Volume 20, Number 21 & 22 · January 24, 1974
Is Freudian Symbolism a Myth?
By Charles Rycroft
It has become a commonplace among the general public, and perhaps among journalists in particular, that some things are Freudian symbols. In the popular usage of this phrase, the word Freudian is synonymous with 'sexual,' the word 'sexual' is synonymous with 'genital,' while the question 'What does the word 'symbol' mean?' is answered, if it is asked at all, by saying that it is something that stands for something else. A pipe, a sword, a gun are held to be Freudian symbols on the ground that Freud reputedly said that they stand for penises. In view of this widespread' assumption, I thought it might be appropriate to start this essay by investigating whether the general public has in fact correctly divined and understood an essential part of Freud's thinking or whether some distortion of his ideas has taken place during their passage from the learned literature into the popular press.
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