LITT 506 Literature and Psychology

LASERNA, John Javir A.

May 2014

UNADULTERATED LOATHING:
FAMILY PENAL HERITAGE IN SAMUEL BUTLERS THE WAY OF ALL FLESH
It is often said that the family is the basic unit of society and being so, it plays a very significant role
so as to contributeeither for better or for worseto the development of the society as a whole.
Unfortunately, as claimed by Hall and Nordby (1972) in their book A Primer of Jungian Psychology, the
society has little knowledge about the influence of hereditythat is, of familyon personality, which
according to Jungian psychology is called the self.
To Jung, Hall and Nordby explained, the organizing principle of personality or the self is an entity
that is whole in itself; however, it takes time to mature. This maturity refers to the ultimate goal of every
personality: to achieve a state of selfhood and self-realization. They averred that this process is not a
simple undertaking, but a lengthy, difficult, and complicated task which is rarely, if ever, completely
achieved by anyone (p. 52). This process is called individuation.
Individuation is Jungs key developmental concept. So as to establish a hypothesis, Hall and
Nordby compared the process of individuation to the life cycle of a butterfly, in which a larva develops into a
butterfly. This comparison is made to illustrate that the process of individuation mainly consists of growth of
a simple structure into a complex one. Complexity means that the structure is capable of expressing itself in
a variety of ways. Hall and Nordby exemplified:
the underdeveloped ego has a few simple ways of being conscious; as it becomes
individuated its repertoire of conscious acts becomes greatly expanded. The individuated
ego is capable of making fine discriminations among its perceptions of the world; it
apprehends subtle relationships among ideas, and probes deeper into the meaning of
objective phenomenon (p. 82).

Thus explains why simple nursery rhymes and games satisfy children and why the individuated
adult needs the more complex symbolism of religion, literature, the arts and social institutions (Hall and
Nordby, 1972).
However, the process of individuation does not and cannot operate on its own. Rather, the
personality needs experiences and education since the ultimate goal of these influences is to make
conscious that which is unconsciousa process to which the personality has to submerge before it

proceeds to individuate (p. 83). Hall and Nordby stressed that Jung believed that there are two factors or
influences that largely provide the personality with experiences and education, to wit: heredity and
environment.
With these psychological suppositions, this paper attempts to examine the powerful impact of
heredity and environment on a personality and to analyze how these factors contribute to the eventual
individuation of the protagonist of Samuel Butlers autobiographical novel The Way of All Flesh.
The Way of All Flesh, an autobiographical novel that follows the bildungsroman tradition, traces
the development of personality of Ernest Pontifex from his miserable childhood to triumphant adulthood. It
tells about the monumental impact of overbearing parents on their poor, unquestioning children, whom the
father, Theobald Pontifex, continually punish as a revenge against his equally-overbearing, tormenting
father, George Pontifex. The novel is a psychological examination of Ernest Pontifexs personality, how the
familys punitive upbringing influenced his psychological state, and how he came to terms with it and
eventually achieved individuation.
The parents indeed play a very important role in the development of a childs character and hence,
his/her personality. The childs psyche is a reflection of the parents psyches in view of the fact that the
child has no separate identity during the early years of his/her life. Therefore, Hall and Nordby asserted, the
childs psyche is bound to reflect any psychic disturbances in the parents.
The parents influence (or that of the family, for that matter) on the child is so prevalent that it does
not end at the four corners of home. It, rather, extends to the outside world which includes other social
institutions like the school and the church. Hall and Nordby explains that when the child goes to school, the
identity that the child identifies with his/her parents is slowly undermined and he/she begins to develop
his/her own personalityhence, his/her individuality. However, there is the tendency that the parents will
continue to dominate the child by overprotecting him/her, making decisions for him/her, and by preventing
him from having a wide range of experiences (p. 86). And under such circumstances, according to Hall and
Nordby, the childs individuation will be hampered.
These psychological conjectures are well represented in The Way of All Flesh.

Although a conventionally pious, well-respected businessman outwardly, George Pontifex can be

