Freud's Oz: Freudian Views In The Wizard Of Oz

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according to Freudian
Daniel Dervin ( Over The Rainbow 163 ), is Dorothy witnessing the "primal scene".
The "primal scene" refers to a child witnessing sexual intercourse between
mother and father; an moment that is both terrifying and confusing to the child.
According to Dervin, this event sends Dorothy towards her final stage of
childhood development ( Freud believed in three stages of childhood development
) the phallic phase. Terrified of the idea of being destroyed by father's
phallus, Dorothy projects ( another of Freud's ides was that of projection,
turning a feeling into something other than itself ) her fear into the form of
the tornado. In deed Dervin even suggests that this tornado "may well be a
remarkably apt representation of the paternal phallus in its swollen, twisting,
penetrating, state which is part of the primal scene." The question then
becomes, where did this primal scene take place? In the movie Dorothy has her
own room, but in the book she shares a ...

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fact that it is accidental saves Dorothy from any feelings of guilt.
Dorothy also needs to deal with her feelings towards her father ( or
father figure ) in a less dramatic manner. This is done by making her father
into the Wizard. According to Dervin ( Over The Rainbow 165 ), there is a
connection between the Wizard and the storm in Kansas. The Emerald City could
be used as an example of this because of the verticality of the bars that make
up the city drawing distinct comparisons with the verticality of the tornado.
In addition, when Dorothy meets the Wizard for the first time, his image is
accompanied by flashes of lightning and shouts of thunder. The storm is
obviously connected ...

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