--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Freud was a hero. He descended to the…" description: "\"Freud was a hero. He descended to the \"Underworld\" and met there stark terrors. He carried with him his theory as a Medusa's head which turned these te..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/r-d-laing-4861_benefits_freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-und_2434738.jpg" --- # Freud was a hero. He descended to the "Underworld" and met… ![“Freud was a hero. He descended to the "Underworld" and met there stark terrors. He carried with him his theory as a Medusa's head which turned these terrors to stone. We who follow Freud have the benefit of the knowledge he brought back with him and conveyed to us. He survived. We must see of we…” quote by R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/r-d-laing-4861_benefits_freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-und_2434738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/r-d-laing-4861_benefits_freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-und_2434738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/r-d-laing-4861_benefits_freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-und_2434738.jpg) > “Freud was a hero. He descended to the "Underworld" and met there stark terrors. He carried with him his theory as a Medusa's head which turned these terrors to stone. We who follow Freud have the benefit of the knowledge he brought back with him and conveyed to us. He survived. We must see of we now can survive without using a theory that is in some measure an instrument of defence.” [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He likens Freud’s theories to a heroic journey into the unconscious, warning that clinging to them can become a defensive shield. **In simple terms:** Freud’s ideas are both a rescue and a potential trap. Key Takeaway Use theory wisely, but stay open to new insights. Themes psychoanalysis self defense knowledge Mood critical introspective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - psychotherapy training - self‑reflection - academic critique - clinical practice Key Concepts analytic theory mythic narrative psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you test a theory’s limits? - When should you abandon a familiar framework? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on any theory can limit growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defence/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Medusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medusa/) [Underworld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underworld/) ## Related quotes > [Freud was a hero. He descended to the Underworld and met there stark terrors. He carried with him his theory as a Medusa's head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-underworld-and-met-there-stark/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [“The greatest psychopathologist has been Freud. Freud was a hero. He descended to the “Underworld” and met there stark terrors. He carried with him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing-2/the-greatest-psychopathologist-has-been-freud-freud-was-a-hero-he/) [R.D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing-2/) > [In mythology, the Medusa can petrify people with a look - which is a good thing, I think. But the Medusa is a unique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donatella-versace/in-mythology-the-medusa-can-petrify-people-with-a-look-which-is-a/) [Donatella Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donatella-versace/) > [“Every part of her was still except her hair, which blew round her face in the damp night like Medusa's serpentine locks rearing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-pine/every-part-of-her-was-still-except-her-hair-which-blew-round-her-face/) [Katherine Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-pine/) > [“Medusa reminds us that we must not take the female “monster” at face value; that we must not only weigh her beneficent against her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/medusa-reminds-us-that-we-must-not-take-the-female-monster-at-face/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“ In ancient times, the Gorgon Medusa lived on the far side of Oceanus in the land of Night. She was an awesome dragonlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-ewing/in-ancient-times-the-gorgon-medusa-lived-on-the-far-side-of-oceanus/) [Lynne Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-ewing/) > [The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/the-television-that-insidious-beast-that-medusa-which-freezes-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Margaret Thatcher has shown that there is power and dignity to be won by defying the status quo and the majority rather than by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/margaret-thatcher-has-shown-that-there-is-power-and-dignity-to-be-won/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Poetry is perhaps this: an Atemwende, a turning of our breath. Who knows, perhaps poetry goes its way—the way of art—for the sake of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/poetry-is-perhaps-this-an-atemwende-a-turning-of-our-breath-who-knows/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [To be sane, he held, was either to be sedated by melancholy or activated by hysteria, two responses which were 'always and equally warranted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/to-be-sane-he-held-was-either-to-be-sedated-by-melancholy-or/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“Medusa's lips split with that challenging smile, and for a second he recognized her somehow, he knew her on some primal level, the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid/medusa-s-lips-split-with-that-challenging-smile-and-for-a-second-he/) [S.J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid/) > [“Philologically, the name Medusa means the “ruling one.” But by the time of the earliest Greek texts which contain myth, those of Homer, Medusa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/philologically-the-name-medusa-means-the-ruling-one-but-by-the-time/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [Let me explain: there are dragons, and then there are drakons. Drakons are several millennia older than dragons, andmuch larger. They look like giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/let-me-explain-there-are-dragons-and-then-there-are-drakons-drakons/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“According to Greek mythology, Medusa is a Triple Goddess, one of three gorgon sisters—Sthenno, Euryale, and Medusa—representing past, present, and future. Only Medusa exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-marler/according-to-greek-mythology-medusa-is-a-triple-goddess-one-of-three/) [Joan Marler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-marler/) > [“You read any Greek myths, puppy? The one about the gorgon Medusa, particularly? I used to wonder what could be so terrible that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey-peter-gross/you-read-any-greek-myths-puppy-the-one-about-the-gorgon-medusa/) Mike Carey & Peter Gross ## More by R. D. Laing > [To live in the past or in the future may be less satisfying than to live in the present, but it can never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/to-live-in-the-past-or-in-the-future-may-be-less-satisfying-than-to/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [We must remember that we are living in an age in which the ground is shifting and the foundations are shaking. I cannot answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/we-must-remember-that-we-are-living-in-an-age-in-which-the-ground-is/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/we-live-in-a-moment-of-history-where-change-is-so-speeded-up-that-we/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [Our behavior is a function of our experience. We act according to the way we see things. If our experience is destroyed, our behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/our-behavior-is-a-function-of-our-experience-we-act-according-to-the/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [How do we define, how do we describe, how do we explain and/or understand ourselves? What sort of creatures do we take ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/how-do-we-define-how-do-we-describe-how-do-we-explain-and-or/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [There is a great deal of pain in life and perhaps the only pain that can be avoided is the pain that comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/there-is-a-great-deal-of-pain-in-life-and-perhaps-the-only-pain-that/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-range-of-what-we-think-and-do-is-limited-by-what-we-fail-to/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-range-of-what-we-think-and-do-is-limited-by-what-we-fail-to-notice/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [In the society of men the truth resides now less in what things are than in what they are not. Our social realities are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/in-the-society-of-men-the-truth-resides-now-less-in-what-things-are/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [The schizophrenic may indeed be mad. He is mad. He is not ill. I have been told by people who have been through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-schizophrenic-may-indeed-be-mad-he-is-mad-he-is-not-ill-i-have/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [What is to be done? We who are still half alive, living in the often fibrillating heartland of a senescent capitalism -- can we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/what-is-to-be-done-we-who-are-still-half-alive-living-in-the-often/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [From the alienated starting point of our pseudo-sanity, everything is equivocal. Our sanity is not "true" sanity. Their madness is not "true" madness. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/from-the-alienated-starting-point-of-our-pseudo-sanity-everything-is/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [In describing one way of going mad, I shall try to show that there is a comprehensible transition from the sane schizoid way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/in-describing-one-way-of-going-mad-i-shall-try-to-show-that-there-is/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [Doctors have throughout time made fortunes on killing their patients with their cures. The difference in psychiatry is that it is the death of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/doctors-have-throughout-time-made-fortunes-on-killing-their-patients/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [A psychiatrist who professes to be a healer of souls, but who keeps people asleep, treats them for waking up, and drugs them asleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/a-psychiatrist-who-professes-to-be-a-healer-of-souls-but-who-keeps/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) [Explore all 105 R. D. Laing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) ## More Benefits quotes > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-think-of-education-as-the-means-of-developing-our-greatest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [I won the seat of Oxley largely on an issue that has resulted in me being called a racist. That issue related to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/i-won-the-seat-of-oxley-largely-on-an-issue-that-has-resulted-in-me/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) Browse all 3,616 Benefits quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Freud was a hero. He descended to the \"Underworld\" and met there stark terrors. He carried with him his theory as a Medusa's head which turned these terrors to stone. We who follow Freud have the benefit of the knowledge he brought back with him and conveyed to us. He survived. We must see of we now can survive without using a theory that is in some measure an instrument of defence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "R. D. Laing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-underworld-and-met-there-stark-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Benefits" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-underworld-and-met-there-stark-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/r-d-laing-4861_benefits_freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-und_2434738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/r-d-laing-4861_benefits_freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-und_2434738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/r-d-laing-4861_benefits_freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-und_2434738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Freud was a hero. He descended to the \"Underworld\" and met there stark terrors. He carried with him his…” — R. D. Laing", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "R. D. Laing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Freud was a hero. He descended...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-underworld-and-met-there-stark-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/freud-was-a-hero-he-descended-to-the-underworld-and-met-there-stark-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```