"There Are Times When A Cigar Is Only A Cigar"
There have been numerous criticisms of Freud and his theories. One of these criticisms is how Freud claims that any object that is phallic or yonic is symbolic in some way. Freud loved smoking cigars, and many of his critics poked fun at him for this. In response, Freud gave the famous quote: "Gentlemen, there are times when a cigar is only a cigar!"
This quote is comical, especially when you take into consideration how serious of a person Freud was. Despite this, some people still choose to analyze the quote as a denial of the basis that Freud's theories stood on. Freud's theories were controversial already, so his poking fun at them did not help to convince people of their authenticity.
As a follower of Freudian psychology, Sherwood Anderson was certainly aware of this quote. In The Philosopher, Anderson makes his own subtle joke about this quote with the character of Doctor Percival. He is a large man with numerous stogies protruding from his pockets. Unlike every other mentioning of cigars in the novel, this has no symbolic meaning. This just goes to show that sometimes, "a cigar is only a cigar."
This quote is comical, especially when you take into consideration how serious of a person Freud was. Despite this, some people still choose to analyze the quote as a denial of the basis that Freud's theories stood on. Freud's theories were controversial already, so his poking fun at them did not help to convince people of their authenticity.
As a follower of Freudian psychology, Sherwood Anderson was certainly aware of this quote. In The Philosopher, Anderson makes his own subtle joke about this quote with the character of Doctor Percival. He is a large man with numerous stogies protruding from his pockets. Unlike every other mentioning of cigars in the novel, this has no symbolic meaning. This just goes to show that sometimes, "a cigar is only a cigar."
I share your skepticism of Freud's psychological theories; if cigars are phallic objects just sometimes, then are they a valid psychoanalytic subject to turn to? I don't know when it is appropriate to apply Freud's thinking to the situations of the stories. Similarly, I often find myself second-guessing myself in regards to certain Oedipal/Electra Complex situations, not knowing if it is my twisted thinking or a true Freudian reference. I will agree that some Freudian theories apply nicely to and compliment the stories of Winesburg, Ohio, but the inconsistency is a bit disconcerting at times.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Paul and you. In English, we are taught to look at everything in a story as a potential symbol. While this does help us identify actual symbols, there are times a hear something in English and think, "that's a bit of a stretch." Like what Paul said about Oedipal complexes, I don't think Anderson intentionally gave almost every character in the book some level of Oedipal complex. Freud's theories are just so vague that any sort of nontraditional childhood could be interpreted as leading to a messed up Oedipal Complex. While Anderson does use a lot of symbols, there are definitely times that we call something a symbol that he had no intention of making symbolic.
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with you and Andrew. I constantly find myself being forced to make connections with in a text that aren't necesarily there. So it is very hard to accept that something may not be significant to the text for no reason what so ever. I also find it strange that freuds theories were still accepted after he made his famous proclimation that sometimes a cigar was just a cigar. I feel that after saying something like that he would have really lost his credidaiton.
ReplyDeleteI think that by fondling the details of Winesbur, Ohio, I have become what some may call a phallic symbol connoisseur. Therefore I find this Freud quote to be puzzling. Anderson has "trained" us to see a church steeple as a phallic symbol, so really I don't see how you can condone that, but say a cigar is just a cigar. While tobaccy may be a bit wacky, even if you're Freud, there is simply no way around a cigar being a big Johnson.
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