Freud's Idea.

Sigmund Freud's theories enjoyed great popularity in the 1920s. Aspects of his work made their way into everyday conversation, journalism, and literature. Before his time, psychology had been overwhelmingly concerned with the intellect, regarding conscious perceptions and ideas as the fundamental factors of mental health. In opposition to this focus on the surface of the mind, Freud claimed that "subconscious" urges, desires, and inhibitions dominated human behavior. According to his theories, traumas suffered in childhood were often forgotten or "repressed" by the conscious mind only to dominate the subconscious, manifesting themselves in neurotic behavior or even serious mental illness. The practical goal of Freud's psychoanalytic method was to cure mental illness by discovering its hidden causes, which, when brought to the surface, could be addressed and resolved.

Freudianism's Vogue in the 1920s.

Many people from nonscientific backgrounds were fascinated by the idea of...