The Grotesques under the Perspective of Inferiority Theory: The Inferiority Complex in Winesburg, Ohio

Abstract

American modernist writer Sherwood Anderson's masterpiece Winesburg, Ohio shows the gradual distortion of the psychological process of the Winesburg people. Anderson’s grotesques lack of a sense of social belonging, and their attempts to establish love and friendship end in failure, which echoes with the theory of inferiority complex put forward by Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler. This paper uses Adler's theory of inferiority, takes the sense of inferiority as an entry point, analyzes the symptoms of the inferiority complex and the reasons for that in Winesburg, Ohio, and finally reveals the importance of the sense of cooperation and social emotion. Anatomy of the malformed psychology of the Winesburg inhabitants contributes to a further understanding of the modern consciousness of confusion, loneliness, and loss. Adler's theory of inferiority is also confirmed in the psychological interpretation of Winesburg, Ohio.