A Psychoanalytic Approach to the Novel "The Ninth Outer Hall"

Abstract

The theory of literary psychoanalysis, which emerged in the early twentieth century under the influence of Freud’s psychological thought, seeks to uncover the unconscious dimensions shaping both the writer and the fictional characters. Many literary critics accordingly view Freud as the founder of psychoanalytic theory, a perspective that extends to the internal psychological worlds of literary characters as well as the author’s personal experiences. This approach offers a renewed interpretive framework that enables a deeper understanding of the author and the literary text alike.

Psychoanalytic criticism aims to reveal the hidden messages, symbolic structures, or underlying motivations that drive an author to produce a specific literary work. Assuming that the novel functions as a reflection of the author’s subconscious mind, such analysis attempts to expose the latent meanings embedded within the narrative.

This study examines the Turkish writer Peyami Safa, one of the most frequently cited authors in modern Turkish literature, through his novel The Ninth External Ward, which is particularly suited to psychoanalytic inquiry. The research focuses on the psychological dimensions of the novel’s young protagonist, a sick child, whose experiences echo the author’s own painful childhood. These reflections appear prominently throughout the narrative, revealing the psychological suffering that shapes the novel’s thematic structure.