Clash of Id and Ideology in Paulo Coelho's Eleven Minutes

Abstract

Paulo Coelho’s Eleven Minutes has viewed the Id as subservient to ideology. The study focuses on Karl Marx's concept of Ideology and the Freudian Id. In the novel, a character namely Maria has a strong Id which dominates her ideology. Her act of masturbation and feeling of erotic pleasure shows a lack of repression. She is ruled by carnality as the proletariat is ruled by the bourgeois. The present analysis aims to throw light on all erotic experiences of Maria which reveal that her ideology is subservient to the id. The researcher aims to find out that healthy repression of sexual desires distinguishes humans from animals and that an individual can become productive in society. Healthy repression converts psychic energy into artistic creation. Out of curbing eroticism, the ideology becomes operational. Consequently, culture, religion, morality and creativity are introduced and practised and society becomes balanced.