Page:Freud - Selected papers on hysteria and other psychoneuroses.djvu/43

Rh the mechanism producing hysteria corresponds on the one hand to an act of moral faint heartedness; on the other hand it presents itself as a protective arrangement at the command of the ego. There are many cases in which it must be admitted that the defense of the increased excitement through the production of hysteria may actually have been most expedient, but more frequently one will naturally come to the conclusion that a greater measure of moral courage would have been an advantage to the individual.

Accordingly the real traumatic moment is that in which the conflict thrusts itself upon the ego and the latter decides to banish it. Such banishment does not annihilate the opposing presentation but merely crowds it into the unconscious. This process, occurring for the first time, forms a nucleus and point of crystallization for the formation of a new psychic group separated from the ego, around which, in the course of time, everything collects in accord with the opposing presentation. The splitting of consciousness in such cases of acquired hysteria is thus a desired and intentional one, and is often initiated by at least one arbitrary act. But literally, something different happens than the individual expects, he would wish to eliminate a presentation as though it never came to pass but only succeeds in isolating it psychically. The traumatic moment in the history of our patient corresponds to the scene created by the master on account of the kissing of the children. For the time being this scene remained without any palpable effects; perhaps it initiated the depression and sensitiveness, but I leave this open;—the hysterical symptoms, however, commenced later in moments which can be designated as "auxiliary," and which may be characterized by the fact that in them there is a simultaneous flowing together of both separated groups just as in the broadened somnambulic consciousness. The first of these moments in which the conversion took place in Miss Lucy R., was the scene at the table when the chief accountant attempted to kiss the children. The traumatic memory helped along, and she acted as though she had not entirely banished her attachment for her master. In other cases we find that these different moments come together and the conversion occurs directly under the influence of the trauma.

The second auxiliary moment repeated almost precisely the