In “Civilization and Its Discontents,” Sigmund Freud contends that aggressiveness is a fundamental human instinct whose inhibition is a necessary obligation of social life. Fundamentally there is a tension between the freedom to gratify these natural aggressive desires and the conformity demanded by civilization.
Umbrellas for the Civil but Discontent Man combines a symbol of gentlemanly refinement—the full-sized, dark umbrella—with an element of more manly sword-bearing times. The umbrellas offer brief psychological respite from the dictates of social amiability; aggressive fantasies are allowed and encouraged on the daily commute to the office. The effete civilian's grasp of the handle takes him into the world of the masterful samurai, the medieval barbarian, or the triumphant cavalryman.
(Licensed to Kikkerland)
