This article laid the framework for his significant contribution to a body of criticism surrounding the monster. Even freud, patron of the uncanny, had trouble defining it. Freud writes that in medusas instance, who has serpents for hair, is displacement of public hair. The hair upon medusa s head is frequently represented in works of art in the form of snakes. In this elegant book, nicholas royle takes the reader across literature, film, philosophy, and psychoanalysis as he marks the trace of the uncanny in the modern world. Beyond the pleasure principle, group psychology and other works, 273274 ser273a1 medusa s head.
He is regarded as one of the most influentialand controversialminds of. Presents a fictionalized version of the life of anna freud, depicting her complicated relationship with her father, sigmund freud, her work as a pychoanalyst, and her life in london after the freud family was forced to flee vienna in. The standard edition of the complete psychological works of sigmund freud 17. In 1873, freud began to study medicine at the university of vienna. Presents a fictionalized version of the life of anna freud, depicting her complicated relationship with her father, sigmund freud, her work as a pychoanalyst, and her life in london after the freud family was forced to. Jan 02, 2014 sigmund freud, world literature, european literature.
In short, the medusa represents castration as further symbolized in the form of the female genitalia and the myth of the medusas gaze turning men into stone is symbolic of an erection. Medusas h ead sigmund freud, 1922 athena apotropaic effects the male organ has an apotropaic effect. Foreword neil hertz werner herzogs movie about kaspar hauserevery man for. For the ancients, an image of medusa s head was a device for averting evil. Maternal ambition and the quiet righteous malice of motherhood. Civilization and its discontents project gutenberg self. Sigmund freud, born sigismund schlomo freud may 6, 1856 september 23, 1939, was a jewishaustrian neurologist and psychiatrist who cofounded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. Medusa is presented by freud as the supreme talisman who provides the image of castration associated in the childs mind with the discovery of maternal. In the same way, the medusas metaphor is associated with the modern psychoanalytic interpretations of sigmund freud who refers to the medusas head as the supreme talisman who provides the image of castration associated in the childs mind with the discovery of maternal sexuality and its denial. Beyond the pleasure principle, group psychology and other works, 273274 ser273a1 medusas head. These fourteen essays cover the entire range of his work on these subjects, in chronological order beginning with his first published analysis of a work of literature, the 1907 delusion and. The ebookslibrary contains one of the largest collections of freuds papers and works in ebook form on the internet.
It is considered one of freuds most important and widely read works. Sigmund freud was the founder of psychoanalysis, simultaneously a theory of personality, a therapy, and an intellectual movement. Freuds neat little explication of the story of the medusas head will serve to suggest the ways symbols come together to serve multiple functions, that is, are overdeterminedd. In freud s statement, freud had use mythological themes of medusa a character from the greek mythology, to deduce the similarity between that fear cause from decapitated and castration in relation to the sight of something. Medusa simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. But freuds understanding of the medusas head was that if the. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Analyzing ecriture feminine in the laugh of the medusa. Writings on art and literature sigmund freud foreword by. Pdf the head of medusa in paintings and symbols roly keates. Pdf freud s theory for beginners about dreams psychosexual. Freud goes further into depth into this symbolic relation by equating the ugly image of the medusa as a symbol that female genitalia can be frightening to men.
Yet the uncanny is everywhere in contemporary culture. Sigmund freud constituted one of the main targets of. For years i have found freuds reflections fascinating and fertile, even if at points they seem weak anthropologically and excessively ideological. Sigmund freud all the powers that constitute the character of medusa are born from her head. The standard edition of the complete psychological works of sigmund freud, volume xviii 19201922. Maternal ambition and the quiet righteous malice of. Analysis medusa if medusas h ead takes the place of a representation of the female genitals, or rather if it isolates their horrifying effects from the pleasuregiving ones, it. In medusas head freud argued that the head with its hair of writhing snakes represented the terrifying genitals of the mother, but that this head also functioned as a fetish object.
Freud considered that, as penis symbols derived from the pubic hair, they serve to mitigate the horror of the complex, as a form of overcompensation. I then started to realize, in the back of my mind, that medusas hair represents. Pdf sigmund freud sexuality and the psychology of love with. Sigismund freud later changed to sigmund was a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, who created an entirely new approach to the understanding of the human personality. This is surprising, because in an essay freud 19 had published nine years before medusas head was written, freud had theorized that the frequent appearance of three women or sisters in myth and literature for example, basanios choice of portia in the merchant of venice. The goddess was outraged, and changed medusa into a monster with snakes for hair. Freud was born to galician jewish parents in the moravian town. Medusa s head 1940c 1922 splitting of the ego in the process of defence.
Mar 20, 2014 this is surprising, because in an essay freud 19 had published nine years before medusas head was written, freud had theorized that the frequent appearance of three women or sisters in myth and literature for example, basanios choice of portia in the merchant of venice. He was born into a middleclass jewish family in freiburg, moravia, now part of czechoslovakia, but then a city in the austrohungarian empire. Sigmund freud, world literature, european literature. He is regarded as one of the most influentialand controversialminds of the 20th century.
