DEPRESSION AND IDENTITY IN THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN: PSYCHOANALYTIC READING OF RACHEL WATSON

This paper aims to give a psychoanalytic analysis of the protagonist of The Girl on the Train by the author Paula Hawkins, Rachel Watson. This paper reveals her great depression and self-destructive nature within the framework of the Freudian theory, with the application of qualitative descriptive methodology relying on texts and library sources. The key conclusion is that the actions of Rachel are mostly influenced by her Id, which reveals itself in the form of her impulsiveness and constant intoxication with alcohol. In addition, her concrete symptoms, which included showcasing hopelessness, exhaustion, and low self-esteem, were in tandem with a diagnosis of dysthymia. Her situation in the novel is very complex as its expression seems to be intertwined with external forces, including the lost marriage, poverty, infertility, and unstable memory. The paper will discuss Rachel illustrates the extent of her personal emotional crisis and the general human problem of coping with emotional distress and establishing a healthy sense of identity.