The Main Character’s Childhood Trauma in You (2014) by Caroline Kepnes

ZEFANYA, Caroline Melodee (2026) The Main Character’s Childhood Trauma in You (2014) by Caroline Kepnes. Undergraduate thesis, UNDIP: Fakultas Ilmu Budaya.

	Text (Cover) 1. S - COVER - 13020122140121.pdf - Published Version Download (159kB)
	Text (Daftar Isi) 2. S - DAFTAR ISI - 13020122140121.pdf - Published Version Download (618kB)
	Text (Abstrak) 3. S - ABSTRACT - 13020122140121.pdf - Published Version Download (524kB)
	Text (BAB I) 4. S - CHAPTER I - 13020122140121.pdf - Published Version Download (765kB)
	Text (BAB II) 5. S - CHAPTER II - 13020122140121.pdf - Published Version Download (720kB)
	Text (BAB III) 6. S - CHAPTER III - 13020122140121.pdf - Published Version Download (887kB)
	Text (BAB IV) 7. S - CHAPTER IV - 13020122140121.pdf - Published Version Download (730kB)
	Text (Daftar Pustaka) 8. S - REFERENCES - 13020122140121.pdf - Published Version Download (773kB)
	Text (Full Text Skripsi PDF) 9. S - FULL TEXT SKRIPSI - 13020122140121.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only Download (10MB)

Abstract

This thesis examines the childhood trauma in Joe Goldberg in Caroline Kepnes’s You (2014) and its lasting consequences in adulthood using a psychoanalytic approach. The purpose of this study is to analyze how Joe’s unresolved childhood trauma, stemming from parental abandonment and the psychologically abusive mentorship of Mooney, constructs his destructive behavior in adulthood. This study applies Cathy Caruth’s trauma theory and Sigmund Freud’s concept of repetition compulsion through an intrinsic analysis, focusing on character, characterization, setting, and conflict. The findings show that Joe Goldberg’s obsessive, controlling, violent, and stalking behaviors stem from unresolved childhood trauma that resurfaces later. Joe unconsciously re-enacts his trauma through patterns of obsession, confinement, and controlling relationships. The research concludes that Joe’s destructive actions are driven not by intent or pleasure, but by deep trauma that was never acknowledged.
Keywords: Childhood Trauma, Repetition Compulsion, Psychoanalysis, Belated Trauma

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Childhood Trauma, Repetition Compulsion, Psychoanalysis, Belated Trauma
Subjects:	Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities > Department of English Literature
Depositing User:	S1 Inggris FIB
Date Deposited:	29 Jun 2026 06:54
Last Modified:	29 Jun 2026 06:54
URI:	https://eprints2.undip.ac.id/id/eprint/54402

Actions (login required)

View Item

Search for collections on Undip Repository