An avid reader of sigmund freud as evidenced by her comments on his work in her journals, 8 plath seems to use his identification of the medusas head as an image to represent the mothers genitals, 9 suggesting yet another physical connection albeit slightly more symbolic between the medusa and the mother. Sigmund freud project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Gabriel rossettis poem and abandoned painting aspecta medusa 1867, sigmund. Many interpretations surround the myth, including one by sigmund freud. Hysterical anna freud s story download ebook pdf, epub. Freud qualified as a doctor of medicine at the university of vienna in 1881, 3 and then carried out research into cerebral palsy, aphasia and microscopic. Many of freuds epigones have followed his example in using myth merely as an excuse to once more illustrate the freudian tenets. Despite freud s enormous influence on twentiethcentury interpretations of the humanities, there has never before been in english a complete collection of his writings on art and literature.
Sigmund freud 1856 1939 article pdf available in the international journal of indian psychology volume 1issue 1. Download pdf the uncanny in literature ebook full get. Freud alludes to this at one point in his article on. Medusa has been depicted in the visual arts for centuries.
Sep 17, 2012 freud makes many points regarding medusa and her relationship to human sexuality. This is a misquotation attributed to freud, who actually wrote, we read in rabelais of how the devil took flight when the woman showed him. Freud is not trying to offer a historical solution to the symbolism behind medusas gaze. The ebookslibrary contains one of the largest collections of freud s papers and works in ebook form on the internet. Sigmund freud sexuality and the psychology of love with an i introduction by. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Debadrita chakraborty analyzing ecriture feminine in the laugh of the medusa european academic research vol. These fourteen essays cover the entire range of his work on these subjects, in chronological order beginning with his first published analysis of a work of literature, the 1907 delusion and dreams in. Medusa project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read.
According to sigmund freuds interpretation, what does the gorgons head represent. Civilization and its discontents is a book by sigmund freud. The real problem is the onesidedness of these interpretations. Splitting of the ego in the defensive process 1938 150 161 166 173 184 202 204 210. The mothers genitals what is a possible explanation for why gorgons are often painted on the inside of athenian wine cups. For the ancients, an image of medusas head was a device for averting evil. I, issue 9 december 20 2898 women, to cut off womens languages, thus deconstructing freuds theory of the castration complex in men during the oedipal stage of psychosexual development and the lacanian. He says that erections can come about after when medusa makes men stiff with fear turning them into stone, which seemed to be an important image to comprehend in order to correctly interpret freuds short essay. Dec 28, 2015 freud martin sigmund freud mi padre anna freud schule monat oktober 2019anna freud anna freud schule monat oktober 2019.
This sight of medusa s head makes the spectator stiff with terror, turns him to stone. Without it, the symbolic significance of medusa would no longer. Among freuds other major works are the origins and development of psychoanalysis 1910, on narcissism 1914, repression 1915, civilization and its discontents 1929 and his final work, moses and monotheism 1939. An overview of the psychoanalytic theories concerning. Freud martin sigmund freud mi padre anna freud schule monat oktober 2019annafreud anna freud schule monat oktober 2019. In the same way, the medusas metaphor is associated with the modern psychoanalytic interpretations of sigmund freud who refers to the medusas head as the supreme talisman who provides the image of castration associated in the childs mind with the discovery of maternal sexuality and its denial freud. The sight of medusas head makes the spectator stiff with terror. The legend tells of a woman with snakes for hair, the sight of her face being so horrible that any man who looks upon her turns to stone. Classical myth powell chapter 14 flashcards quizlet. Despite freuds enormous influence on twentiethcentury interpretations of the humanities, there has never before been in english a complete collection of his writings on art and literature. Medusas head 1940c 1922 splitting of the ego in the process of defence 1940e 1938. Writings on art and literature sigmund freud with a foreword by neil hertz. Among freud s other major works are the origins and development of psychoanalysis 1910, on narcissism 1914, repression 1915, civilization and its discontents 1929 and his final work, moses and monotheism 1939. Olive edmonds in further contributions to the theory and technique of psychoanalysis, comp.
Male hysteria under political pressure alios age incitatos, alios age rabidos in the pages that follow, i shall be considering some examples of a recurrent turn of mind. Pdf download the uncanny in literature ebook my vocab book. Freud s neat little explication of the story of the medusa s head will serve to suggest the ways symbols come together to serve multiple functions, that is, are overdeterminedd. Medusa, perseus must first acquire three talismans that only the nymphs can bestow. Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone. Medusas head 264 editors notes 269 works cited 283. For years i have found freud s reflections fascinating and fertile, even if at points they seem weak anthropologically and excessively ideological. In 1922 freud wrote a brief sketch that takes up only two pages in his collected papers for a longer essay on medusa, the greek version of the frightening female. The complete psychological works of sigmund freud 18. Freuds essay medusas head 1922, friedrich nietzsches the birth of. He also noted that a display of the female genitals makes a woman unapproachable and repels all sexual desires, referring to the section in rabelais which.