Freud and the Dora Case: A Promise Betrayed

265 Pages·2015·1.202 MB·English

by  Cesare Romano

FREUD AND THE DORA CASE
The History of Psychoanalysis Series
Professor Brett Kahr and Professor Peter L. Rudnytsky (Series Editors)
Published and distributed by Karnac Books
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edited by Judit Szekacs-Weisz and Tom Keve
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Ferenczi for Our Time: Theory and Practice
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Ferenczi and Beyond: Exile of the Budapest School and Solidarity in the
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by Judit Mészáros
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Psychoanalytic Filiations: Mapping the Psychoanalytic Movement
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FREUD AND THE
DORA CASE
A Promise Betrayed
Cesare Romano
First published in Italian in 2012 by Alpes Editore, Roma, as Freud e il caso Dora.
Una promessa tradita.
Translation from the Italian by Wissia Fiorucci, based on a revised version of
the original text.
First published in English in 2015 by
Karnac Books Ltd
118 Finchley Road
London NW3 5HT
Copyright © 2015 by Cesare Romano
The right of Cesare Romano to be identified as the author of this work have been
asserted in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978-1-78220-096-3
Typeset by V Publishing Solutions Pvt Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed in Great Britain
www.karnacbooks.com
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ix
SERIES EDITOR’S FOREWORD xi
AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR’S NOTE xvii
FOREWORD xix
PART I: THE CASE HISTORY
CHAPTER ONE
The first encounter with Dora 3
CHAPTER TWO
The second encounter with Dora and the beginning of the analysis 7
CHAPTER THREE
The first trauma: a disgusting kiss 19
v
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER FOUR
From archaeologist to burglar 45
CHAPTER FIVE
The dream of the burning house 53
CHAPTER SIX
The second dream 79
CHAPTER SEVEN
Confusion of tongues and the traumatolytic
function of the dream 93
CHAPTER EIGHT
Conclusions 103
PART II: THE COUNTERTRANSFERENCE
CHAPTER NINE
Dora’s analysis and her analyst’s vicissitudes: a frame
for Freud’s countertransference 109
CHAPTER TEN
Spinach, cocaine, and countertransference in a dream of Freud’s 133
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Conclusions 175
NOTES 181
REFERENCES 203
FURTHER READING 213
INDEX 217
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude towards Professor Peter L.
Rudnytsky, for taking the time and effort to read the book in Italian,
and proposing to translate it into English. I am sincerely grateful to
him also for patiently reading the first English version and therefore
suggesting many revisions to improve the comprehension of the text.
My thanks and appreciations also go to Rod Tweedy, Editor, who
has followed me during the first phases of the project and Oliver
Rathbone, Publisher and Managing Director, together with Constance
Govindin, Publicity and Digital Content Manager, both in charge of the
editorial contract.
I also express my warm thanks to Kate Pearce, Project Manager, and
to Cecily Blench, Publishing Assistant, who have followed me with
patience during the revision of the text.
vii

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cesare Romano is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He has worked
for the Veneto Region National Health Service, in the Department of
Mental Health, and as an honorary judge in the Tribunal of Minors in
Venice. He has published several articles on the history of psychiatry
and of psychoanalysis in Italian journals (Quaderni Italiani di Psichi-
atria, Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane, Quaderni di Psicoterapia Infantile,
Il Vaso di Pandora, Medicina delle Tossicodipendenze). He currently lives
in Piove di Sacco (Padua), where he holds his own private practice as a
psychotherapist.
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