Psychoanalytic Critique

Many argue that fairy tales are simply myths, and cannot be interpreted. I say that myths are analagous to dreams, so what better way to interpret fairy tales than through the use of psychoanalysis? In the tradition of critics ranging from the "granddaddy" Freud to the overly-exhuberent Bettelheim, "Bearskin" can be interpreted from a psychoanalytic perspective. While various aspects of the story lend themselves to a psychoanalytic criticism, it is the symbol of the bearskin upon the main character's back which proves most useful in demonstrating the story's underlying meanings.

Repression?

From the details of the story, Bearskin obviously has had a rather rough family life. The tale gives no information about his parents, and his brothers won't even let him stay with them after the war is done. There are two possible reasons why Bearskin took on the life of a soldier: 1) He is extremely patriotic towards his country, or 2) His lack of family connections forced him to lead a solitary life on his own. No details in the story show any hyper-patriotism on Bearskins part, so we must assume the latter of these two options as true.
The army has been Bearskin's only true family, and the end of the war signals the end of this relationship. As a result, Bearskin's encounter with the devil proves to be a vehicle for his new mission in life: to fill the void left by his rough family history. The bearskin which our protagonist wears upon his back acts as a constant reminder of his repressed childhood emotions, and only when he is absolved of the cloak is he able to start his life anew.
After Bearskin's encounter with the devil at the beginning of the story, he sets out on a seven-year journey with no particular plan in mind. When he meets his wife, he still owes the devil four more years of servitude. Although he wasn't sure if he'd fulfill his seven-year satanic sentence, Bearskin's wife provides him with the inspiration he needs to rid himself of his bearskin. The light at the end of his long tunnel is shed by a nurturing family life, a life he finally attains after he carries out his end of the bargain with the devil. Once the seven years are over, Bearskin's fur is lifted off his back, and at the same time, he no longer is haunted by the childhood repressions brought on by his rough family history.

Id/Ego Conflict

Bearskin is a man whose pleasure in life revolves around war. His occupation perfectly satisfies his id, as he lives his life as a brave soldier. Once the war is over, Bearskin is not only out of a job, but he no longer has a way to satisfy his innate childhood pleasures of aggression. When he meets the devil in the forest, the devil tests Bearskin's war skills by having him fight a bear. Bearskin kills the beast, and the devil tells him he must wear and sleep on the bearskin for the next seven years. The id/ego conflict in the tale revolves around the fact that he must live a pleasureless, charitable life for seven years while still being reminded of his former self in the form of the bearskin. He travels around the country giving money to the poor, all the while carrying his former childhood pleasures on his back. After seven years the devil removes the bearskin forever, and Bearskin is finally released from his id-tendencies. With the fur removed from his back, Bearskin can now lead a new life centered around family and charity, rather than war and aggression. He's successfully evolved from his former id consciousness to an ego oriented state of mind, an evolution which took seven years to complete.


Oedipal Tendencies?

What kind of a psychoanalytic critique would this be if it didn't address the Oedipus Complex? A preceding section talked of how Bearskin's lack of familial relationships caused him to seek out repressed fantasies. As stated before, we never learn about Bearskin's mother or father. A common trait associated with the Oedipus complex is that of aggression by a boy towards his father stemming from jealousy over shared attention from his mother. While we can only speculate as to whether or not this occured in Bearskin's early childhood, it is obvious that he did learn aggressive tendencies since his occupation is that of a soldier. Something in Bearskin's upbringing taught him aggression. Freud often argued that basic human instincts are neither good nor bad, but instead are learned. By using this "tabula rasa" argument, Bearskin must have been immersed in an environment mired in violence as a child. Whether his aggression was learned due to abusive brothers, or due to his Oedipal tendencies surrounding his father and mother's relationship, we might forever speculate. However, according to Freud's theory of "tabula rasa," we don know that Bearskin's warlike tendencies stemmed from his childhood upbringing.