#4 Ferenczi's analysis and Freud's alibi
Ferenczi analysis in October 1914
If Freud analysed Ferenczi during three and a half weeks in October 1914, as a matter of course, he could not have been murdering Emanuel in Manchester, England, on October 17, 1814. But, is there any extant evidence that Ferenczi was analysed for such period in October 1914?
Fortunately, the extant correspondence, from the period in question, between Freud and his devoted disciples, Ernest Jones in London, Karl Abraham in Berlin, and Sandor Ferenczi, can throw some light on this question.
Choked on a psychoanalytical fish (wish?) bone.
Freud's correspondence with his disciples
Freud to Abraham
Thus, in the September 3, 1914 letter to Abraham, Freud wrote: I like to think that I shall be in Berlin and Hamburg this month. (1)
So, Freud was planning to come to Hamburg, presumably to visit his daughter, Sophie. Only six days later, Abraham enquired, What about the visit to Hamburg? (2)
This is odd. Why would Abraham ask Freud about his visit to Hamburg rather than about Freud’s visit in Berlin?
So, maybe Freud wasn't coming to Berlin, at all? Considering Emanuel's death only a month later, it is an uncanny coincidence that, at that very moment, Freud was planning to go to Hamburg from where he could easily travel to neutral Denmark, and from there to the enemy territory of England. No sane person would even consider such a plain in wartime, but Freud wasn't sane.
Freud to Jones
There's another mention of Abraham in Freud’s forwarded message to Jones, on a postcard (!), from L. C. Martin (3) residing in Lund, Sweden. The postcard is dated October 3, 1914, and was sent only two weeks before Emanuel’s death. The message is in English and signed S.F., rather than the usual Freud.
It is the only time, in their correspondence, that Freud used his initials for a signature. In the message, Freud informed Jones: Some days ago I visited Abraham in Berlin. (3)
Strangely, even though in the postcard, Freud recounted rather mundane matters about his family and his work, there’s nothing in the letter about Ferenczi’s analysis by Freud, in Vienna, even though it was supposed to start in October.
Ferenczi still in Vienna
In turn, in a postcard to Freud, of October 10, 1914, Jones enquired: How are things with … Ferenczi? (4) Considering, the slow delivery of letters, that had to pass through an intermediary country, it is doubtful that Freud would have received this message before sending, allegedly from Vienna, the next letter, dated October 18, thus, a day after Emanuel’s death.
It is a remarkable coincidence that - exactly a day after Emanuel’s death - Freud sent a message to Abraham informing him that, Ferenczi is still here [in Vienna], and is spending his holidays here. (5) Oddly, again, there's no mention of Ferenczi being analysed.
Since October 18, 1914, was a Sunday, the letter would have been sent first on Monday, October 19, thus two days after Emanuel’s death, thus providing Freud an alibi for October 17. If he was in Vienna when Emanuel died, as a matter of course, he wouldn't be able to be in Manchester.
No analysis, no alibi!
But was Freud still in Vienna at the time of Emanuel's death, or was the letter intended to provide Freud with an alibi for his whereabouts at the time of Emanuel’s death? Interestingly, in the letter, Freud informed Abraham that Ferenczi was still holidaying n Vienna, without mentioning Ferenczi’s alleged analysis.
Another of Freud's statements in the letter: I am now doing 5½ hours’ analysis daily, of which practically none is of long duration, only a couple of weeks are secured, (6) confirms that Ferenczi, who arrived at the beginning of October, and was holidaying in Vienna, was not being analysed!
Had Ferenczi been analysed for almost three weeks, by now, on at least one occasion, Freud would've mentioned his ongoing analysis in the letter, but he didn't. What Freud was saying is simply that he has paying patients - but not Ferenczi - for the next couple of weeks only. Most certainly, Ferenczi's three and a half weeks long analysis would have been mentioned.
Thus, Ferenczi's alleged analysis with Freud, which, apparently, never occurred, doesn't provide Freud with an alibi for the time of Emanuel's death. Conversely, if Freud had gone to England to kill Emanuel on October 17, the dating of the letter would have provided an alibi for him.
