Sigmund Freud, a psychologist and sociologist in the 20th century, believed that self-description is rarely a true representation of one’s self because real motives are disguised by conscious thoughts preventing honesty (McLeod). People are inclined to present themselves as more interesting, and in turn believe others are naturally just as amusing. For example, someone in possession of silk from India sounds adventurous or exotic, but the reality could be that the silk from India was actually shipped to America in a box full of packaging peanuts. Human minds naturally transfer observations into assumptions. Woolf sarcastically states in “A Room of One’s Own” that the “truth is only to be had by laying together many varieties of error” to bring
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Freud believed symbolism was crucial when attempting to discover the truth, but he understood that “symbols are personal rather than universal” (McLeod). Therefore, interpretations cannot be made without knowing the individual. The narrator gave no indication that he or she had any relationship with Isabella that would qualify his or her interpretations of the household objects. Letters hold personal significance that cannot be applied to every individual like a one size fits all bathrobe. The onlooker’s opinion about the letters change frequently which shows the unreliability of theories without factual foundations. Isabella’s letters seem to hold secrets about a “hideous crime” but later it conceals “intimacy and affection.” The narrator, filled with suspense, believes these letters to hold the key to Isabella’s identity. Woolf’s reveal of the letter’s contents dropped like a bomb on the fantastic ideas fabricated by the narrator. All the possibilities invented by the narrator could not be farther from the truth; Isabella’s letters are all bills. Woolf shows her dedication to the truth by including this boring fact. Through the normal day-to-day delivery of bills, she is presenting the “ordinary” as the true identity of Isabella.Woolf is leading her readers from subjectivity to the
Freud believed symbolism was crucial when attempting to discover the truth, but he understood that “symbols are personal rather than universal” (McLeod). Therefore, interpretations cannot be made without knowing the individual. The narrator gave no indication that he or she had any relationship with Isabella that would qualify his or her interpretations of the household objects. Letters hold personal significance that cannot be applied to every individual like a one size fits all bathrobe. The onlooker’s opinion about the letters change frequently which shows the unreliability of theories without factual foundations. Isabella’s letters seem to hold secrets about a “hideous crime” but later it conceals “intimacy and affection.” The narrator, filled with suspense, believes these letters to hold the key to Isabella’s identity. Woolf’s reveal of the letter’s contents dropped like a bomb on the fantastic ideas fabricated by the narrator. All the possibilities invented by the narrator could not be farther from the truth; Isabella’s letters are all bills. Woolf shows her dedication to the truth by including this boring fact. Through the normal day-to-day delivery of bills, she is presenting the “ordinary” as the true identity of Isabella.Woolf is leading her readers from subjectivity to the