When my niece was 1 1/2 years old I used to babysit her after school. A neighbor (Abby) would take care of her until three o'clock, and then I would pick her up. I often liked to watch my niece play, especially with her dolls which she like to dress and feed with plastic bottle and food.
One day, while she was playing, she tried to stand one of her dolls on its feet in order to brush the doll's hair. The doll would not stand because its legs were made out of fabric instead hard plastic. The doll flopped onto the floor over and over again. When my niece became angry she ordered her doll to "Stay, stay!"
When the doll would not stay, my niece walked it over to the corner and gave her doll a time out. "Bad Baby" she said to her doll.
I had never heard my niece say the words "Bad Baby" and wondered who had said the expression in her presence. I later learned from my niece's babysitter, Abby, that my niece hated to have her hair brushed and often fussed and cried.
Like the child in Freud's essay "Beyond the Pleasure Principle" my niece re-enacted with her doll an experience that was not pleasurable for her. By punishing her doll, my niece was able to take an active part in the unpleasant experience. Punishing her doll by placing it in the corner was an act of revenge/mastery against Abby her babysitter who often gave her time outs for throwing tantrums whenever she did not want her hair brushed.
Works Cited
Freud, Sigmund. "Beyond the Pleasure Principle".Rivkin, Julie. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Blackwell publishing; United Kingdom, 2004.
No comments:
Post a Comment