Assuming the letter had been a ruse, there are several possibilities, who is responsible for the for dating of the letter to Abraham. Freud could have written the letter with that date before leaving Vienna, a family member posting it on October 19. Or someone else, to provide Freud with an alibi - for example, Anna Freud - could have backdated the letter to provide Freud with an alibi. Or the letter could refer to Freud's analysis of Ferenczi of 1918, and likewise, the date could have been backdated to provide Freud with an alibi.
When it comes to bowdlerising Freud, which had been going on for most of the last century, anything is possible.
Did it get published on October 18 or October 22? That is the question.
More contradictions
There's yet another clear indication that the date of the letter is false. Thus, in the letter of October 18, Freud informed Abraham that, The volume of the Zeitschrift [periodical] has appeared. and that, An issue of Imago is expected daily. (6)
On the other hand, in the letter of Tuesday, October 22, thus four days later, Freud informed Jones that, Issues of the Zeitschrift and Imago have just appeared. (7)
Of course, both statements cannot be true at the same time. Thus, assuming the correct date for the appearance of the magazines is October 22, the conclusion is obvious. The letter of October 18 couldn’t have been written on that day, and, thus, is incorrectly dated.
On which day, did the November edition of the Zeitschrift appear? All that is known about this issue, of the Internationale Zeitschrift Für (Ärtzliche) Psychoanalyse. Is the fact that it appeared in November 1914.
Unfortunately, the publication doesn't state the exact date of its appearance.
Ferenczi's Vienna holiday
In the letter to Jones, on October 22, 1914, five days after Emanuel's death,Freud wrote: in September I visited Abraham in Berlin, explaining that, Ferenczi has so little to do that he has taken a holiday in Vienna. (7) Again, if the letter was written In October 1914, this is an odd claim. Since, Austria-Hungary began mobilizing for a single-front war on 28 July, (8) Ferenczi would already have been mobilised.
Again, the note to attached Freud's letter to Jones, of October 26, nine days after Emanuel's death stated that, Ferenczi is passing his holidays with the Freuds. (9) So Ferenczi was holidaying, three months into WWI, and enjoying himself, while was war raging? The idea is as absurd, as it sounds.
Who wrote the note, and why Jones needed to get the same message for the second time, is an interesting but unanswered question.
Significantly, since Freud only talks about Ferenczi holidaying in Vienna, but not about being analysed, it is yet another confirmation that Ferenczi wasn't analysed by Freud in October 1914. There’s a world of difference between being analysed and holidaying.
Freud’s letters to Jones, of October 22 and 26, were written five, respectively nine, days after Emanuel’s death. By then, assuming Freud travelled to Manchester to kill Emanuel, he would have been safely back at home.
Thus, Ferenczi's alleged analysis with Freud, which, apparently, never occurred, doesn't provide Freud with an alibi for the time of Emanuel's death. Conversely, if Freud had gone to England to kill Emanuel on October 17, the dating of the letter would have provided an alibi for him.
There are several possibilities regarding the dating of the letter to Abraham of October 18. Freud could have written the letter with that date before leaving Vienna, a family member posting it on October 19. Or someone else—for example, Anna Freud—could have backdated the letter to provide Freud with an alibi.
(1) Abraham, Karl & Freud, Sigmund, The Complete Correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Karl Abraham 1907-1925, (2002, p. 596).
(2) Abraham & Freud, (2002, p. 598).
(3) Freud, Sigmund & Jones,Ernest,The Complete Correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Ernest Jones, 1908-1939, (1993, p. 299).
(4) Freud, Sigmund, and Ernest Jones, The Complete Correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Ernest Jones, 1908-1939, (1993, p. 300).
(5) Abraham & Freud, (2002, p. 606).
(6) Abraham & Freud, (2002, p. 605).
(7) Freud & Jones, (1993, p. 301).
(8) International Encyclopedia of the First World War, https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/austria-hungary/, 25.10.2024.
(9) Freud & Jones, (1993, p. 302).
Continued on #5