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Action with unconscious intent
Action with unconscious intent
In his psychopathological book, Freud recounted his mishap during medical treatment of an old woman. This is how Freud described what had happened, My medical activities were limited to two acts... I dropped... eye lotion into her eyes and gave her an injection of morphine.” As Freud revealed, he, prepared regularly two bottles—a blue one, containing the eye lotion, and a white one, containing the morphine solution. This morning, as he claimed by mistake, Freud, had put the dropper into the white instead of into the blue bottle, and thus, had dropped into the eyes the morphine instead of the lotion. Freud alleged that, at first he, was greatly frightened. But, he soon realised that, the morphine would not likely do any harm. Thus, Freud concluded that, The cause of the fright ... belonged elsewhere. Taking into account his hint, as well as his character, there’s no doubt that, Freud had something nasty in mind.
Analysing himself
This is how Freud explained the cause of the fright, In attempting to analyse the slight mistake I first thought of the phrase, to seize the old woman by mistake. (1) Obviously, Freud’s intentions weren’t what you would call innocent, on the contrary. And the obvious question is whether Freud, only, thought of the phrase, or whether he rather seized the old woman.
Considering Indecent assault
What did Freud mean by this statement? The true Freud’s intent is conveyed in the original German phrase, sich an der Alten vergreifen, (2) commonly meaning, to indecently assault (3), or to assault {sexually). (4)
Thus, the literal translation of the phrase states that Freud intended, to assault (sexually) the old woman. Whether he did is not known, but taking into account Freud's perverted urges, it is not impossible.
Allegedly, Freud’s urge to rape the old woman was caused, by a dream which a young man had told me the previous evening, relating, sexual intercourse with his own mother, which confirms that Freud’s intent was to rape the old woman.
Whether there was a young man at all, and that he recounted his “dream”, is doubtful. And the clue showing that it wasn’t the case is that the young man’s alleged “confession” took place in the evening. Freud never treated patients in the evening.
Sex with Mum?
Notably, Freud refers to a sexual intercourse with his own mother. In fact, there’s no doubt about Freud’s sexual obsession with his mother. As he proclaimed, to be, happy in love [one] must … have come to terms with the idea of incest with his [own] mother. (5) Freud certainly did.
Explaining his sexual attraction to the ninety-year-old woman, Freud stated that the advanced age of the woman didn't matter to him because, being in love with one's mother we never deal with the present personality, but with her youthful memory.
And, since the woman wasn’t Freud’s mother, apparently, in this way, Freud hints at having had an intercourse with his own mother, who born in 1835, at the time of his confession, would have been in her mid-sixties, while Freud would have been in his early forties.
Apparently, in this way, besides a rape of an old woman, Freud was also describing having sex with his own mother. If so, this is an astonishing confession.
As if this hint wasn't enough, in the incestual context, Freud points to, the correlation of the fate which the oracle pronounces. And what did the oracle pronounce if not that Oedipus, with whom Freud identified, would murder his father, and marry his mother?
And assuming that Freud had (unmarried) sex with his mother, the obvious question is, whether as the oracle predicted, he also had murdered his father.
Unconscious intent
Freud’s evil intent toward the old woman is obvious if we consider his explanation that, in mistakes … which may cause serious harm we can assume an unconscious intention. And, Freud’s allegedly “unconscious” intention, besides rape, was to harm, or even to kill the old woman. Pointing out that, She was over ninety years old, Freud explained that it was, pertinent to ask oneself at the beginning of each year how much longer she was likely to live; apparently a rather macabre scheme.
As Freud claimed, on the day of his visit, the driver did not stop in front of her house, but before one of the same number in a near-by ... street. As Freud explained, but only if he were superstitious, he would consider it, a hint of fate that this would be the last year for the old woman. Things would be different, though if he, had gone [on foot] to the house in the parallel street instead of the correct one, then he would explain it as an action with unconscious intent. And what Freud's "unconscious" intent would be?
In such a case, as he wrote, it would mean that, the time would soon come when I should not meet the old woman any longer. What kind of "unconscious" action Freud had In mind? Without doubt, the one that would result in the old woman’s death, thus murder!
Freud’s reflections didn’t bode well for the old woman. And, taking into account Freud’s lethal musings about the old woman’s death, it is not unreasonable to assume that Freud’s action with unconscious intent was responsible for the old the woman’s death.
(1) Freud, Sigmund, Psychopatlogy of Everyday Life, (1922, pp. 195-196).
(2) Freud, Sigmund, Zur Psychopathologie des Alltagslebens (Über Vergessen, Versprechen, Vergreifen, Aberglaube und Irrtum), (1904, p. 61). GW 4, p. 197.
(3) Langenscheidt German-English dictionary, https://en.langenscheidt.com/german-english/vergreifen, 27.06.2024.
(4) Vergreifen: Larousse German-English dictionary, https://www.larousse.com/en/dictionaries/german-english/vergreifen/45571. 20.10.2024
(5) SE 11, p. 186.
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