Page:Jung - The psychology of dementia praecox.djvu/12

viii starting point for the analysis. Employing the method of continuous associations the patient was asked to concentrate her mind on the odor of burned pastry and then tell under what circumstances it originated. After long and persevering labor she finally recalled that it occurred about two months before. It was just two days before her birthday. She was with the two children (girls) in the school room teaching them to cook when a letter was brought to her from her mother in Glasgow. The children grasped the letter, remarking that it was probably a birthday congratulation and they would keep it until her birthday. While the children were thus bickering they forgot the pastry which they were cooking and it was burned. Since that time she had perceived that odor almost constantly and it was generally enhanced on excitement. When asked why she was then excited she answered that "the children were so attached to her." They were always attached to her, but just then she received a letter from her mother. When asked to explain the contrast produced by the attachment of the children and her mother's letter, she stated that at that time she had intended to go home to her mother and had a heavy heart at the thought of leaving the children. To the question why she wished to leave her position, she stated that things were unbearable. She no longer lived in harmony with the other servants because they imagined that she considered herself too proud for her position. They said many things to her employers about her and when she complained she was not upheld. She then decided to resign and spoke about it to her employer. He was quite friendly and advised her to reconsider it. It was while she was in that state of indecision that the incident with the letter took place. Besides that she was a distant relative to the mother of the children who on her death bed asked her to care for the children and "take the place of their mother." When she was to resign she entertained many scruples about breaking this promise.

This apparently analyzes the subjective sensation of smell. It was really once an objective sensation and intimately associated with an experience in which there was a play of contrary affects, the sorrow at leaving the children and the mortification urging her to that decision. The letter naturally recalled the motive of this decision, because she thought of returning to her mother.