OF THE COMPLETE PSYCHOLOGICAL WORKS OF | SIGMUND FREUD “Translated from the Geman wader the Generel Etrship of JAMES STRACHEY In Collbran with ANNA FREUD | ‘THE STANDARD EDITION Asie by ALIX STRACHEY and ALAN TYSON vouume xvit (aa17-1919) An Infantile Neurosis and Other Works LONDON THE HOGARTH PRESS AND THE INSITTUTE OF FSYCHO-ANALYSISDAS. UNHEIMLICHE (¢) Gersuse Eons: 1919 nage, 5 (5-6), 207-824, 1922 SKS, 8, 229-73. 1924 G5, 10, 369-408, 1924 Dien and Kaw, 90-138, 1947 G.W,, 12, 229-68, 1925 GP, 4, 368-407. (Tr. Alix Strachey) ‘The present translation is a considerably modified version ‘ofthe one published in 1925, “This paper, published in the autumn of 1919, is mentioned by Freud in a eter to Ferenc of May 12 ofthe ene yeas in ‘which he says hee dug od pape out of «drawer and i Fewrting it Nothing is Enown ss fo hen it was originally ‘wsten or how much ie was changed, though the eotote ‘Quoted ffom Tom end Teo on p 241 below show that Ge ‘ject was present im his mind ws cart a 191, The pasa eating with the ‘compulsion to repent” (294 f2) musi any ‘ae have formed par of the revision, They include summary cf much ofthe contents of Bznd he Plate Prine (19204) and speak of it at ‘alteady completed’. The same Iter 10 Ferenc of May 12,1819, announced that a draft ofthis latter work was finished, though fe was not in fact published for Soother year, Further deta wl be found inthe Bltor's Note {© Bond te Passe Pini, Stnderd Ely 18, 3. ‘The int vection ofthe present pape, wih is lengthy que taton fom a German dictonary, ras special dies for the trandator. Te to be hoped hat renders wil not allow themselves to be couraged by this preliminary chal, for the paper i fl of interning and Important marl, and teaver beyond merely Engeae tpn, THE ‘UNCANNY’ 1 1 is only rarely that prycho-analyt fel impelled to ine wetgate theme of ext, even when aestucais under Boed to mean not merely the theory of beauty but the theory af the quae offing. He wore othe stata of mental ie nd has lew do with the subdued emotional mpulcs which, inhibited i ter aime and dependent on a haw of concurrent factors, usally furnish the material forthe study of esthetics Buti does occaonally happen that he hat to interest hime self in some parelar province of that subject and tis ‘province umally prover to be a rather remote one, and ‘ne which hasbeen neglected in the specalit tcratere of seshetia, “The subject ofthe uncanny"! is a province of this Kind. I undoubtedly related &o what i ‘what arouses read and horror equally certainly too, the word sno always ‘ued ina clearly definable sea, 2 that tends to coincide with ‘hn ccs in gee ewe ay aps ha» a ore ofeling i present which jn the we of a petal one eptaal term: One i curoe to know what thi comon ere Thich allows uso snguih a ancanay? certain things which Epi el fein, ‘As god as nothing isto be found upon ths subject income prcherive treaties om aestictcn, which in general preer to ‘cern themelve with what it beaut tractive. and Subime—dhat with foling of postive nature—and with the creumstances andthe objets that cll them fry rather ‘than withthe opp ecling of rpulon and distress know ‘fonly one acempt in medicopayeologcal erature, afer ‘bt oc exhattive paper by Jentach (1006) But T mut cones that T have not made s very through examination of te ter. ature, especially the foreign Herat relating to thi present rode contbution of mine, for feaons which, 22 may 2 [Tie German word, tandate troughout thie paper by the agli ‘uncanny bali Merl "unwnaly The Bog ema ‘bot of coune, an oxct equivalent of the Gera one) fear 21920 ‘THE “UNCANNY cently be guessed, He in the times in which we live; ny paper is presented to the reader without any claim to Tn his study of the ‘uncanny’ Jentsch quite rgbay lays sess ‘on the obstacle presented by the fat that people vary 80 Very treaty in their sensvty to this quality of feng. The waiter tthe present contribution, indeed, mutt himself plead guilty to a spedal obtusenes in the mater, where extreme delicacy ‘of perception would be more in place, Tt is long since he has caperienced or heard of anything which has given bim an ‘uncanny impression, and he must start by wanslating himelf Soo dat sate eg, by avaleang nhs the psy faly ft in many other branches of acti we need hot on that account despair of finding instances in which the ‘quality in question wil be unhesitatingly recognized by most “Pro counes ae open to at heat. ihe we a nd cout what meaning tas coef beatae tothe word “ane Sayin he couse eft istry ore ean elle we roperdesof eons things emaimpresion, expences and $frtom whch arouse i'w the fing of ctonnes, and {hen infer the eoknown suse of the utcanny fm what all thee exatpls have common. I wil my atone that Both Cores ead the ame re the weston i at clan of the ‘Bghening which leads back fo whats known of ot and ong fami How hiss ponte what remanets he at fan become wneatay and figheing, T all dw in what flows, Let me ao ad that ry investigation was acttally {SE coined by an eration elapse ngs To discon, however Isa follow te revere coun ‘The German word ‘udialil is obviously the opposite of “Beit? Chomely), “hein? [native"}—the opposite of what is familiar; and we are tempted to conclude that what i “un ‘canny’ is fightening precely because it is not known and familiar, Naturally not everything that is new and unfamiliar frightening, however; the elation is not capable of inversion, 1 [An allusion tothe fit Wold War nly ust coche] cru “UNCANNY” m We can only say that what i novel can easly become fightene {ng and uncanay; some new things are fightening but not by {thy means all Something ha to be aed fo what novel and Tfilarin order to make ie uncanny ‘On the whcl,Jensch dd not get beyond this relation of he neaany tothe sovel ad unfair. He arb the exentil {Bir in the production of the feting of uncannines to intel. lected uncertainty; so thatthe ancanny would abaya, a8 i twee, be something one does not know on way about i. The beter restated i his environment a peron hel ready wilh get the impreson of something tacanny in regard to ho ‘Sbjct and events in ie eis not efical to ce that this definition is incomplete and ‘we wil therefore try to proeed beyond the equation ‘ancy? wantin We wil Strum to other languages But the