Psychoanalysis(1): a group of theories which concern the relationship between the conscious and the unconscious.
 

Psychological Criticism(2):   the application of psychoanalysis within literature.  There are three basic questions psychologists try to answer with this method.

One:  How are the author’s psychological conflicts revealed in his or her work?

Two:  What is an in-depth analysis of the characters if they were real people?

Three:  What is the appeal of the work to the readers in relation to their own ability to work out hidden desires and fears?
 
 

Pride and Prejudice:
A Psychological Criticism Applied by Katy Holt and Malene A. Little

 Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice

  Characters

 Readers
 

 1. http://www.utdallas.edu/kmarshal/lit/criticism.htm accessed 5/1/02
 2. A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms; Edward Quinn; Facts on File, Inc.  New York: 1999, page 263.