In public, Mr. Mistoffelees is a strong advocate of animal rights. In reality, he has an unconscious desire to gratify himself by being cruel to cats. Freud would argue that Mr. Mistoffelees' is exhibiting

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Reaction formation is a defense mechanism in which a person behaves in a way that is opposite to their true feelings or desires in order to keep their true feelings unconscious. In this case, Mr. Mistoffelees is advocating for animal rights in public (which is opposite to his true desire to be cruel to cats) as a way to mask or deny his unconscious desires.

In Public, Mr