Psychological analysis of Cholly Breedlove from Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

Ananya Sood

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The psychological analysis of Cholly Breedlove from Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye 

Easily one of the most impactful yet scarring novels of the 1970's, The Bluest Eye paints an explicit and horrifying image of the experiences of the African American race after the period of slavery. Toni Morrison authors this eye-opening piece of literature and takes us to the world of suffering and damage caused by racial segregation. Morrison sets this novel with children at its very core, surrounded by adults who constantly neglect them. A psychoanalytical viewpoint can be used to understand the character of Cholly Breedlove. This viewpoint psychologically analyses Cholly’s actions and connects them to his past and the problems in his upbringing. This point of view of analysis was first coined by Sigmund Freud, who said that psychoanalytic is a theory of personality organization and a person can only be cured if they can make their unconscious thoughts conscious. Morrison gives a brief history of Cholly’s life and provides an insight into his alcohol addiction and the mental issues that led to him raping his own daughter. 

The readers learn that Cholly, in his childhood was abandoned by his mother. He was then saved by his aunt who also past away leaving him alone and vulnerable. Later in his life, Cholly was caught having sex for the first time by two white men who forced him to finish while they watched, for which he subconsciously blamed the woman he was with.  And finally, he was also rejected by his father who wanted nothing to do with him. His severe issues of abandonment and rejection left Cholly in a state of major depression, where he is even said to "feel nothing" in his marriage. The readers can understand that his depressive state also led to his excessive substance and alcohol abuse.

Even though it is our first instinct to despise Cholly for his actions, the image of his sorrowful and painful past painted by the author makes his character pitiable. 

Throughout the novel, Cholly lives in a depressed, unconscious and dangerous state where he even sets his house on fire. He feels abandoned and alone even with his family around him. It can be analyzed and understood that Cholly's lack of parenting to his children is a direct cause of his traumatic childhood and life without a relationship with his parents. 
This is a primary example of Freud's psychoanalytical theory, wherein the events and experiences of our childhood, whether positive or negative shape the person we become as an adult. Our relationships as a child are reflected in our relationships as an adult. Cholly also shows us how the psychoanalytical theory's aspect of the conscious and unconscious mind can prompt someone like him to make the horrible decisions he has.