Homosexuality in Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story: A Psychoanalytic Reading

Abstract

This paper sets out to examine parent-child relationship in Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story. The paper is premised on the hypothesis that the absence of love between mother and son in the play under consideration leads to Jerry’s isolation and makes him become a homosexual. Sigmund Freud’s theories of the Oedipus and castration complex shall guide our analysis. The methodology adopted in this paper is a textual analysis and the points raised and discussed lead to the conclusion that Jerry’s hatred of his mother and the love of his father give rise to his homosexual cravings.