Page:The theory of psychoanalysis (IA theoryofpsychoan00jungiala).pdf/98

 that moment, she was depressed; she showed unmistakable signs of the greatest jealousy towards her sister, but would neither see nor admit that she was jealous. The former affectionate relations with her parents changed also. Instead of her earlier childlike affection, she betrayed a lamentable state of mind, which increased sometimes to pronounced irritability; weeks of depression ensued. Whilst the younger sister celebrated her wedding, the elder went to a distant health-resort for a nervous intestinal trouble. I shall not continue the history of the disease; it ended in an ordinary hysteria.

In analyzing this case, great resistance to the sexual problem was found. The resistance depended on many perverse phantasies, the existence of which would not be admitted by the patient. The question, whence arose such perverse phantasies, so unexpected in a young girl, brought us to the discovery that once as a child, eight years old, she had found herself suddenly confronted in the street by an exhibitionist. She was rooted to the spot by fright, and even much later ugly images persecuted her in her dreams. Her younger sister was with her at the time. The night after the patient told me this, she dreamed of a man in a gray suit, who seemed about to do in front of her what the exhibitionist had done. She awoke with a cry of terror. The first association to the gray suit was a suit of her father's, which he had been wearing on an excursion which she made with him when she was about six years old. This dream connects the father, without any doubt, with the exhibitionist. This must be done for some reason. Did something happen with the father, which could possibly call forth this association? This problem met with great resistance from the patient. But she could not get rid of it. At the next sitting she reproduced some early reminiscences, when she had noticed her father undressing himself. Again, she came one day excited and terribly shaken, and told me that she had had an abominable vision, absolutely distinct. In bed at night, she felt herself again a child of two or three years old, and she saw her father standing by her bed in an obscene attitude. The story was gasped out piece by piece, obviously with the greatest internal struggle. This was followed by violent reproaches, of how dreadful it is that a father should ever behave to his child in such a terrible manner.