“Boom in the sale of couches!” Freud’s conspiracy?
- Soumya Gulati
Many people know Sigmund Freud as the Founder of Psychoanalysis, father of Modern Psychology and whatnot, but only a few know the story of his role as catalyst to the sale of couches!
Yes, you read it right! Couches!
During the revolutionary practice of free association or dream analysis when the subject relaxed on the couch, describing his experiences/thoughts/fantasies, the sales of companies like the Imperial Leather Furniture Company of Queens multi folded.
Before Freud, couches used to be for lounging, eating chips and destroying your eyesight by watching T.V, but after the advent of psychoanalysis, there came the mass production of couches especially designed for psychoanalysis, which often avoided the use of weird buttons or rough fabric to adhere to the needs of nervous patients.
Freud’s multifaceted couch is still a thing!
The concept of it is put to practical use by psychologists all around the world. Specialized shops to buy these couches exist too. This shows us how a small change in history can lead to the boom in the sales of a product. Although the first psychoanalytic couch, (which was actually a Victorian day BED!) has progressed to much more sophisticated patterns, rugs and cushions, still the premise of the entire theory remains the same, to delve deeper into the unconscious thoughts and desires of the subject.
