Freud–Ferenczi correspondence, revisited

Abstract

The article gives an overview of what Freud and Ferenczi had to say in their correspondence about their own relationship, and how they dealt with problems that arose between them. It includes a list of short selected quotes from the correspondence.

Key words:

• Sigmund Freud
• Sándor Ferenczi
• correspondence
• relationship

Notes

1 Unfortunately, in the English edition the “not” was silently inserted without any reference to Freud’s oversight in the original. In the reference citations here, F stands for Freud, and Fer for Ferenczi. The Roman numeral and page number refer to the respective volume of the English edition of the Freud–Ferenczi correspondence (1993, 1996, 2000).

2 For example, “ a psychic depression which has nothing to do with you … ” (Fer; I, 128); “I was depressed the whole time … ” (F; I, 325); “My long silence was caused by cares and depressions … ” (Fer; I, 412); “I am unmistakably in a toxic state … Moody, irritable, tired … Always ruminating over the same dark thoughts, taking little things hard, aversion to food … ” (F; I, 504-505); “on the first afternoon manic, on the second melancholic, on the third … apathetic, perhaps a circular mechanism” (Fer; II, 20); “A very unpleasant depression in the last week … ” (Fer; III, 22); “I am very tired, what is more, pernicious, eaten up by impotent rage” (F; II, 363); “A very unpleasant depression in the last week … ” (Fer; III, 22); “the ‘black gall’ that has tormented me for so long.” (Fer; III, 76); “contempt for mankind and disgust with the world … ” (F; III, 78); “I have never had a depression before, but this must be one now” (F; III, 109).

3 This was Freud’s justification after Ferenczi had written him: “I was especially sorry that you did not comprehend and bring to abreaction in the analysis the partly only transferred, negative feelings and fantasies” (Fer; III, 382).

4 For example, “I must also allow the tendencies of the ucs., which are hostile to the father and also present in me to operate undisturbed” (Fer; II, 164).

5 In some instances we modified the existing translation, because we came across some gross misunderstandings and errors in it. We can only recommend that scholars should, if at all possible, study the German edition, or at least check key quotes against the original.

6 F–Fer: “unqualified”.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ernst Falzeder

Ernst Falzeder, Dr. Phil., is a psychologist and historian of psychoanalysis and analytical psychology. He is Senior Research Fellow at University College London, and editor and translator for the Philemon Foundation. He is associated with more than 200 publications, his latest book being Psychoanalytic Filiations (Karnac, 2015).

Eva Erhart

Eva Erhart, MA in social and cultural anthropology at the University of Vienna. She is currently working in a bank in Vienna.