Sigmund Freud on the Unconscious

Sigmund Freud on the Unconscious & the Structure of Psyche

the Unconscious:

"any mental process the existence of which we are obligated to assume--because, for instance, we infer it in some way from its effects--but of which we are not directly aware..."
two kinds:

the "preconscious"--the unconscious which is only latent, and so can easily become conscious
the unconscious --one that only come come about with considerable expenditure of energy, or never occur

The three psychic zones: id, ego and superego

id--reservoir of libido--passion and instinct--governed by pleasure principle

ego--the rational governing agency of the psyche. It regulates the instinctual drives of the id so that they may be released in nondestructive behavioral patterns.--reason and circumspection --governed by reality principle --protects the individual
superego--protects the society

　

Id	Ego	Superego
pleasure p. repository of libido instinct and passionself-satisfaction	reality p. intermediary protect individual	morality p. repository of conscience and pride reason and morality circumspection protect society
Terry Eagleton on pleasure principle vs. reality principle: What has dominated human history to date is the need to labour; and for Freud that harsh necessity means that we must repress some of our tendencies to pleasure and gratification. ...Every human being has to undergo this repression of what Freud named the 'pleasure principle' by the 'reality principle.' ...If too much is demanded of us, we are likely to fall sick. This form of sickness is known as neurosis. Elizabeth Wright on repression: Primal repression: initiates the formation of the unconscious and is ineradicable and permanent. Primal repression consists of denying a 'psychical representative' (that is an idea attached to an instinct) entry to the conscious: a fixation is thereby established, splitting conscious from unconscious. repression proper or 'after-pressure': it serves to keep guilt-laden wishes out of conscious experience. "the return of the repressed" --thru' the symptoms, dreams and parapraxes ('Freudian slips') Primary (psychic) Process: allows the psychical energy to flow freely, the Secondary Process: transforms it into 'bound energy,' in that its movement is checked and controlled by the rational operations of the ego. Example: "Young Goodman Brown"
Faith& the village	Brown	the Devil with a snake-like staff & the forest
superego	ego	id

References:

Raman Seldon. Reader's Guide to Contemporary Theory Harvester. 1993: pp. 118-26.

Terry Eagleton. Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983

Wright, Elizabeth. Psychoanalytic Criticism: A Reappraisal. September, 1998.