Psychoanalysis and Feminism: The Case of Bertha Pappenheim

 Rajvee Parikh

Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis was a revolutionary one. It made potent the importance of childhood experiences on adult life, determining factors of behaviour outside of one’s consciousness, and introduced the concept of the “talking cure” (Hooley et al., 2016).  However, the discipline has been at the receiving end of criticism, one being the misrepresentation of the woman, or the disregard for any gender other than the heterosexual male. This essay aims at discussing the feminist critique of psychoanalysis and the intersection of psychoanalysis and feminism. The author will do so by focusing on the case of Bertha Pappenheim, famously known as Anna O..

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is dismissive of female sexuality and desire. A Freudian woman is often defined as what she lacks in relation to the man (Fanon, 1967). This is closely related to the concept of penis envy wherein the young girl desired having a penis which only the male could possess. This not only elevated the importance beshrewed upon the male sexual organ but also disregarded the existence of the female sexual organ. While the role of the vagina was still acknowledged, the clitoris was reduced to a tool to enable the vagina to feel sexual arousal for the man’s pleasure (Freud, 1905). Feminist outrage over Freudian control of the female body was further augmented, when in 1970, the vaginal orgasm was declared a myth (Dimen, 1997). The feminists were able to see through the patriarchal ideology in the psychoanalytic understanding of the female body (Dimen, 1997). According to Freud, libido was always masculine; females who lusted were considered masculine. Female desire was thus limited to procreation (Dimen, 1997). Further, homosexual female desire was one that required “treatment” and such individuals, out of resentment, were touted by Freud as feminists (Freud, 1920).

Despite the feminist critique of psychoanalysis, the Freudian concept may have contributed to the understanding of feminism. This can be seen through the case of Bertha Pappenheim, also known as Anna O. The invention of the “talking cure” is attributed to Pappenheim who suffered from a hysterical collapse at the age of twenty-one during the time she was nursing her father who was suffering from a terminal illness (Hunter, 1983). Pappenheim suffered from drastic weight loss, paralysis of her limbs, headaches, intermittent deafness and temper tantrums. During the period of hysteria, she also experienced disorganised speech. Hunter (1983) argues that Pappenheim’s hysteria arose from her childhood experiences. It was common for girls in the 19^th century to not be able to realise their intellectual potential and be tied to household chores instead of being educated. Pappenheim too had been kept at home while her brother, not as intellectual as her, was studying at a university. Josef Breuer, the physician treating Pappenheim (or the one lending a ear to her feelings and thoughts), was unable to identify the frustration and resentment that she held towards her patriarchal family, as the contributory causes of her symptoms (Hunter 1983).

Hunter (1983) argues that psychosexual theory highlights the role of the behaviour and body language of the mother in imbuing an identity into the infant. While mothers activate speech in infants, the subjectivity and complexity of grammar and syntax is understood in later childhood when the child is simultaneously understanding the importance of the father in a patriarchal family. In a patriarchal society, the recognition of the male dominance coincides with the development of sentence formation in children. Given this, the use of gibberish by Pappenheim was seen as a regression from the patriarchal order represented by her father (Hunter 1983). Due to this, Pappenheim was unable to speak in her native language while fluently being able to speak foreign languages. Hunter (1983) argues that through the manipulation of languages, Pappenheim resisted being the conventional, dutiful daughter and portrayed a feminist front in an era where women were left with no choice but to protest against the injustices that were paralysing their development. Psychiatrist Lucien Israel argues that hysteria is feminism that fails to find an outlet (Hunter, 1997). It is the repression of the feelings of hostility towards an unequal world that causes symptoms of hysteria The discrediting of feminists by commonly referring to them as hysterical is based on the idea that both hysteria and feminism seem to be beyond the control of the patriarchal society (Hunter, 1997).

What the case of Anna O. highlights is the socio-cultural aspects of mental disorders that were left unacknowledged by Freud. The biological, social and cultural factors form a web, all being inter-related, in the author’s opinion. These cannot be considered to be separate entities to facilitate a holistic understanding. As attested by Dimen (1997), the political nature of sex and desire, and the cultural motivation behind the heterosexualisation of desire were left untouched by psychoanalysis, which could have provided a more nuanced understanding of human behaviour and desire.

Despite the drawbacks of psychoanalysis, it is ascribed with also encouraging women to speak about sex more openly, if only to refute Freud’s misogynistic misrepresentation of female sexuality (Laqueur, 1990). Thus, one can understand the intertwined nature of psychoanalysis and feminism and the impact of both on each other, especially through the case of Anna O.

 

References

Dimen, M. (1997). The Engagement between Psychoanalysis and Feminism, Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 33. Retrieved 2022, from http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uucp20.

Fanon, F. (1967). Black Skin, White Masks. (C. Markmann, Trans.). Pluto Press.

Freud, S. (1905). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. Standard Edition, 7, 125-245.

Freud, S. (1920). The psychogenesis of a case of homosexuality in a woman. Standard Edition, 18, 145-172.

Hooley, J., Butcher, J., Nock, M., & Mineka, S. (2016). Abnormal Psychology (17th ed.). Pearson Education Limited.

Hunter, D. (1983). Hysteria, Psychoanalysis, and Feminism: The Case of Anna O. Feminist Studies, 9(3). Retrieved February 6, 2022, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3177609 .

Laqueur, T. (1990). Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.