I.

FreudTheUncannyp.51433
a. Definingtheuncanny
i. Eitherwecanfindoutwhatmeaninghascometobeattached
tothewordhistorically
ii. Collectthepropertiesofpersons,things,sense
impressions,experiences,andsituationswhicharisethe
feelingofuncanniness.
1. Inferthenaturethenbywhatallofthesethingshave
b.
c.
d.

e.

incommon.
Heimlichvsunheimlich
Thefearofcastrationandlosingoneseye.
Uncanninesstiedtoinfantilesources.
i. Charactersconsideredidenticalbecausetheylookalike.
ii. Thereisdoubling,dividing,andinterchangingoftheself.
1. Double
Doublegoingfrombeingasymbolofimmortalitytobeingthe
uncannyharbingerofdeath.
i. Usedtobeaproductofnarcissismbutcanreceivefresh

meaningfromthelaterstagesoftheegosdevelopment.
f. Doubleegodisturbance
i. Harkingbacktoparticularphasesintheevolutionofthe
selfregardingfeeling,aregressiontoatimewhentheego
hadnotyetmarkeditselfoffsharplyfromtheexternal
worldandfromotherpeople.
g. Uncannyfeelingsrecallsthesenseofhelplessnessexperienced
insomedreamstates.
h. Foritispossibletorecognizethedominanceintheunconscious
mindofa"compulsiontorepeat"proceedingfromtheinstinctual
impulsesandprobablyinherentintheverynatureofthe
instinctsacompulsionpowerfulenoughtooverrulethepleasure
principle,lendingtocertainaspectsofthemindtheirdemonic
character,andstillveryclearlyexpressedintheimpulsesof
smallchildren;acompulsion,too,whichisresponsiblefora
partofthecoursetakenbytheanalysisofneuroticpatients.
i. Thingshappeningthemomentyouthinkofthemorseeingthe
repetitionofthingsthatdrawsyourattentiontothem.
i. Omnipotenceofthoughts.
i. Universeideatheworldwaspeopledwiththespiritsof
humanbeings;bythesubjectsnarcissisticovervaluationof
hisownmentalprocesses;bythebeliefintheomnipotence

ofthoughtsandthetechniqueofmagicbasedonthatbelief;
bytheattributiontovariousoutsidepersonsandthingsof
carefullygradedmagicalpowers;aswellasbyalltheother
creationswiththehelpofwhichman,intheunrestricted
narcissismofthatstageofdevelopment,strovetofindoff
themanifestprohibitionsofreality.
j. Repressionthenecessaryconditionofaprimitivefeeling
recurringintheshapeofsomethinguncanny.
k. Aterrifyingfantasyisjustatransformationofanotherfantasy
thatwasntterrifying.
l. Imagerybecomingreality.
m. UncannyissomethingSECRETLYFAMILIARwhichhasundergone
repressionandthenreturnedfromit,andthateverythingthatis
uncannyfulfillsthiscondition.
n. Ourconclusioncouldthenbestatedthus;anuncannyexperience
occurseitherwheninfantilecomplexeswhichhavebeenrepressed
areoncemorerevivedbysomeimpression,orwhenprimitive
beliefswhichhavebeensurmountedseemoncemoretobeconfined.
Finally,wemustnotletourpredilectionforsmoothsolutions
andlucidexpositionblindustothefactthatthesetwoclasses
ofuncannyexperiencearenotalwayssharplydistinguishable.
Whenweconsiderthatprimitivebeliefsaremostintimately
connectedwithinfantilecomplexes,andare,infact,basedon
them,weshallnotbegreatlyastonishedtofindthatthe
distinctionisoftenahazyone.(530)
i. Theuncannyasitisdepictedinliterature,instoriesand
imaginativeproductions,meritsintruthThesomewhat
paradoxicalresultthatinthefirstplaceagreatdealthat
isnotuncannyinfictionwouldbesoifithappenedinreal
life;andinthesecondplacethattherearemanymoremeans
ofcreatinguncannyeffectsinfictionthantherearein
reallife.Theimaginativewriterhasthislicenseamong
manyothers,thathecanselecthisworldofrepresentation
sothatiteithercoincideswiththerealitiesweare

familiarwithordepartsfromtheminwhatparticularshe
pleases.