Space and Marginalized Selfhood : A Sociopsychoanalytic Analysis of Characters in the Novel Wiman Nam

Abstract

This research aimed (1) to analyze the contestation over space and selfhood of marginalized characters in Wiman Nam under conditions of structural social power, and (2) to examine the formation of marginalized characters’ personalities in relation to economic and social structures. The study employed a qualitative research approach and adopted a humanities-based methodology, focusing on interpretative literary textual analysis. The analytical framework was grounded in Sociopsychoanalytic Analysis, integrating Marxist concepts of space derived from the ideas of Karl Marx with Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. The findings revealed that (1) the contestation over space among the characters was manifested in both physical space, which functioned as a site of power determining the selfhood of marginalized characters, and social space, which was regulated by class structure, legal systems, and social values. These conditions compelled the characters to negotiate and struggle over space in both tangible and intangible forms, resulting in unstable and fluid selfhood shaped by the need for survival under conditions of social inequality. (2) The personalities of marginalized characters were formed under the influence of economic and social structures: the Id was driven primarily by survival instincts, the Ego functioned as a mechanism that negotiated with realities governed by structural social power, and the Superego operated as a representation of ideology embodied in social norms and values. Overall, the findings demonstrated that marginalization was not merely a social status but a psychological experience that was systematically reproduced through structures of social power.