Selected papers on hysteria and other psychoneurosesFreud, Sigmund
Science
Selected papers on hysteria and other psychoneuroses
Freud, Sigmund
Hysteria; Neuroses; Psychoanalysis
For this purpose the patient should have been put in deep hypnosis. But
unhappily I had to realize that all my procedures in that direction
could put the patient in no other state of consciousness than that in
which she gave me her confession. Still I was very pleased that this
time she abstained from triumphantly remonstrating with the words: “You
see, I really do not sleep, I cannot be hypnotized.” In such despair I
conceived the idea of making use of the trick of pressing the head, the
origin of which I have thoroughly discussed in the preceding
contribution concerning Miss Lucy. This was done by requesting the
patient to unfailingly inform me of what came before her mind’s eye or
passed through her memory at the moment of the pressure. For a long time
she was silent, and then admitted that on my pressure she thought of an
evening in which a young man had accompanied her home from some social
affair. She also thought of the conversation that passed between them,
and her feelings on returning home to nurse her father.
With this first mention of the young man a new shaft was opened, the
content of which I now gradually brought out. We dealt here rather with
a secret, for with the exception of a mutual friend, no one knew
anything of the relation and the hopes connected with it. It concerned
the son of an old friend who was formerly one of their neighbors. The
young man having become an orphan attached himself with great devotion
to her father; he was guided in his career by his advice, and this
veneration for the father was extended to the ladies of the family.
Numerous reminiscences of repeated joint readings, exchange of thoughts
and utterances on his side marked the gradual growth of her conviction
that he loved and understood her and that a marriage with him would not
impose the sacrifice that she feared. Unhappily he was but little older
than she and as yet was far from being independent. She however firmly
resolved to wait for him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account