Repetition Compulsion And Defense Mechanisms As Manifestations of Trauma: A Freudian Analysis In  Frankenstein (2025) Movie

Puan Aisyah Nusarini; M. Afifulloh; Dini Wulansari

Authors

Puan Aisyah Nusarini Universitas Bangka Belitung
M. Afifulloh Universitas Bangka Belitung
Dini Wulansari Universitas Bangka Belitung

Keywords:

Repetition Compulsion, Defense Mechanisms, Trauma, Freudian Psychoanalysis, Frankenstein

Abstract

This study examines psychological trauma in Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s film adaptation Frankenstein (2025) using Freudian concepts of repetition compulsion and defense mechanisms. The research employs qualitative textual analysis, following the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014): data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. Of 28 identified data points, 16 represent repetition compulsion, including 10 patterns of situations, 3 patterns of behavior, and 3 patterns of dreams. The remaining 12 represent ego defense mechanisms: 1 repression, 3 denial, 3 rationalization, 4 projection, and 1 undoing. Findings indicate that Victor repeatedly reenacts childhood experiences of loss, rejection, and violence through later relationships and actions. His defense mechanisms conceal painful experiences rather than consciously resolving them, while the recurrent traumatic patterns reactivate the same defenses. Both concepts are therefore connected to the same unresolved childhood trauma and form a persistent psychological cycle. This interpretation contributes to literary psychology and film adaptation studies by examining how cinematic narratives represent trauma through character behavior, relationships, dreams, and defensive responses

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