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Abstract
Reeder J. Freud's Narrative. From Case History to Life Story. Int Forum Psychoanal 1992;l:Sl-60. Stockholm. ISSN 0803-706X
In awareness of the recent interest in the narrative activity of the psychoanalytic experience, the present paper attempts to delineate the place and function of narrativity in Freud's writings. It is argued that he lacked an understanding of the meaning of the life history of the patient for the alleviation of the latter's symptoms. Therefore he stuck to his well-known archaeological model of psychoanalytical treatment and did not elaborate a specific theory of narrativity. On the other hand, a concern for the problems of narrativity appears in his considerations regarding the case history, which, however, is not constructed for the benefit of the patient, but for communication with the medical community. Beside this, it is possible to find in his writings the precursors of a narrative theory, some of which are examined in the last section together with an attempt to create a theoretical bridge between the archaeological and the narrative perspectives.