The Cut and the Building of Psychoanalysis: Volume II

The Cut and the Building of Psychoanalysis Volume II explores how the unformulated trauma associated with surgery performed on Emma Ecksteins genitalia, and the hallucinations that Eckstein experienced, influenced Freuds self-analysis, oriented his biological speculations, and significantly influenced one of his closest followers, Sndor Ferenczi. This thought-provoking and incisive work shows how Ferenczi filled the gaps left open in Freuds system and proved to be a useful example for examining how such gaps are transmitted from one mind to another. The first of three parts explores how the mind of the child was viewed prior to Freud, what events led Freud to formulate and later abandon his theory of actual trauma, and why Freud turned to the phylogenetic past. Bonomi delves deeper into Freuds self-analysis in part two and reexamines the possible reasons that led Freud to discard the impact and effects of trauma. The final part explores the interpersonal effects of Freuds self-dissection dream, arguing that Ferenczi managed to dream aspects of Freuds self-dissection dream on various occasions, which helped him to incorporate a part of Freuds psyche that Freud had himself failed to integrate. This book questions the subject of a womans body, using discourse between Freud and Ferenczi to build a more integrated and accurate narrative of the origins and theories of psychoanalysis. It will therefore be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, psychologists and social scientists, as well as historians of medicine, science and human rights. Bonomis work introduces new arguments to the contemporary debate surrounding Female Genital Mutilation.