Id, Ego, Superego: An Analysis of Rabindranath Tagore’s The Home and the World

Abstract

This paper is a critical reading of the novella The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore, wherein I focus on the tripartite model by Freud on id, ego, and superego. These concepts are used to explore the internal psychological dynamics that contribute to moral decision making - the contrasts between self-interest and concern for others, selfishness and moral values, and moral conscience and social conformity. I apply these psychological concepts to demonstrate their usefulness in understanding the three central characters of the novel- Sandip, Bimla and Nikhil.