Mary Poppins and Freudian Psychology

When we were originally told we could write about anything as long as we analyzed it in depth, I panicked.  This week I have put almost everything aside except homework for rehearsals for Mary Poppins.  It is tech week, and this is probably one of the largest if not the largest musical we as a drama club have ever put on.  Thus, it has been a week full of stress and long hours.  

I figured if I wrote about Mary Poppins, I would have nothing to say.  After all, it is a happy, stereotypical, magical musical.  However, upon further examination, I found many examples of Freudian psychology.

The Banks family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Banks and their two children, Jane and Michael.  Mr. Banks is neglectful of his own children.  He is always busy working at the bank and never spends time with his children.  The children go through nanny after nanny because they are rude and they misbehave all the time.  The reason they are always misbehaving is because of the oedipal complex. While the oedipal complex usually just applies to boys, in this case it also affects the daughter. Freudian psychology explains that due to a lack of a father figure Michael is unable to complete the process where he subconsciously fears castration from his father in order to develop his morals and learned behavior.  Michael, as well as Jane, are unable to complete this process of subconsciously fearing their father, so they cannot develop their superego (their morals), and thus they are always misbehaving.

Mr. Banks had the same problem when he was a child.  He had a cruel nanny when he was young, and he did not see his parents more than once a week.  Since he never saw his father and mother, he could not go through the oedipal conflict which has lead to neurotic behavior as an adult.  He uses various defense mechanisms throughout the play.  One defense mechanism that he employs is intellectualization.  His nanny was so harsh and cruel to him as a child that now as an adult he concentrates on the intellectual components of situations and does not feel emotions.  When his children ask him who hugged him goodnight as a child, he responds that they did not have time for “hugs and kisses and all that sloppy nonsense”.  He believes because of his experiences as a child that emotions are bad and a waste of time.  As a result, he shows no love and emotion to his children.  He also struggles to use his emotions when trying to make a deal with Mr. Norfolk.  Mr. Norfolk begs for a loan and says it will help people who are just trying to make a decent living, but Mr. Banks is just focused on the monetary outcome of the deal.  Another defense mechanism that Mr. Banks employs is displacement.  He displaces the anger and anxiety he has for his job onto his wife and children.  He yells at his wife, telling her that she needs to do better at “being his wife”, when in reality what he is angry about is his own job and problems.

While on the surface Mary Poppins seems like a silly musical with talking statues, depth-less purses, and flying kites, much of the plot and the story lines are based around Freudian psychology.  As opening night approaches, and the stress of balancing school and the show rises, I will have to try to remember to use mature defense mechanisms like mindfulness, humor, and gratitude!