The author, a professor of law who, as a prominent member of the African National Congress, lived for many years in exile in Mozambique, describes his discovery of psychoanalysis in the aftermath of a long stretch of solitary confinement as a political prisoner. He undertook a reading of Freud, seeking answers to questions raised by his own behavior during the imprisonment. In this contribution, the author touches upon the relationship of the will to the unconscious, and the necessity of loosening the will and accepting the loss of powerful, idealized political ideas and beliefs. This is not to say, however, that these ideas and beliefs were simply fantasies or misleading rationalizations: they had real force, sustaining individuals through extreme trials. Moreover, the perceptions that gave rise to political idealism—the appreciation of human suffering and identification with the aspirations of others to be free from oppression—remain the guiding light for political and moral conduct, albeit modified by lessons learned from past mistakes in the revolutionary struggle, and from the lessons of a humbled will.