The Representation of Psychological Defense Mechanisms in Frank Hardy: A Psychoanalytic Reading of Brian Friel’s Faith Healer (1979)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Rajabali Askarzadeh Torghabeh ¹

Maryam Mahmoudi ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of English, Dr. Ali Shariati Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

² Department of English, Dr. Ali Shariati Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22067/lts.2026.97172.1409

Abstract

This paper examines the psychological defense mechanisms employed by Frank Hardy in Brian Friel’s Faith Healer (1979) as he confronts anxiety provoking memories and unresolved interpersonal conflicts. Drawing on the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, and other analysts as systematized in Otto Fenichel's The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis, the study applies a qualitative, text-based analysis to Frank’s monologues in Parts One and Four of the play. Focusing on defenses against instinctual drives, namely denial, repression, projection, and isolation, the analysis reveals that denial functions as Frank’s primary strategy for avoiding emotional pain, while repression shapes his fragmented recollections of family and loss. Projection and isolation appear less frequently. The study highlights the contrast between Frank’s apparent candor and his underlying psychological evasions, contributing to psychoanalytic readings of Friel’s drama.

Keywords

Brian Friel

Faith Healer

Defence mechanisms

Psychoanalytic analysis

Subjects

• English Language and Literature

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