper career progression and a stable position in society. Interestingly, despite all these differences in their manner and means both characters find themselves confronted with the same problems in the end.…