Simply Freud

Simply Freud Simply Freud STEPHEN FROSH SIMPLY CHARLY NEW YORK Copyright © 2018 by Stephen Frosh Cover Illustration by Vladymyr Lukash Cover Design by Scarlett Rugers All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below. [email protected] ISBN: 978-1-943657-24-7 Brought to you by http://simplycharly.com Contents Praise for Simply Freud vii Other Great Lives viii Series Editor's Foreword ix Preface x 1. Childhood: "my golden Sigi." 1 2. Freud before psychoanalysis 16 3. Dreaming of Psychoanalysis 36 4. Sexuality 54 5. Founding a Movement 72 6. War and its Aftermath 90 7. Freud’s Late Style 108 Sources 125 Suggested Reading 130 About the Author 133 A Word from the Publisher 134 A Word from the Publisher 135 Praise for Simply Freud “A lucid and engaging brief introduction to Sigmund Freud’s life and thought.” —Daniel Pick, Professor of History at Birbeck College, University of London “Simply Freud is a beautiful as well as informative read. Frosh applies his erudition and long engagement with psychoanalysis to formulate an elegant, accessible introduction to Freud and the clinical practice, concepts and debates he inspired (and indeed toiled so hard for), that mobilizes authoritative commentaries to enrich this account, but (as appropriate for this topic) is very much his own reading. Simply a delight.” —Erica Burman, Professor of Education at The University of Manchester “Frosh is the ideal guide on Freud—clear-eyed, cogent and compelling. An essential book.” —Anthony Elliott, Research Professor of Sociology & Dean of External Engagement, University of South Australia “Stephen Frosh plots a novel route through the much-storied history of Freud’s life and intellectual legacy. Frosh’s style is compellingly readable. He shows us not only what has long been lost to us—the strangeness of Freud—but also offers us an incisive portrayal of a brilliant, often defiant and ultimately epoch-defining intellectual who taught us that we are far more than we (consciously) know ourselves to be.” —Derek Hook, Professor of Psychology, Duquesne University Praise for Simply Freud | vii Other Great Lives Simply Austen by Joan Klingel Ray Simply Beckett by Katherine Weiss Simply Beethoven by Leon Plantinga Simply Chaplin by David Sterritt Simply Chekhov by Carol Apollonio Simply Chomsky by Raphael Salkie Simply Chopin by William Smialek Simply Darwin by Michael Ruse Simply Descartes by Kurt Smith Simply Dickens by Paul Schlicke Simply Edison by Paul Israel Simply Einstein by Jimena Canales Simply Eliot by Joseph Maddrey Simply Euler by Robert E. Bradley Simply Faulkner by Philip Weinstein Simply Fitzgerald by Kim Moreland Simply Freud by Stephen Frosh Simply Gödel by Richard Tieszen Simply Hegel by Robert Wicks Simply Hitchcock by David Sterritt Simply Joyce by Margot Norris Simply Machiavelli by Robert Fredona Simply Napoleon by J. David Markham & Matthew Zarzeczny Simply Proust by Jack L. Jordan Simply Riemann by Jeremy Gray Simply Tolstoy by Donna Tussing Orwin Simply Stravinsky by Pieter van den Toorn Simply Turing by Michael Olinick Simply Wagner by Thomas S. Grey Simply Wittgenstein by James C. Klagge viii | Other Great Lives Series Editor's Foreword imply Charly’s “Great Lives” series offers brief but authoritative S introductions to the world’s most influential people—scientists, artists, writers, economists, and other historical figures whose contributions have had a meaningful and enduring impact on our society. Each book provides an illuminating look at the works, ideas, personal lives, and the legacies these individuals left behind, also shedding light on the thought processes, specific events, and experiences that led these remarkable people to their groundbreaking discoveries or other achievements. Additionally, every volume explores various challenges they had to face and overcome to make history in their respective fields, as well as the little-known character traits, quirks, strengths, and frailties, myths and controversies that sometimes surrounded these personalities. Our authors are prominent scholars and other top experts who have dedicated their careers to exploring each facet of their subjects’ work and personal lives. Unlike many other works that are merely descriptions of the major milestones in a person’s life, the “Great Lives” series goes above and beyond the standard format and content. It brings substance, depth, and clarity to the sometimes-complex lives and works of history’s most powerful and influential people. We hope that by exploring this series, readers will not only gain new knowledge and understanding of what drove these geniuses, but also find inspiration for their own lives. Isn’t this what a great book is supposed