Comparing Freud In The Judgment And The Cabinet Of
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Franz Kafka’s short story The Judgment and Robert Wiene’s silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari each display proof of being what Freud formulates to be the definition of uncanny. This “uncanniness” is shown in a variety of ways in each narrative; however, the most stunning part of both of these unsettling scenarios is each artist’s choice to present the viewers with surprise endings that are unanticipated. In The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari, it is astonishing for the member of the audience to discover that main character Francis is actually a patient in the asylum and that Dr. Caligari, whom has been depicted as the villain, is actually Francis’s Doctor. During The Judgment, the reader is shocked to witness the main character Georg, after confronting…show more content… As we see in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Dr. Caligari is represented as a villainous character; he plots murders and controls a sleepwalker named Cesare from the asylum to do his evil work for him while ruining the life of main character Francis. However, once we reach the end of the film only to discover Francis’s true mental state, we see that Dr. Caligari who was illustrated to us as malicious in personality is let off the hook; no punishment comes to this dishonorable character for his wrong-doings. This shows us, although while shocking, a more realistic scenario because it is parallel to what is happening during the time period and depicts the aftermath feelings of World War 1. It also shows us that while some people believe themselves to be heroic and good, that doesn’t always mean that they will end up well off at the end of their…show more content… The father states, “ Georg stood in a corner, as far from his father as possible. A long while ago he had firmly decided to observe everything with perfect precision so that there was no way he could be taken by surprise, roundabout, from behind, from above.” This quote shows us what Georg thinks of his father towards the end of the story, which is somewhat shocking since the beginning of the narrative portrays Georg taking such great care of his father. In this quote however, Georg is standing far away from him afraid to even go near him, it is his father who condemns him to death, and yet nothing happens to the father after his verbal abuse towards his son. This also portrays a not ideal but more realistic ending because it makes obvious us that a father and son relationship is never perfect. Although this ending exaggerates how an argument between father and son might play out, since this one ends with the suicide of the son, it proves that just because the more ideal ending would have been with Georg perhaps winning the argument, that in real life that is not always how endings pan