Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Psychological Analysis Essay

Connie in “Where are you going, Where have you been”, has a lot of underlying mental issues. Joyce Carol Oates created the perfect character to receive psychoanalytic criticism. The relationships Connie forms with her family, friends, and outsiders are all affected by Connie’s issues which come to consume her future. One of Connie’s biggest faults was the recognition of her beauty. She “knew she was pretty and that was everything” (Oates 1). This constant checking of herself in mirrors to make sure she was still pretty stemmed from the reciprocity parenting style of Connie’s mom. Connie knows if she did things like June, she would receive praise from her mom. But instead, Connie hears “stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” (Oates 1), because her actions do not reflect those of her sister’s. Always receiving the same message from her mom programmed Connie to have an excessive need to seek attention that is possibly influencing a histrionic personality disorder. This disorder is characterized by an excessive search for attention, inappropriate seductive behavior, and an excessive need for approval (Narramore Christian Foundation). Connie exhibits all; she leaves restaurants with guys, wears clothes in a seductive manner outside the home and “dream[s] about the boys she met”(Oates 2). When she “wonder[s] how bad
Through the attention Connie gets from others she is subconsciously trying to find her hidden self. From seeking out the approval of others, Connie expects to solidify her identity. A literary critic described the correlation of these actions along with the personality of Arnold Friend as a sadist masochist relationship. Masochism is a desire to be discovered, and sadism is driven by the desire to discover. According to the critic, Connie’s hidden curiosity of the recognition that Friend might offer her overcame her conscious state of fear and terror.