Madonna’s emotional development was faltered by the onset of remarriage. This marriage occurring in only a few short years after her mother’s death escalated Madonna’s emotional distress. With her emotions in shambles her mental processing could not associate “normal” behaviors with her feelings. With this Madonna protested her cultural traditions. This type of conditioning is presented through culture and upbringing. Madonna having been raised with a strong tie to “Catholicism gave her a foundation of faith upon which she has said she would always be able to fall back upon even as an adult,” Taraborrelli (2001) stated. Her faith above all else is an unconditional love that has flourished throughout her life (Madonna, 2013). Freud’s psychodynamic theory is most significant in relation to basic needs, wants, fears, desires, and to have the acceptance of a loved one. These are fundamentals of faith, to have an unconditional love and acceptance by a father. Acquiring religious foundations promotes boundaries and restricts negative behavior. Feelings of guilt are expressions of our conscience, expressed through behavior and self-imagery, which are also formable through the critical inner voices of parents in an effort to be assured of their love. Desires have infinite range, “from the obvious and commonplace, to the less obvious and unconscious” (Kowalski & Werner, 2011). Fears are also prevalent in Catholicism, Madonna’s religion, for the fear of being punished may result in not being loved.
During her early life Madonna experienced true tragedy with the death of her mother when she was five. Madonna was deeply scarred by this loss resulting in an adolescent rebellion. The absence of her mother led her to being estranged from rules in protest against her father’s will for control. During this adolescence Madonna struggled with what Freud referred to as ego versus superego. The ego tries to balance the ego’s conscience of the differences between right and wrong (Kowalski & Werner, 2011). Madonna once stated, ‘"I think the biggest reason I was able to express myself and not be intimidated was by not having a mother,’ she says. ‘For example, mothers teach you manners. And I absolutely did not learn any of those rules and regulations"’ (Madonna, 2013).
After the death of her mother when her father remarried, she became the middle child of six children when she began to establish independence. This independence was a cornerstone in her rebellion. Most children during early childhood are beginning to experience autonomy at this age; however, the