Psychoanalytical Aspects in Maugham's "The Kite"

Sigmund Freud developed the theory of personality development, which argued that personality is formed through conflicts among three fundamental structures of the human mind: the id, ego, and super-ego.
The story of "The Kite" by Somerset Maugham revolves around the four main characters: "Mr. Sunbury" (The Husband), "Mrs. Sunbury" (Beatrice Sunbury-The Wife), "Herbert Sunbury" (The Son), and "Betty Bevan" (Herbert’s Choice/Wife).
Mrs. Sunbury, Herbert’s mother, had always controlled her son. When he fell in love with Betty, she tried very hard to take her son back. Betty got annoyed with him and destroyed Herbert's dearest thing, "The Kite." According to Lacan's psychoanalysis, the title of the story "The Kite" symbolizes Herbert. When a child sees something that fascinates him, he idealizes it. He wants to be like it. As a result, the kite became ideal for Herbert because it was the only thing he could control. The kite was the center of his life. He wanted to be like it; free but controlled by a thread. The kite reflected his subjectivity. He had always been controlled by his mother since his childhood, which made him live a robotic life. Herbert made robotic life his comfort zone. His mother imprinted herself on her son and tried to tie herself and her family to her fictitious individuality. Mrs. Sunbury taught Herbert to drink tea, and when he asked why he should drink it that way, she said: "That’s how it’s done. It shows you know what’s what "Maugham 771). Mrs. Sunbury was a super-egoist, and she suppressed the ego of Herbert by imposing so many traditional rules on him.
Mrs. Sunbury made Herbert the way she wanted him to be, as she said: "If you’re a good boy and wash your teeth regularly without me telling you, I shouldn’t be surprised if Santa brings you a kite on Christmas day" (Maugham 773).
The kite was Herbert's only freedom in the whole of his life. It was the reflection of his desires and it somehow allowed him to break barriers, as has been said by Maugham: "It became a passion for Herbert" (Maugham 773). Herbert fell in love with a girl who looked like his mother. That is what the Oedipus complex by Freud is based on, the fact that children are more attracted and attached to the parent of the opposite gender, as narrated in the story:
Betty Bevan looked very much like Mrs. Sunbury had looked at her age. She had the same sharp features and the same rather small beady eyes (Maugham 774).
Herbert married Betty against her mother’s will. He somehow became independent, but it was so hard for him to move from his comfort zone, and he started meeting his parents, which made Betty insecure. Herbert could not buy the kite due to his low income and lack of money, and his mother was very well aware of the fact that Herbert was obsessed with kites: she used it to snatch him from Betty. It was his mother’s exoneration that made Herbert leave Betty, and in return, Betty destroyed his kite, assuming that it was a hindrance in her relationship. It was as if someone had destroyed him and his dreams by destroying his kite. Betty’s childish act triggered his id, which had previously been suppressed by the superego. In order to retaliate against Betty, Herbert refused to pay furniture installments because it was very dear to Betty, as he said: "I can see her face when they take the furniture away. "She placed a high value on that piano" (Maugham 783). He preferred to go to jail rather than pay her money.
By destroying the kite, he made Herbert’s repressed I’d come out. That is why he made the firm decision not to pay any sort of money for her. The childish behavior of Betty and Herbert ruined their relationship.
Herbert’s personality was shaped by his mother, who destroyed everything in his life. The kite was the emblem of his ideals, and when it was destroyed, his anger, which had remained dormant throughout his life, exploded and destroyed everything.