Superficial Associations and Juxtaposition

I have already attempted to draw a parallel between Sigmund Freud's theory of free associations and Andre Breton's theories of Surrealism and automatism. Next, I will try to prove that Freud's "superficial associations" became a major influence on the Surrealist conception of juxtaposition.

To begin, we must understand what Freud meant by superficial associations. According to Freud, superficial associations were all things that connected various free associations (ie, emerging ideas or images with no interrelationship of meaning). Superficial associations can be anything like "assonance, verbal ambiguity, and temporal coincidence" (again from chapter 7.A. of the Interpretation of Dreams). Thus, Freud believed that there were connectors between seemingly contradictory thoughts that followed one after another. He called these connectors superficial associations.

Now, we must also understand Breton's theory of juxtaposition in art. Quoting another poet by the name of Pierre Reverdy, Breton states towards the beginning of his Manifesto that

The image is a pure creation of the mind. It cannot be born from a comparison but from a juxtaposition of two more or less distant realities. The more the relationship between the two juxtaposed realities is distant and true, the stronger the image will be -- the greater its emotional power and poetic reality...

Although Breton used these words in a way radically different from Reverdy's own poetry, this Surrealist conception of juxtaposition is still important to this topic. In essence, Breton decided that the juxtaposition or the visible and intentional contradiction of two images could create a very powerful and unconscious emotional reaction.

"This is not a pipe."

Here is where we draw the parallel between Freud's superficial associations and Breton's juxtapositions: as free associations are to juxtaposed images, superficial associations are to juxtapositions themselves. Allow me to explain. Free associations are not simply ideas, but ideas that flow in succession with no apparent relation to each other; however, there is a secret unconscious relation between them, and that is the superficial association. In the same way, the images that Breton describes cannot stand on their own, but must be juxtaposed with images that are radically different or contradictory; however, there is something that connects these two distant images, and that is the juxtaposition that Breton describes. In both cases, the connection is unconscious (whether the connection be an in-dream superficial association or an artistic juxtaposition). Breton further explains the unconscious aspect of juxtaposition in a section entitled "Against Death":

In my opinion, it is erroneous to claim that "the mind has grasped the relationship" of two realities in the presence of each other. First of all, it has seized nothing consciously.

It also seems necessary to note that Breton implicitly refers to Freud's associations in this very paragraph in order to support his argument. Also, something that specifically caught my attention is a statement made by Freud, which may have influenced Breton's intentional misinterpretation of Pierre Reverdy's beliefs. Freud states

Whenever one psychic element is connected with another by an obnoxious and superficial association, there exists also a correct and more profound connection between the two....

This single statement may have hatched the idea in Breton's head that there are certain truths hidden unconsciously in various juxtapositions.

It seems foolish to deny that Freud affected the Surrealist theory of juxtaposition. From Breton's implicit mention of Freud's "associations" to the Manifesto of Surrealism's synthesis of Reverdy's poetic beliefs and Freud's psychoanalysis, it becomes obvious that Freud had a major influence on the foundational Surrealist theory and technique known as juxtaposition.