Applying Karen Horney's Theory to the Psychological Study of the Personality in French Perfume of Amir Tajesser)

A French perfume is novel by Amir Tajesser, a Sudanese novelist and physician. By narrating the main character of the story and dealing with other characters which is expressed in interaction with the main character he is trying to portray the oppressive conditions of society and its people. Karen Horney is a German psychologist and one of the most important theorists in the field of personality. According to Horney's theory, Experiences that have been accumulated and concentrated during the adult social and cultural life, ddetermines how a person behaves. She divides people into three types of sealer, supremacist and secularist. The main topic of this research is the Influence of Community Conditions and the Creation of "Ideal Self" and the Study of the Character Type. In this paper, using a descriptive analytical method based on Horney's theory, the characters of the French perfume novel are examined to explain the personal struggles of the characters and their defense mechanisms against main anxiety. The result of the study showed that all the characters in the novel at least show one of the personality aspects of Horney's theory: the moving towards others, moving against others, and moving away from others.