Sigmund Freud
He created a model of the psyche divided into 3 parts: the id, the ego and the
superego. The id is the set of instinctual impulses, the ego is the coordinated and
realistic part and the superego has a moralising and critical role (education, moral
laws…). According to Freud, the development of human psyche is affected by the
subconscious and his action can be controlled by irrational forces; moreover, the
superego can deeply distort man’s behaviour. He also analysed the relationship
between parents and children and he formulated the theory of “the Oedipus
complex”: a morbid attachment to the parent of the opposite sex and an ambivalent
attitude (of hate and love) towards the parent of the same. Moreover, Freud studied
man’s mind through the analysis of dreams and the concept of “free association” and
this influenced the artists and writers of modern age.
1905, Freud publishes Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality
This led people to change their mind for what concerns the vision of sexuality.
Freud’s theories seem to be shocking at a time when people only emphasized
sexuality. But something changes when he talked about sexuality in infancy and
childhood (the central theme of his work). He also understood puberty as the sum of
changes acting upon infantile sexuality.
