Film Psychoanalysis of the Film

Film Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis of the film the Secretary

The Secretary is a movie about a twenty-something woman, Lee Holloway. Lee is released from a mental hospital, where she was treated for injuring herself. Lee takes a typing class, which leads her to take a job as a secretary for Mr. Grey, an obsessive-compulsive lawyer. Lee also begins to date her friend, Peter. Although she is dating Peter, Lee and Mr. Grey enter into a submissive/dominant sexual relationship. However, Mr. Grey thinks that their relationship is keeping Lee from achieving actual happiness. He fires her and stops seeing her. Lee begins to carry out her plans to marry Peter. However, Lee determines that Mr. Grey is the one for her. She goes to his office, dressed in her wedding gown. He tells her to stay at his desk. Mr. Grey walks away, and Lee waits and waits for her return. Crowds gather, urging Lee to leave the desk. She continues to wait, and three days pass before Mr. Grey returns to get her. When Mr. Grey returns he takes Lee to his home and bathes her. The movie closes with a scene of Lee and Mr. Grey as a suburban couple, Lee as a stay-at-home wife and Mr. Grey as the working husband.

The Id is represented in the Secretary by Lee's cutting herself. The Id is the part of the mind that is organized around instinct, and seeks to satisfy one's primal sexual and aggressive urges. One characteristic of the Id is its desire for instant gratification. Lee's sexual and aggressive urges are initially satisfied by the cutting. However, the cutting behavior is considered unhealthy by all of the people in Lee's life. In fact, the cutting behavior is even considered unhealthy by Mr. Grey. The Id is also represented by Mr. Grey's need to aggressively dominate his secretaries. His typical behavior with his secretary's is not working, as characterized by the permanently lit "help wanted" side displayed outside of his office. Therefore, at the beginning of the Secretary, both the male and female protagonists are ruled by their Ids.

The Superego is represented in the Secretary by Lee's relationship with Peter. The Superego is that part of one's consciousness that stands in opposition to the desires of the Id. Lee desires to be hurt. However, her Superego drives her to have a relationship with Peter. Peter is a safe, kind, sweet boy who would never harm Lee. He stands in direct opposition to Lee's desires, and to the type of self-mutilation in which Lee has previously engaged. The Superego is also represented in the Secretary by Mr. Grey ending his relationship with Lee. Mr. Grey's Superego causes him to end his relationship with Lee, even though he is able to satisfy his needs for aggression within that relationship.

The Ego is represented in the Secretary by the creation of lasting relationship between Lee and Mr. Grey. The important thing about the relationship between Lee and Mr. Grey is that, while it may be considered abnormal by the rest of society, it provided both Lee and Mr. Grey with a way to accommodate the needs of their Ids and their Superegos. Their Superegos imposed the societal constraints on sexual relationships, which would drive both Lee and Mr. Grey to enter into monogamous sexual relationships. Their Ids drove Lee and Mr. Grey to seek immediate gratification of their aggressive urges through sexual behavior. By entering into a relationship with each other that allows them to fulfill both needs, Lee and Mr. Grey allow their Egos to reconcile the needs of their Ids and Superegos.

Furthermore, the Secretary addresses the issue of sexuality, and highlights the intimate relationship between sexuality and aggression. The unusual thing about the Secretary is that it demonstrates that a relationship that might be viewed as deviant was actually helpful to both members of the relationship. Prior to becoming involved with one another, Lee and Mr. Grey are both in pretty bad shape. Lee was cutting herself. Mr. Grey was obsessive-compulsive in an almost paralyzing manner. However, Mr. Grey's need to be perfect combines with Lee's need to be corrected, and the two combine to form a unit that works well for the two of them.

The Secretary also challenges the assumptions about S&M relationships. By showing that the sadist, Mr. Grey, never threatens the submissive, Lee, with actual harm or danger, the Secretary reveals that the power structure in their relationship is actually biased towards the submissive. While it is clear how Mr. Grey is able to release his aggression; he literally spanks Lee. However, the manner in which Lee releases her aggressive impulses is less subtle: she achieves gratification and release by making intentional mistakes that force Mr. Grey to punish her.