Through flashback, Jelinek interweaves Erika’s personal growing history into the development of the novel. Jelinek writes:
Erika, the meadow flower. That’s how she got her name: erica. Her pregnant mother had visions of something timid and tender. Then, upon seeing the lump of clay that shot out of her body, she promptly began to mould it relentlessly in order to keep it pure and fine. Remove a bit here, a bit there. . . . Mother chose a career for Erika when her daughter was still young. It had to be an artistic profession, so she could squeeze money out of the arduously achieved perfection, while average types would stand around the artist, admiring her, applauding her. Now, Erika has at last been patted into perfection. Such a girl was not meant to do crude things, heavy manual labor, housework. She was destined, congenitally, for the subtleties of classical dance, song, music. A world-famous pianist—that is Mother’s ideal. (23-24) When pregnant, the Mother made her own ideal blueprint for her daughter completely according to her own will. The Mother named her baby “Erika” which is derived from the name of the meadow flower, erica. The Mother hopes that her Erika is as meek as the flower so that the baby will grow up according to her ideal. Even before Erika’s coming to the world, the Mother has already begun her plan to shape her daughter into the frame of the world-famous pianist. Because her daughter is out of her body, the Mother has to remove all the impure qualities to keep her daughter always perfect. The Mother decides the career for Erika and sets the path for her as Erika is still a little girl. Her elegant daughter is meant to do the
delicate works of the artists. The Mother expects her daughter to be “a world-famous pianist”
who deserves to enjoy the admiration and applause from the average people. Other people only should circle around Erika to worship her. As the Mother says, “Erika is not just a face in the crowd: She’s one in a million” (12).
In “On Narcissism: An Introduction,” Freud employs the metaphor of “His Majesty the Baby” to depict the parents’ tendency to idealize and overvalue their children. Freud argues that parents are compulsive to overvalue their children and fancy the children shall be the center and core of the universe as they once fancied themselves. “His Majesty the Baby”
complex describes parents’ wishful thinking and projection of all the perfect attributes onto their children. They believe that their children are the most perfect in the world and other people should also share this belief. The parents deem that they are like the nursery-maid and their children “His Majesty the Baby” in the baby carriage. As they are crossing the street, the policemen should stop the crowded traffic to make way for them to pass first. Owning to “His Majesty the Baby,” everyone should give way to them and allow them to walk in the middle of the crowd. They believe that their children who are so precious and unique in the world should be admired and worshiped by the crowd. Nonetheless, Freud claims that it is all but parents’ imagination and just the revival of their primary narcissism. Freud’s description of parents’ narcissism seems to fully capture Jelinek’s characterization of Erika’s mother.
Erika’s mother considers that she is as the nursery-maid and Erika “Her Majesty the Baby.” Erika’s mother is compulsive to overvalue and idealize her baby Erika in the novel.
As Erika is still in her womb, the Mother already sets the ultimate goal for Erika, namely “the top of the world” (24). Before the formation of Erika’s ego ideal, the Mother already created
“an ego ideal” for Erika and forcibly crammed it into her brain. The Mother considers her daughter to be “Her Majesty the Baby” who should be worshiped and admired by normal crowd. Erika the most outstanding genius will achieve the perfection and become the focus of common people. As Freud says, parents are “under a compulsion to ascribe every perfection
to the child” (91). The Mother projects her own narcissism onto her daughter and expects Erika to fulfill all her narcissistic ideal and wishful dreams. The Mother narcissistically believes that Erika who is innately gifted and unique only can do the elegant artistic works. The heavy laboring is not the suitable and respectable work for her daughter. The Mother’s top-one task is to “make” her become the world famous pianist and climb on the top of the world. The Mother disseminates among their friends and relatives that Erika is a genius but nobody has not fully and properly discovered her talents yet. The Mother says if Erika’s talents are properly recognized, she will be like a comet soaring over the mountains and everyone will circle around her. The Mother even compares Erika with Jesus and says that “[c]ompared with that (if Erika’s talents are properly recognized), the birth of Jesus was chickenshit” (25).
Moreover, the Mother narcissistically thinks that other people should also share the same belief that Erika “Her Majesty the Baby” is the genius who should be the focus of the world and idolized by everybody. Her Mother would even force others to share this
narcissistic belief. For example, when Erika practiced piano during her childhood, her mother would deliberately and compulsively open the windows and compel their neighbors to listen to her daughter’s piano playing. Erika’s mother subjectively determines that her daughter plays the “grade-A music” and all their neighbors should enjoy Erika’s dulcet melodies.
Erika’s mother and grandmother, even “armed with binoculars, stand on their lofty vantage point” to supervise and make sure whether their neighbors respectfully listen to Erika’s piano playing. They deem that it is the greatest honor of the farmer’s wife to listen Erika’s playing.
However, the reality always cruelly clashes with the Mother’s narcissistic imagination. The author ironically writes, “The neighbors agree. They enjoy listening when the girl practices.
It’s like the radio, only you don’t need to have a set. All you have to do is open the windows and perhaps the doors, the music comes in, spreading like poison gas into every nook and cranny” (25-26). In fact, the neighbors do not care about Erika’s music at all. They even feel indignant about and annoyed with the “noise” which Erika makes as the poison forced into
their ears. Yet her mother denies neighbors’ complaints and conceals them from Erika. Her mother lies to Erika that their neighbors are enthusiastic about her “outstanding mastery of the keyboard” (26). Erika’s music talent is not appreciated and enjoyed by the neighbors. As the neighbors come to Erika and ask her to stop playing and keep quiet. Shaken by the reality, Erika is “surprised when a neighbor complains. Her mother never said anything about
complaints!” (25-26) The Mother purposely ignores their neighbors’ complaints and even scolds them for lacking of the ability to appreciate music.