Freud says, “At the same time one willingly leaves untouched as much of the patient’s personal freedom as is compatible with these restrictions, nor does one hinder him from carrying out unimportant intentions, even if they are foolish; one does not forget that it is in fact only through his own experience and mishaps that a person learns sense.” (Freud, 153). This passage concerns the vastness of human will and our capabilities to act based on individual experience. Meaning, Humans learn critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence by keeping track of their senses, in connection to what they are feeling. The language in my chosen passage from the novel uses repetition of the phrases “Nature” and “human interest” more than twice in its entirety. The word “Nature” is said 4 times in this passage, which made me think of autonomy and how each individual is fueled by their own interests, heightened by our senses in literature. The concept of the sensation novel is evident in this excerpt because the point of view of perception is independent of nature and perceiving one’s surroundings.
Diving deeper into the text, Collins writes, “Those lives are most exclusively passed amid the ever-changing wonders of sea and land are also those who are most universally insensible to every aspect of Nature not directly associated with the human interest of their calling. Our capacity of appreciating the beauties of the earth we live on is, in truth, one of the civilized accomplishments that we all learn as an Art; and, more, that very capacity is rarely practiced by any of us except when our minds are most indolent and most unoccupied.” (WIW, 30). I found this quote quite compelling, concerning Freud’s idea of “obsessional neurosis,” (149) getting rid of different “thought-connections” involving phantasies, emotional impulses, experiences, and senses. The sensation novel is comprised of ‘obsessional neurosis” and the five senses to make sense of who we are and our relationship to the world around us. Art is Nature, Nature is Art, and Art is created by Nature which can be manipulated by the human.