AN ANALYSIS OF MISERLINESS IN IGBO, FRENCH AND GERMAN NOVELS

Abstract

Miserliness is an act of collecting money and not spending for fear of what the future holds. It is a bad trait that prevents an individual from giving either money, emotional support or even encouragement no matter the situation. Psychoanalysis explains miserliness as a trait that arises within the human to reduce his anxiety. This paper highlights the features of a miser as depicted in Igbo, French and German novels in the character of Akubuzo, Harpagon and Herr Unrat respectively. The insight is that miserliness manifests in various forms. This work adopts the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud for the analysis of these characters. The conclusion is that a human vice or weakness is not subject to the limitations of individual localities. Instead, the three characters in their difference geographic and cultural peculiarities still depict a common human factor.