Freud in exile: psychoanalysis and its vicissitudes

Abstract

In June 1938 Sigmund Freud and his family arrived in London, exiles from Nazi-occupied Austria. Now, seventy years later, Freud's exile, together with the general exodus of psychoanalysts from the German-speaking world, can be seen as a turning-point in modern cultural history. The displacement of the centre of gravity of the psychoanalytic movement from Vienna to London (and thence - via English translations - to the United States and the wider world) helped make Freud's theories into one of the most influential intellectual systems of the twentieth century. This book, with contributions from some of the world's most eminent Freud scholars, marks the fiftieth anniversary of Freud's exile and discusses its impact on the development of psychoanalysis. The first section examines the specifically Viennese-Jewish origins of Freudian theory and the nature and effects of the psychoanalytic exodus. One chapter considers Freud's library and his private reading, a study facilitated by the Freud Museum in London. Section two considers the English reception of psychoanalysis. The role of Ernest Jones in transmitting Freud's ideas is examined, and there are chapters on Adrian Stokes, Wilhelm Stekel and the fate of Freudian analysts in exile, particularly in the United States. Closely linked to the cultural displacement of psychoanalysis is the issue of the translation of Freud's writing. Section three considers problems involved in such translation and retranslation - and the question of revising the Standard Edition of Freud. The final section identifies perspectives for the future which derive from the continuing psychoanalytic debate. It includes chapters on changing theories of childhood since Freud, Freud and the question of women and feminism, psychoanalysis and anthropology, and Freud's influence on other forms of psychotherapy. With full scholarly references, documents and illustrations from the Freud archives, many of them reproduced here, this volume demonstrates how Freud's exile (fulfilment of his wish 'to die in freedom') stimulated the growth of psychoanalysis in the English-speaking world. It provides an important reassessment of Freud's contribution to twentieth-century thought.