Dora, P. 1

Literature is difficult to define because it encompasses so many genres, from poetry to nonfiction. I feel that there aren’t many texts that can’t qualify as literature. But it seems that since literature relates to scholarship, it would take an expert or someone who has authority on some subject to write it. This would make the case study literature because Freud was trained as a professional psychologist. Literature can be considered as writing that reflects a certain period, culture, or school of thought. In this case, Freud’s case study also qualifies as literature. Hysteria was more common during Freud’s time and was not completely understood. Dora is literature that shows Freud’s attempt to explain this condition, as well as some of the sexist assumptions of his time and culture made about women (since they more often had hysteria than men). Sometimes people think of literature as artistic expression or a creative outlet for authors. For that reason, some read literature for entertainment. While Freud has some creative explanations in this case study, I would not say he intended it for an audience that would read it for fun. However, people often read literature to learn or inform themselves on particular subjects. For example, in school, we’ve all read different types of literature to become more aware of different theories, events that occurred, and more. Psychoanalysis is a concept we can learn more about by reading what Freud wrote. Many times, literature can be a study of the human condition or behavior and attempts to provide insight into those things. In this way, literature is highly interpretive. Psychoanalysis is certainly interpretive. In fact, it is the therapist’s (Freud in this case) duty to interpret everything a patient says and lead him or her to figure out what hidden desires are lurking around in his or her unconscious.

I think there are several instances in which Freud doesn’t see what’s really going on with Dora. It seems that Dora might actually be disgusted by Herr K.’s advances, and instead of being secretly in love with him, she’s actually uncomfortable around him. However, in Freud’s mind, everything can be pushed into the unconscious and patients are always hiding something from themselves. He tends to take everything Dora says and turns it around on her. Whatever Dora says only reinforces Freud’s conclusion that she is in love with somebody: Herr K., her father, or Frau K. He never takes things as they are, but always applies a strange logic to what Dora says, and strings together coincidences in order to support his psychosexual ideas. Coming into this case, Freud already had ideas of what caused hysteria, which he alludes to with, “hysterical disorders are to be found in the intimacies of the patients’ psycho-sexual life… hysterical symptoms are the expression of their most secret and repressed wishes…” (2). Because of this, Freud was so convinced of his own theories that he couldn’t actually judge Dora’s symptoms objectively. Plus, as Freud mentions, his treatment with Dora lasted only three months, which probably wasn’t enough time to understand her or her issues.