Anna Freud Essay, Research Paper

Elizabeth Young-Bruehl is a professor at Haverford College and a member of the

Philadelphia Association for Psychoanalysis; this psychological background is

very much evident in her writing. Young-Bruehl’s obvious knowledge of

psychoanalysis, often times made reading Anna Freud: a Biography difficult. For

example, the book covered many of Anna Freud’s theories and this being a

biography and not a psychology textbook it was difficult to comprehend without

previous knowledge of her theories. An entire chapter of the book dealt with the

conflicting views Anna Freud and Melanie Klein had regarding the Oedipus

complex. But I never caught on to what the different views were, so the

importance of that chapter was somewhat lost. The book is also written with

great attention to detail that it just becomes overwhelming, are difficult to

follow. One other problem I had with the book was that there were so many names

mentioned that it was difficult to remember who did what and what their

significance was. The beginning of the book, Young-Bruehl provides some

background information on the Freud family, before Anna is born, particularly

Sigmund. In fact, the first fifth of the book deals more with Sigmund Freud than

it does with Anna. However, it is important to discuss her father, because was

the founder of psychoanalysis and had a huge impact on her life. Most of her

life seemed to be based around him. Every since Anna was little, she craved her

father’s love and attention. This is why she began to take an interest in

psychoanalysis in the first place because it allowed the two of them to spend

lots of time together, which pleased Anna. She was the youngest of the six Freud

children and had felt excluded from her siblings and ignored by her father,

during her youth. I found it rather disturbing the way she lived her life so

much for her father instead of for her self. And being exposed to this knowledge

early on tainted my opinion of Anna for the remainder of the book. Her father

was involved with every aspect of her life, including her love life. Sigmund

Freud once wrote to his friend concerning his daughter’s suitor, Hans Lampl,

that although he was very fond of Lampl, he was "not interested in having

Lampl as a son-in-law when the courtship became more serious". And

undoubtedly Anna could sense her father’s desire, and was influenced by him. In

a letter Anna writes to her father she says, "I am often together with

Lampl in a friendly relationship, but I also have the daily opportunities to

confirm our judgment of him from last year and to rejoice that we judged

correctly"(96). When she wrote this letter Anna was twenty-six years old.

By this age children should live for themselves and should no longer need

approval by one’s parents. She should be making decisions on her own, especially

concerning her love life. It was examples such as this that made me angry and

wanted to discredit Anna’s achievements. However, just because her personal

choices upset me they do not discredit her contribution to the child

psychoanalysis. Throughout her father’s life Anna basically just studied and

agreed with his theories, but she did not come up with many original thoughts on

her own. It wasn’t until after Sigmund’s death in 1939, that Anna truly made any

significant contributions to the Psychoanalytical Society. Anna opened up the

Hampstead War Nursery, where they cared for children during the wartime. This

nursery allowed Anna to address two of her main concerns: "to have an

evacuation residence organized and ready to receive children from the London

homes, and to be able to care for babies, the most vulnerable

population"(246). While they cared for these children, they observed them.

Anna recorded the children’s eating, sleeping and play pattern, as well as, the

emotional development of the children. Much of her child psychoanalysis came

from the observations she made in the nursery. This nursery was such a good idea

that years later after the war was over she received grants to open up another

clinic. The clinic was not a refuge for children of war but rather a place to

observe normal, neurotic, disturbed and blind children, as well as an

establishment that advised young mothers how to accommodate their babies

physical and emotional needs. The clinic was also where Anna’s student analysts

worked, since observation and actual interaction with one’s patient is the basis

of psychoanalysis. Anna Freud is credited for making substantial contributions

to the field of child psychoanalysis. Her father, the founder of psychoanalysis,

is recognized for his revolutionary thinking. Anna on the other hand was able to

get more personal and is recognized with her ability to empathize with her

patients. She really tried to see things from the viewpoints of her patients.

Young-Bruehl’s book was very informative and it really gave an insight into Anna

Freud that was unexpected. I incorrectly assumed that psychologists are people

that have their lives pretty figured out and are able to live a happy and

fulfilling life. But, Anna Freud certainly did not fit my stereotypical

psychologist. She seemed to have some pretty heavy issues herself. I wonder if

she was truly satisfied with her career or if it was just the life she choose

because it made her father proud and this acceptance from father was all she

really wanted out of life. An interesting book, even though Anna’s weakness of

character and her dependency on her father was a disappointment.