<![CDATA[The urgency of this research lies in the need to dissect the psychic mechanism of the character Tara through Alfred Adler’s individual psychology theory to understand how feelings of inferiority transform into an ambition for superiority. This study is crucial for providing a new perspective in literary studies regarding how individuals compensate for past wounds or trauma through efforts to achieve superiority. The purpose of this study is to describe the superiority of Tara’s character viewed from the principles of Alfred Adler’s individual psychology in the novel Katarsis by Anastasia Aemilia. The method used is a descriptive qualitative approach utilizing psychology of literature. Data were collected through reading, identifying, coding, and note-taking techniques related to the research. The data source for this study is the novel Katarsis by Anastasia Aemilia. The results showed that there are 22 data points regarding the superiority of Tara’s character in accordance with the principles of Alfred Adler’s individual psychology, including: (1) striving for superiority, seen from Tara’s willingness to visit a psychiatrist and her efforts toward independent learning by reading books; (2) subjective perception, seen from Tara’s efforts to alter the perception of her trauma; (3) unity of personality, seen from her self-controlling attitude; (4) social interest, seen from her expressive attitude, interaction with new people, and helping behavior; (5) style of life, seen from her healthy routines of exercising and taking medication; and (6) creative power of the self, seen from Tara’s ability to analyze other people’s personalities. Based on these results, it can be concluded that Tara is able to achieve superiority by utilizing her weaknesses (inferiority) as fuel or motivation when viewed from the principles of striving for superiority, subjective perception, unity of personality, social interest, style of life, and the creative power of the self.]]>
