Three Case Histories

Accustomed to the severest criticism from every quarter, Freud knew he would be reviled for publishing case histories like these, in which sexual questions are discussed with utter frankness and the organs and functions of sexual life are called by their proper names. Yet today his histories are recognized works of genius, combining brilliant scientific insight with a compelling literary style. The first patient the reader meets in these studies is the "Rat Man," a military officer to whom the rat symbolizes money, sexual disease, sexual organs, and, in fact, himself. The second subject is Dr. Daniel Paul Schreber, a German judge who believed not only that he was a woman but that he was the wife of God. The third, a wealthy young Russian is famous as the "Wolf Man." His unconscious fear of his father was manifested in a completely incapacitating wolfphobia. Freud portrays these unhappy men in engrossing detail, but perhaps his greatest achievement come in making them sympathetic human beings rather than merely bizarre personalities. -- from back cover.