From Thirty Years with Freud

FROM THIRTY YEARS WITH FREUD THE ODOR REIK TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN. CONTENTS PAGE. EDITORIAL PREFACE......7. PREFACE A PORTRAIT COMES TO LIFE 9. PART I: FREUD AND HIS FOLLOWERS. CHAPTER I. MEMORIES OF SIGMUND FREUD 13. II. LAST VISIT TO FREUD 32. III. FREUD AND HIS FOLLOWERS 39. IV. STUDENTS OR SORCERERS APPRENTICES? ......50 PART HAN UNKNOWN LECTURE OF FREUD SV. AN UNKNOWN LECTURE OF FREUDS 63 PART HI FREUD AS A CRITIC OF OUR CULTUREVL CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS 90VII. THE FUTURE OF AN ILLUSION 108VIIL NOTE ON A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE 127IX. THE STUDY ON DOSTOYEVSKY 142 PART IVESSAYS ON DIVERSE SUBJECTSCHAPTER PAGEX. EMBARRASSMENT IN GREETING 159XL ON THE NATURE OF JEWISH WIT 164 XII. THE WAY OF ALL FLESH 174 XIIL THE LATENT MEANING OF ELLIPTICAL DISTORTION.....188XIV. MANS DUAL NEED FOR SOCIETY ANDSOLITUDE 198XV. THE ECHO OF THE PROVERB 201 INDEX 213. EDITORIAL PREFACE: DESPITE Freuds personal frankness in his writings he retained a deep inner reserve andso is likely to remain a man of mystery to future generations, who will greatly like to understand what manner of mind it was that was able unaided to penetrate so profoundly into its own secrets and into those of humanity. Any scraps of information,therefore, concerning his remarkable personality will be welcome, and the present book provides some of undoubted interest. Dr. Reik throws light on several aspects of Freuds personality, among which special attention may be called to the convincing evidence of Freuds fundamental hopefulness and the falsity of designating him a pessimist. The author would be the last to deny that the glimpses he gives us are but partial ones, and tha the does not pretend to paint a complete picture. He would further, I am sure, admit that the passage of years has brought an increasing risk of strengthening the subjective factor in some of his judgements and possibly also in his memories. Two little instances occur to me. He says that after Freuds serious illness the only thing noticeable was that he cleared his throat when he lectured. In fact, Freud never lectured after that date and only on one occasion did he ever even attend a meeting of the Society. Clearing the throat was a habit he had always had what the illness brought was the difficulty of articulation. The second instance concerns Dr. Reiks quoting Freuds prohibiting the celebration of his seventieth birthday with the remark, alluding to Karl Abrahams recent death, one cannot celebrate with a corpse in the house. In fact there was an important celebration of that birthday I went to Vienna myself to attend it. And Freuds birthday was in May, while Abraham had died in the previous December. If Dr. Reiks memory is correct about Freuds remark, then it is certainly not to be takenas an expression of conventional piety on Freuds part this would have been not in the least characteristic of himbut as an illustration of the way hewould snatch at any pretext to avoid, or at least minimise, a ceremonial occasion.