Psychological Fiction

Psychological fiction: definition

Psychological fiction, also known as psychological realism, is a genre in literature that places a large amount of emphasis on the character's mental state and motivations to drive the plotline of the story. It is also known as psychological realism. All the action taking place in the story is a result of a character's interior thoughts and feelings, or their inner 'person', rather than any external action.

As a result, a lot of psychological fiction features inner monologues, flashbacks and streams of consciousness as these narrative devices help explore the inner mentality of a character.

Hence, in psychological fiction, the plot is subordinate to the character. Events occurring in the story might not be factually true or in complete chronological order, but usually follow the thought processes, memories, flashbacks and contemplations of the protagonist.

The popularity of psychological fiction coincided with the discoveries of Sigmund Freud, which shed more light on the complexities of the human psyche. You might have heard of the three parts of the human personality- the id, ego and superego. This psychoanalytic theory clearly demonstrates that the human personality consists of unconscious instincts and desires, a moral compass and the desire to find a healthy balance between the two.

Psychological fiction: characteristics

There are several characteristics that can be considered the tropes of the psychological fiction genre. Characteristics include:

Let's look at each of these in detail.

Fig. 1 - Characters in psychological fiction are often complex and flawed.

Flawed characters

Psychological fiction places more importance on characters rather than action and plot. Hence, unlike other genres, the characters of this genre are multifaceted- built with both strengths and flaws. There is no clear-cut hero or villain in the story, but rather, a subtle overlap between the two.

This form of characterisation makes room for an exploration of these people's complex personalities, moral dilemmas, and ethical decisions, allowing for a more character-driven plotline.

Psychological fictions are infamous for exploring the darker sides of human behaviour. A lot of the time, these characters suffer from deep psychological problems such as mental illnesses, addictions, dark secrets, overpowering feelings of guilt, fear, jealousy, paranoia, obsession, etc. As the novel progresses, these flaws play a large role in propelling the action of the plot. The story usually ends with the character learning how to conquer these demons or succumbing to them entirely.

Narrative style

In psychological fiction, the events of the story are often presented to the readers through the eyes of an unreliable narrator. Hence, lies, delusions, and fragmented memories all add to the suspense of the plot. How can we trust what we are being told? What if the story being narrated to us is a version fabricated by someone aiming to deceive us? What if the version we are reading is of someone who has a collapsing state of mind?

As a result, narrative modes such as flashbacks, fragmented scenes, inner monologues and streams of consciousness dominate this genre. Writers of psychological fiction aim to plunge readers straight into their characters' psyches and, as such, give a full range of their thoughts, feelings, and inner processes, regardless of whether the narrative form is reliable or not.

Internal conflict

In psychological fiction, the story's main action is usually driven by some internal conflict within the characters rather than external forces.

Internal conflict in psychological fiction can manifest in the internalisation of strong emotions such as guilt and obsession. For instance, a character experiencing guilt is usually haunted by the wrongdoings they committed. However, they also fear the consequences of the truth being revealed. This conflict often leads to the collapse of the character's mental state.

The protagonist of Denis Lehane's Shutter Island (2003), Teddy Daniels, is so overwhelmed by the guilt of murdering his own wife that his deluded mind creates an elaborate story where he gives himself the identity of a US Marshal investigating a missing person case at the very mental institution that he himself is a patient in. The creation of this second identity was Teddy's subconscious attempt to avoid taking responsibility for his crimes. Here is a quote by Teddy that clearly shows his internal conflict in the last few lines of the novel:

Usually, the development of these internal struggles is a result of past traumas. Hence, most characters in psychological fiction also come with solid backstories to provide context to their mental traumas.

Tension

Writers of psychological fiction put a great amount of work into building tension among readers by constantly keeping them in suspense. We have already seen how unreliable narrators can add to the story's suspense. Other storytelling devices to add to the mystery may include dramatic plot twists and cliffhangers.

