Repression [Verdrängung]

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error
  • The Literary Encyclopedia. WORLD HISTORY AND IDEAS: A CROSS-CULTURAL VOLUME.

Resources

According to Freud, a process whereby we keep back from consciousness those wishes, desires, memories and thoughts which would cause unpleasure because they conflict with the social conscience of the super-ego. The term is used in his early paper “The Neuro-psychoses of Defence” (1894) and is fundamental to his idea of the unconscious in

Studies on Hysteria

(1895) and

The Interpretation of Dreams

(1900) which focus attention on the way the neurotic symptom and the dream symbol indicate the “desire to be known” of that which has been repressed into the unconscious by an ego anxious to defend itself against this knowledge.

In his essay “Repression” (1915), Freud emphasises that repression denies the signs or representatives of certain instincts access to the conscious mind. It

317 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Repression [Verdrängung]". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 October 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1616, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1616 Repression [Verdrängung] 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.