described as cruel and tyrannical for the things he did and said to his children. Georges overwhelming
control of his childrens lives, especially that of Theobald, is something that can be ascribed to Ruth
Pontifex, the matriarch of the Pontifex lineage, who is described as temperamental, domineering and
obstinate. Ironically, John Pontifex, the patriarch, represents the contrary. He is witty, easy-go-lucky but
talented enough to rise above the familys predicaments. George, apparently, inherits his mothers ill-being
and his fathers commercial skills.
Georges talent leads him to assume control of his uncles publishing house in London, branding
him then as a self-made man; however, instead of humbling him, the taste of success does the opposite
George becomes proud. He feels disgusted of his parents seemingly unassuming lives. He also detests his
children who, before Georges disapproving eyes, will never achieve anything, not even half of what he has
achieved as a businessman. He simply considers them as failures. As a father, Georges object is to break
the will of his two sons and three daughters, especially the most vulnerable one, his second son, Theobald.
Theobald (from a Germanic origin, literally means baby boy), being the weak-willed, most
vulnerable of Georges children, lacks the courage, conviction and the determination to pursue the
aspiration to be a seafarer. He acquiesces to his fathers wish (or order) for him to enter the Anglican
ministry and eventually becomes an assistant to the Reverend. Theobalds acquiescence means his defeat
to develop an individual that he will call as his own and thus, branding him as an inadequate character. To
his wife and parishioners, Theobald is an example, a man who cannot be mistaken for someone who does
something ignoble; however, brought by the type of upbringing he learns to live by, he also learns to detest
his own flesh and blood. Theobald is compulsive about eliminating any sign of self-will among the children
by giving them daily sermons, beatings and whippings, acts that simply make him as Georges pale
shadow. Indeed, Theobald is his fathers son.
Theobalds hapless, helpless victim is his first son, Ernest Pontifex. Having Theobalds son as the
papers psychological subject, it is certainly vital to mark the turning points that trigger any remarkable
psychological developments on Ernests part and how he eventually reached the terminal course of selfrealization or individuation.

At the age of three, Ernest has already felt the wrath of his father. When he cannot pronounce a
word correctly, Theobald whips for being self-willed and naughty. As the child grows up, Theobalds hate
on children in general compels him to send Ernest away to school earlier than what is expected, a good
riddance for Theobald. At the age of twelve, Ernest is enrolled in a grammar school at Roughborough,
where his fathers extending influence takes its tollalthough an agreeable boy, Ernests unconscious
resistance against his fathers domestic tyranny manifests itself in forms of adopting profanities, aversion to
studying, drinking beer and dragging a smoke.
Fortunately, Alethea Pontifex, Theobalds unmarried younger sister and hence, Ernests aunt,
comes to Roughborough on the pretext of seeking a more healthy place to live outside London. She
instantly grows fond of the boy and holds him as the son she will never have and Ernest, in return,
considers her as his real-life mother. They become the projections of each others deprivations and
frustrations, especially for Ernest for Aletheas presence somehow brings the tormenting memory of
Theobald to oblivion. However, Alethea is suddenly stricken with typhoid fever and dies, not without
arranging a will that provides a parcel of her state for Ernest. In spite of it, Aletheas death means the
Ernests death, too. He plunges back to the corruption and delinquency.
Despite this letdown, Ernest is inherently good. When he learns about the dismissal of their
beautiful domestic servant, Ellen, Ernest runs to see her and help ease her plight by giving his silver watch,
pen knife and a small amount of pocket moneyan event that causes Ernest further troubles involving
Theobald and the schools headmaster. Fortunately, he eventually gets through with all the troubles and
makes it to Emmanuel College of Cambridge University where he begins to find himselfan individual who
has the right to aspire for happiness according to the choices he/she makes. This marks the beginning of
his tough journey towards individuation, as the existing freedom offers him the chance to assert his self.
After college, Ernest engages in a religious work that eventually fails and even lands him into
prison. In spite of this misfortune, Ernest engagement in the society marks the progress of his selfrealization as he learns to see himself among other people, particularly the common people, standing within
their rank in unity. His imprisonment leads Theobald to renounce Ernest as a son yet despite it, this can be
looked at as a progression, not a regression, for Ernests break with his father means his break with the
pains and anguish of the past.

More trials and tribulations continue to come. Ernest marries Ellen who is first clandestinely
married to John, the coachman of the Pontifexes, breaks the marriage and suffers from a nervous
breakdown.
Emotionally drained, Edward Overton, the novels narrator and Ernests godfather, becomes
Ernests rope back to the precipice of healing. As Jung avers, getting through draining toils and trials is a
imperative part of the process towards individuation. Such struggles test the limits of an individual which
sequentially encourage him/her to break through these limits. It exhausts the individual physically, mentally
(or psychologically), emotionally and spiritually, but this very exhaustion lets the individual learn and come
to terms with his/her strengths and weaknesses and with the world he/she is in, realizing that all he/she can
do in this world is to be the best he/she can bethe humbling effect of toils and trials.
Ernest, though not fully, reaches a hint of individuation in the novel. Soon as he recovers from his
lapses, Ernest travels abroad to rediscover his lost self and to find the happiness he has been looking for.
Even at the end of the novel, trials never fail to follow Ernest wherever he goes, but unlike the previous
Ernest, the present Ernest is filled with courage, conviction and determination to face those trials freed from
the shadows of Theobald.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hall, Calvin S.; Nordby, Vernon J. (1999). A Primer of Jungian Psychology. New York: Meridian.

Parsell, Roger E. CliffsNotes on The Way of All Flesh. 7 May 2014

</literature/w/the-way-of-all-flesh/book-summary>