Why can we say that the greatest influence on Joyce's works is Freud?

Question

What does the stream of contiousness, typical also of Virginia Woolf, is and why is it considered a freudian skill?

Answer 1

Since Joyce and Woolf predate Freud, we can't.

Answer 2

First things first. Stream of consciousness is a technique used by some writers to describe what a chracter is thinking. For example, as you are reading this answer, you might be thinking of what to have for dinner tonight, or when to call your friend. But as you think of dinner, you might remember the dinner you had a week ago with family which turned out to be a total disaster, and that might lead you to think of a parent or sibling who created a scene. And then you might remember a similar incident from your childhood. Thus, one thought leads to another, and forms a "stream". That's stream of consciousness. James Joyce and Virginia Woolf used this technique in their books a lot.

It is considered a Freudian skill because it was Freud who laid emphasis on the role of the unconscious mind to understand humans better.

Answer 3

I'd say that the greatest influences on Joyce and his works was Ireland and the Catholic Church.