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Books Reviews

Studies on Hysteria

Studies on Hysteria coverPublished in 1895 by Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer, Studies on Hysteria is generally regarded as marking the beginning of the psychoanalysis. In fact, it is a work of transition between the pre-analytical period and Freud's works as we know it. As such, the Studies on Hysteria is often a source of confusion for the lay reader who believes he will find here the true teachings of Freud's thought.

Studies on Hysteria is a fascinating read because the cases reported by the authors are each the equivalent of a short novel that captures the reader's interest. We see the development history of the disease and the risks of a new form of treatment that leaves the word to the patient. The enthusiasm of the authors, especially of the young Freud, is contagious and if the severity of the clinical presentation has been questioned more recently ( Anna O. case in particular), this work marks a real epistemological rupture in the study of the human psyche.

Co-authored by Joseph Breuer and Freud, this book also marks the gradual break between the two men. Freud will embark on the path of psychoanalysis while Breuer, older than him, will only follow from afar the work of his former protégé. The various chapters of the book bear the signature and stamp of their author and the differences between the two men are clearly exposed.

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The Interpretation of Dreams

Sream Interpretation coverPublished in 1899 but dated 1900 by the publisher, this book is the cornerstone of psychoanalysis . Impressive work, The Interpretation of Dreams was one of the books that Freud was the most attached as notes were added several times, according to the re-editions and the developments of his thought.

The Interpretation of Dreams is a large monograph on which Freud worked for several years. It is important to understand that this book is the culmination of an intense work on himself, called since then self-analysis, made throughout the second half of 1890 and which can be traced in the correspondence with Wilhelm Fliess. A large number of dreams reported in the book are the author's own and witness to the informed reader for Freud's conflicting dynamics during those years of turmoil, which many did not fail to study thereafter.

Written in Freud's own rich style, which eventually earned him the Goethe Prize, this book is a study of dreams and resumes, to discuss and demonstrate the weaknesses, the different approaches made up to date of the dream phenomenon. It was only later that he devotes several chapters to the question of the interpretation of dreams, and lays the theoretical and metapsychological bases of all of his work (dreamwork, the wish fulfillment, the Oedipal complex, the first topic, etc.). (Read also our paper on the dream interpretation in psychoanalysis - click here.)

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On Dreams

On Dreams pictureOn Dreams is a small booklet written by Freud after the publication of his monograph on dream interpretation, in 1900. At the urging of his friends, including Wilhelm Fliess, Freud agreed to write a sort of summary of his work in a more accessible form .

With a quick and easy read, this little book gives only a rough idea of the Freudian conception of dreams and leaves little room for the rich theorizing about the mental life contained the last chapters of his previous book.

Still it is a good introduction to the subject of dreams for anyone who wants to have a general idea.

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Dora: Analysis of a Case of Hysteria

Dora Case pictureFreud's vision about women made the object of numerous studies, conferences and colloquia, many of them having as a central team the case Dora, the unhappy young woman misunderstood by the master. Nevertheless, the situation is much more complex.

By publishing the case Dora in 1901, Freud wanted to exemplify and to prove through a clinical example his dream monograph published one year ago. It is not at all surprising that the account of the case is specially centered on the analysis of two dreams. Furthermore, psychoanalysis is at its incipient phase and Freud is still far away from realizing the true importance of the transference in the development of the treatment.

The case Dora has the typical imprint of Vienna at the beginning of the XX century, of the hypocrisy which characterized the treatment of sexual and adultery problems.

A pretty disturbed mother - obsessed with cleaning -, a father whose mistress was the wife of a friend - friend who tries, at the same time, to seduce Dora, who rejects him, and then he allies with her father in order to make everything look like the imagination of the young woman, here are the premises for a day to day life drama. Let´s add as well the fact that the father's mistress involves herself in the sexual education of the young girl, which makes complete the picture of an explosive situation.

Freud was often reproached the abrupt intervention in the Dora case. Some have seen it as a trauma repetition when Freud, believing the girl's story, interpreted it as a sign of love for the one that she rejected. This analytic episode comes soon to an end at the initiative of the patient.

An interesting text, especially if we avoid adopting a priori a polemical position and we seek to find the necessary lessons from this partial failure.

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The Psychopathology of Everyday Life

Psychopathology of Everyday Life coverWith the monograph about dream's interpretation, the book about jokes and the present work - which treats of the forgetting and the slips and mistakes - Freud tries to prove the general value of his new science in the understanding not only of the pathology but also of the human psyche in his generality.

Written at the same time as Interpretation of Dreams, the Psychopathology of the Everyday Life was published in 1901 and it is one of the best well-known works by the lay public.

Enjoying a pleasant and fascinating reading due to the numerous related and analyzed examples, this book contributed to the spreading of the idea that no act is gratuitous and nothing happens without a purpose.

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Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality

Thre Essays pictureThis treatise was published in 1905 and was often modified; along the years; it was rewritten almost completely by Freud and had a bewildering effect on all areas dealing with the human psyche research.

A durable but fake myth claims that the book's publishing would have lead to vehement reactions from the scientific world who was horrified by the infantile sexuality theories. However, the reality is different.

Many books regarding sexuality were published at that time and the matter of an infantile sexual life was often approached and pretty good accepted. Besides, Freud's book enjoyed from the beginning a rather discrete but favorable reaction, especially because the readers did not realize immediately to what extent the conception over the psycho-sexuality was revolutionary.

The three essays are a classical work of psychoanalysis.

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