Eyes Wide Shut and Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Sexuality

Introduction: Kubrick, Freud, and Dream Story

Stanley Kubrick's film Eyes Wide Shut (1999) may be interpreted from the standpoint of human sexuality using the psychoanalytic approach developed by Sigmund Freud. The film is, in a sense, a cinematic representation of Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, descending by layers through the various stages of the human personality — the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.

Eyes Wide Shut is based on a short novel by Arthur Schnitzler entitled Dream Story. The story focuses on human sexuality in all its various manifestations, from the sexual exploitation of a young girl to an orgy at an elite private club to the relationship between a husband and wife and the threat of infidelity that arises between them. Human sexuality becomes a specter in the film that is only barely understood by the characters. It occasionally imperils them, offers the promise of pleasure, tempts them to act out of character, and raises the question of where boundaries should be when the subject of sex is examined objectively.

The Opening Party: Id, Ego, and Superego in Play

The main character is Dr. Bill Harford, played by Tom Cruise. Bill is married to Alice, played by Nicole Kidman. At the opening of the film, Bill and Alice are at a party. Bill is flirting with two young attractive women, both of whom flirt back with him. Alice, meanwhile, is dancing with another man. There is in the air the heavy scent of sex and sexual appeal, and yet no obvious lines have been crossed: there is only playful flirtation and the mutual pleasuring of one another's Ego and Superego, driven by the reservoir of psychic energy that is the Id (Carroll 28). Alice and Bill are each enjoying a kind of sexual daydream as they flirt and receive flirtations at the party.

Bill, however, is called out of his reverie by reality — the Ego principle asserts itself. A friend has a naked woman in his room: she has overdosed on drugs, and the friend is panicking. Bill, being a doctor, is asked to check on her. He does so and saves the woman's life as well as his friend's reputation, which could have suffered a serious blow had a dead, naked woman been found in his chambers — an outcome that would obviously violate society's taboos. This is the symbolic representation of the Superego coming to the rescue and acting as the conscience.

Alice's Confession and Bill's Sexual Awakening

The following evening, Bill and Alice discuss the night before, and jealousy begins to grow as the question of sex and affairs is raised. Underlying their argument is the unconscious Id and its sexual energy. The two are smoking marijuana, so it may be that their natural guard is being lowered and real, frustrated impulses are being revealed — impulses that the Ego interprets incorrectly, leaving Bill offended and Alice confused and overwhelmed.

The argument unfolds as follows: Alice tells Bill that she would have slept with another man once, had he only made a move — an admission of willingness to be unfaithful. This confession upsets Bill, who does not know how to absorb the information. His Ego, the reality principle, is reeling. His own flirtation with the two women the night before had seemed harmless in his eyes, an impulse of the Id that his Superego appeared to control. At no point had it seemed to him that his behavior was leading anywhere near infidelity. Yet Alice's Ego had interpreted his behavior differently and suspected his Id. Both of them, she makes clear, possess an Id — and her way of "getting back" at her husband is to expose hers.

Alice's admission sets Bill off on a journey in which he questions his own awareness of sex and sexuality. His Ego is now being awakened to his Id, and whether his Superego is prepared to manage this awakening is the central question that follows.

Conclusion: Human Sexuality as a Natural Force

From the perspective of psychoanalytic theory, the ending is clear: human sexuality is a natural phenomenon that occurs or is felt between persons regularly. Some may use this occurrence to their advantage — for personal gain, for pleasure, for the stroking of the Ego or Superego, or for fulfillment of the Id. Yet in the world in which Bill and Alice participate, there is another dimension to human sexuality: the spiritual connection attached to it by virtue of their marriage, which means they have made a vow to be sexual with one another and no one else. Why this vow should be made, what it truly means, and whether the potential fruit of sex — children — has anything to do with it, is never directly addressed by the film. But underlying its conclusion is the sense that sex is important and natural, that jealousies and desires will arise and can cause harm to relationships, and that underneath all of this the sexual instinct continues on with real and important meaning in human life.

From the perspective of Bill and Alice, their human sexuality acts as both a lever to drive them apart and a healing balm to bring them back together. Their unconscious desires, when revealed to one another, expose the fragility of their Egos — but they also create an opportunity to overcome whatever hurt they feel by discovering within themselves the meaning of those desires. Thus, the film reflects the interpretation of dreams that Freud recommends as part of the psychoanalytic process: the working out of the impulse of the Id.

Works Cited

Carroll, Janell. Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity (4th ed.). Thomson Wadsworth, 2013. Print.

Kubrick, Stanley, dir. Eyes Wide Shut. Warner Bros., 1999. Film.