Freud's Dora

Book excerpt: The case of the patient whom Freud immortalized as Dora is regarded as a landmark in the evolution of psychoanalytic theory and technique, as a graphic demonstration of psychosomatics and the therapeutic significance of dreams. Now, in this brilliant book, Patrick Mahony claims that the case study is not a model of treatment but a remarkable exhibition of the rejection of a patient by a clinician, an inkblot test of Freud's misapprehensions about female sexuality and adolescence. Combining psychoanalytic, historical, and textual approaches, Mahony makes us look at the famous case history in a new way. He maps out in detail how Freud neglected much significant data, and he traces the clinical impact of Freud's undigested friendship with Fliess. Mahony also sheds fresh light on Dora's bisexuality, transference, trauma, and symptoms and uncovers the deeper, problematic meaning of Dora's dreams. Through his close textual analysis, Mahony shows that this case history is a specimen of symptomatic writing and evidence of Freud's countertransferential impasse. Mahony's book testifies to the fact that any serious study of Freud must not be limited to the Standard Edition of his works.