to do? Charles Carlini, Simply Charly New York City Series Editor's Foreword | ix Preface igmund Freud (1856–1939) was the founder of psychoanalysis S and one of the most influential writers of modern times. He invented a way of thinking about people that emphasizes the importance of their inner world of desires and wishes, and he developed a practice of psychotherapy that set the stage for all the “talking cures” with which we are now familiar. The poet W. H. Auden wrote of him that “he is no more a person / now but a whole climate of opinion,” expressing how Freud’s ideas have come to be vital aspects of contemporary life. The unconscious, sexual repression, free association, the interpretation of dreams, even “therapeutic culture” all have their place at the center of western society because of Freud. But he was a person too—ambitious, conflicted, amorous, irritable, blind about some things but prophetically insightful about others. In fact, his personality shaped the way psychoanalysis developed, and its texts are full of vignettes from Freud’s life—the dreams he had, the jokes he told, and the patients he worked with. Remarkably, psychoanalysis is a discipline built on the dream life of its creator. This book presents a biographical introduction to Freud and to his major ideas. It describes his life in 19th-century Vienna and the patients with whom he worked; it looks at the relationships he formed with his teachers and followers, including his passionate links with men with whom he subsequently fell out. It focuses on how his theories developed in the context of the enormous social and political upheavals of the early 20th century—disruptions which eventually prompted Freud to move to England as an exile, in order, as he wrote in 1938 to his son Ernst, “to die in freedom.” But why do we need another book about Freud? After all, not only has he been dead for over three-quarters of a century, but his intellectual death has been declared many times—though often quickly resurrected, as in a famous Newsweek cover of 2006 that x | Preface inserted the word “Not” into the title “Freud is Dead.” The passion surrounding the question of whether there is anything worth keeping alive in “Freud”—that is, in his ideas and in the legacy he gave the world, i.e., psychoanalysis—continues to be intense. Even one contributor to the Newsweek article defending Freud complained that he had been misquoted, and for every defense, there is at least one virulent attack. In addition, there seems to be no end of books about Freud, including a series of biographies ranging from the whimsical and partial, to the deeply scholarly and appreciatively critical. Since 2000, when the Library of Congress opened most of its archives of Freud’s documents, there has been at least one major study (by French historian and psychoanalyst Elisabeth Roudinesco) that incorporates most of what is knowable about Freud, and it is possible to argue that there is not really much left to be said. So why yet another book? One simple answer is that Freud remains an ever-fascinating character, whose ideas are constantly open to reconsideration and re-evaluation, and whose impact on western culture is so profound that it is always open to review. Each one of us is absorbed to a greater or lesser extent in what has been termed a “psychoanalytic culture,” meaning that we tend to understand ourselves and other people through the lens of Freudian ideas. For example, we might think of the limits of our ability to be sure of our desires or wishes, or of the reasons for our behavior, through simple reflection. Do I always know why I do certain things, or think certain thoughts, or find myself lost in some particular fantasy or dream?What are the reasons for a person’s inability to stay rational or keep her or his temper, and what explanation could there be for the repetitive way in which some people sabotage themselves just when they seem to be on the verge of a significant achievement? There are clearly many possible answers to these questions, but it is very hard to approach them without some consideration of basic Freudian ideas, such as that we might have unconscious wishes of which, by definition, we are unaware, or only very partially aware; or that we may have unresolved conflicts which spill over into everyday life; or confused Preface | xi recollections or even traumatic memories that are not fully known to us, yet are having an impact on our behavior. This is all a way of saying that humans are “reflexive” beings: we use the intellectual tools at our disposal to make sense of ourselves and the world, including some powerful ideas put forward by Freud.

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