Psychological fiction: genre

There are four genres of psychological fiction. Note that there can be overlapping characteristics between many of these subgenres, and literary works can fall under more than one subgenre.

Psychological thriller

This is the most popular subgenre of psychological fiction.

This subgenre features a psychologically stressed protagonist with an unstable mental or emotional state. This causes them to become dangerous and violent. Usually have elements of drama, mystery, paranoia and even horror.

Psychological horror

In this case, the psychologically disturbed state of a character is used to induce horror and fear.

Psychological drama

This subgenre of drama records characters' mental struggles in response to relationships, careers, life etc.

Psychological science fiction

This contains elements of sci-fi, such as fictional settings and plotlines and a character's mental struggles in response to some sort of futuristic technology or political entities in these fictional settings.

Psychological fiction: books

Psychological fiction is a specific genre of novels that places a heavy emphasis on the inner thoughts, emotions, and mental processes of its characters. Examples of such novels in English literature include Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse by (Virginia Woolf, and The Catcher in the Rye (1951) by J.D. Salinger. These novels delve deeply into the psychology of their characters, often using techniques such as stream of consciousness to depict their inner lives. Other examples include Crime and Punishment, The Turn of the Screw and Flowers for Algernon.

Crime and Punishment (1866)

In this notable example by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Raskolnikov, a poor former student, plans to murder an old woman to rob her of her wealth. Although Raskolnikov was short on money and living in the slums of St Petersburg, his pride deluded him into believing that he was an 'extraordinary' man far above other human beings and the laws made by them. He justifies his crime by believing that by stealing money, he would be free from poverty to achieve great things in life and that in cases such as his, certain crimes were justifiable in they served a purpose for the 'greater good'.

However, soon after the murder, Raskolnikov is forced to deal with the external consequences of his actions by trying to escape an investigator. At the same time, he is racked by his own guilt and paranoia, and his conscience is at constant war with his former 'justifications'. The readers are taken through Raskolnikov's mental anguish as he struggles to justify the horrors of the crime he committed and his need for redemption.

This example falls under the genre of psychological thrillers.

The Turn of the Screw (1898)

In this novella by Henry James, an unnamed narrator is employed as a governess to two children at a remote country estate called Bly. Soon, the governess begins to see the ghosts of two former employers at Bly- the previous governess and a valet, who was sent away due to their illicit affair. Other than the governess, no other employer at Bly is able to see the apparitions, although the governess believes that the children were deliberately pretending to not see the ghosts. She starts to see the children consorting with the ghosts, and believes that they were being sexually abused. In an attempt to protect the children from the two spirits, the governess ends up traumatising the girl and killing the boy.

On first read, this story appears to be a horror novella with supernatural elements. However, upon a second read, its deliberate ambiguities have caused many readers to speculate whether or not the ghosts were just a figment of the governess' insane mind. This makes it a classic example of the psychological horror genre.

Fig. 2 - Illustration for the serialised printing of Henry James' novella The Turn of the Screw

Did you know that Netflix released a show called The Haunting of Bly Manor in 2020 that is based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw (1898)?

Flowers for Algernon (1966)

This psychological science fiction novel by Daniel Keyes is about a janitor, Charlie, with an incredibly low IQ who undergoes experimental surgery to triple his intellect. This experiment had formerly only been successful on Algernon, a laboratory mouse.

However, as Charlie's intellect increases, his relationships deteriorate. Charlie begins to have memories of being abused as a child. His coworkers and love interest despise him due to his increasing intellect.

Soon, Charlie begins to notice that Algernon was beginning to decline in mental age and realised that he, too, would soon reach his primitive state. As Algernon dies, Charlie's intelligence begins to regress to his former state. However, by this time, knowing what he had seen when he was intelligent, he is unable to reconnect with his former life.

1. Fig. 2 - Public Domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The-Turn-of-the-Screw-Collier%27s-4.jpg