Freud and Literature by Lionel Trilling

           Introduction

In 1940 Lionel Trilling in his "Freud and Literature"remarked that " of all mental systems the

Freudian psychology is the one which makes poetry indigenous to the very constitution of the

mind". The Psychoanalytical theory of Freud has had a great effect upon literature. Yet the

relationship is reciprocal, and the effect of Freud upon literature has been no greater than the

effect of literature on Freud.When on the occasion of the celebration of his 70th birthday, Freud

was greeted as the 'discoverer of the unconscious', he corrected the speaker and disclaimed the

title. 'The poets and philosophers before me discovered the unconscious', he said. 'What I

discovered was the scientific method by which the unconscious can be studied'. There are some

philosophers before Freud who clearly anticipate many of Freud's ideas. These are Schopenhauer

and Nietzsche.

The "Freud and Literature" is divided into four parts. In part I, he examines the various influences

which conditioned Freud's  theory of psychology, and also the great and profound influence which

Freud has experienced on subsequent writers. Part II is devoted to a consideration of Freud's

rationalism and thus to counter the view that Freud was concerned only with the irrational

elements in the human consciousness. Part III examines, the utility and relevance of his

psychoanalytic technique for the study of art, particularly literature. Part IV-the concluding part-

makes an assessment of his contribution and greatness.

Literary Influences on Freud / Freud's Influences

Freudian psychology is the only systematic account of the human mind. It is a body of thought of

great of subtlety, complexity, interest and tragic power. However, it would be wrong to say that

Freud is the "discoverer of the unconscious", as it was discovered by other thinkers much earlier.

Freud's contribution and discovery is the use of scientific methods for the study of the

unconscious. His is the only systematic account of the working of the human mind. In this respect

Freud stands almost alone among the large number of psychologist in the field. Freud's

psychoanalytical technique i.e; his application of his theories of psychology to particular works of

art, has had a far reaching impact on literature. But the effect of literature on Freud has also been

far reaching. While it is difficult to point out specific writers who influenced Freud, there can be no

denying the fact that his psychoanalytical theories are a culmination of the large body of

romanticist literature of the 19th Century. The Romantics were passionately devoted to an

exploration of the self, and so is Freud. 'Research into the self' is the common persuit. We know
from a quotation from his Introductory Lectures that he read this little work with great pleasure.

"The dialogue between Diderol himself and Rameaus"  nephew suggests that the nephew stands

for the hidden irrational elements in the human consciousness and Diderol for the rational, visible

elements. The one represents Freud's Id (irrational element) and the other Freud's ego (rational

element). In other words, if the irrational in human nature is not controlled by the rational, there

would be all sorts of abnormalities and aberrations. Men would be little better than savages and

brutes. 'Rousseau's Confessions' is another work which considerably influenced Freud's own

theories of unconscious. In romantic literature, "the hidden element takes many forms and it is not

necessarily "dark" and "bad"; for Blake the "bad" was the good, while for Bruke and Wordsworth

what was hidden and unconscious was wisdom and power, which work in despite of the conscious

intellect". But the presence of this irrational element was recognised by all. This interest in the

hidden irrational elements in the human consciousness  also accounts for the romantic interest in

children, savages, women and peasants in whom mental life is not overlaid by the properties of

social habit as in the case of the educated male. In tracing the literary influence on Freud, we must

also take into account the sexual revolution created by writers like Shelly, Schlegel ,George Sand,

Schopenhauer, Stendhal and many others. Their views on sexual behaviour are very close to

those of Freud. Novalis' pre-occupation with the death wish, fascination for the horrible of writer

like Shelly,Poo and Baudelaire are some other literary influences which conditioned Freud's own

theories. In short, Freud's theories grew out of an intellectual millieu in which the attention was

being increasingly focused on the human consciousness. But the view of the unconscious before

Freud was chaotic and incoherent. Freud was the first to make a systematic and scientific study of

the subject. While Freud was deeply influenced by earlier writers, his own influence on subsequent

literature has been great and all pervasive. It is so pervasive that it  is difficult to determine its

extent. It has become a part of our life and our culture. Freudian biographers and critics have

become more and more conscious of the refinements and subtleties of his theories and have

derived from his system much that is really great. The use of Freudian system of psycho analysis

has given them a sense of the complexities and ambiguities of a work of art. The Freudian system

enables the critics to find new meanings and new significance in the work under study. New

interpretations and evaluations are thus provided and things are seen in a fresh light and new,

hitherto undreamed of, facets are discovered.

Freud's Rationalism-View of art

There is, no doubt, that Freud's theories are closely related to the anti rational element in the

romanticist tradition but Freud himself is militantly rationalistic. One of the Freudians, Thomas

Mann, through his writings, has created the impression that Freud was irrrational in his approach,

that he was committed to the "night side" of life. But nothing can be farther from the truth. "The

rationalistic element in Freud is foremost; before everything else he is a positivist". This must be

clearly realised from a correct understanding of Freud's attitude to art. He believed in rationalism in

all his pre-romantic persuits. He regarded rationalism as the very basis of intellectual virtue. At a

number of places he clearly states that the aim of psycho analysis is to control the night side of life.

It is "to strengthen the ego, to make it more independent of the super-ego, to widen its field of

vision, and so to extend the organisation of the id".