Malamud personifies Freud’s three parts of consciousness through his portrayal of Memo as the degenerate influence of id, Iris as the moderating force of superego, and Roy as the conscious ego.
The character of Memo in The Natural is a symbolic personification of the Freudian construct of id. For a large part of the novel, Memo is Roy’s greatest desire, and a symbol of basic sexual desire. In Ego and Id, it becomes clear that the id is the dominant driver of desire in that “id correlates to the instinct for pleasure – which Freud also calls Eros, the Greek word for love” (Thurschwell 82). The part of conscious known as id is a force that strives for love and basic bestial pleasure, and is intrinsic to the human mind. Just as the id pushes the conscious mind to covet…show more content… Though the thought of having [Memo] tonight was on the top of [Roy’s] mind, he could not entirely forget the appetizing food. She led him to the table and he was surprised and slightly trembly at all there was”(Malamud 177). Led by Memo, the entirety of Roy’s thoughts are focused on the two desires of food and sex. Just as the id makes the ego crave pleasure, Memo compels Roy to fall prey to the two most basic human drives. This colossal similarity between Memo and the Freudian concept of id is no mere coincidence. Memo, as id, truly embodies the construct of temptation and desire over Roy, as the ego or conscious mind. Additionally, Dr. Thurschwell Pamela from the University of Sussex claims that id “is inseparable from the unconscious – id wants and desires in the here and now, it doesn’t make plans for the future. Freud often claims that the unconscious (which is the same as the id) knows no time but the present, no answer but Yes”(82). The id cares not for the future but for satisfaction in the present. Therefore, just like the id influences the ego, Memo imposes on Roy short term desire with no thought for long term