ABSTRACT
Pailthorpe maintains that Surrealism is one of the outcomes of a demand, on the part of those dissatisfied with the world, for the complete liberation of mankind from all fetters that prevent full expression. This full expression is a biological necessity. Similarly, psychoanalysis strives, inter alia, to free the psychology of the individual from internal conflict so that she or he may function freely. It follows that both Surrealism and psychoanalysis aim for the liberation of man, albeit through different paths. Thus, she claims that the fantasy-story that the unconscious unfolds when painting freely is intelligible as there is always an underlying unconscious wish-fantasy for every painting. However, although the infantile fantasies underlying the pictures are not in consciousness at the time of painting or drawing, conscious interference in the painting can always be detected, since it invariably distorts the story in the fantasy-creation. Pailthorpe goes even further and states that the unconscious tells its story in brief but with associations that convey the maximum effect. It gives only those details necessary for the complete understanding of its moods. Each line and detail has its symbolic meaning that can be retraced via a chain of associations starting from every image that emerges.
