Freud's Wife: Martha Bernays
Freud and Martha Bernays had a passionate relationship and after pursuing her for four years, they married. He decided to go into practice rather than research because he knew that he would make more money to support them financially. As their marriage continued, the passion faded because Sigmund became more dedicated to his work.
He had a rather interesting relationship with Martha. In his letters, he referred to her as "my little princess" and "my little girl." In another letter, he tells her that he is more in love with her than she is with him. In another situation, he tells her, "'Since I am violent and passionate, with all sorts of devils pent up that cannot emerge, they rumble around inside or else are released against you, you dear one'" (Slipp, 1993, p. 83). It seems that Freud's unresolved feelings about his mother and Resi affected the way he treated his wife. It appears that he was never able to truly understand women's sexuality or how to treat his wife.
Additionally, while they were courting, he was very jealous of people who had her attention over him, including her family. He told her that if she could not be "'fond enough of [him] to renounce for [his] sake [her] family, then [she] must lose [him] and wreck [her] life'" (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p. 296). It seems that he had attachment issues that continued with Martha. He appears to need to control her, even asking her to abandon her family. These feelings most likely come from his feelings of potential abandonment and loss.
Sources:
Freud, S. (1985). The complete letters of Sigmund Freud to Wilhelm Fliess, 1887-1904 (J. M. Masson, Ed. and Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Gay, P. (1988). Freud: A Life for Our Time. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2012). A History of Modern Psychology (10 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Slipp, S. (1993). The Freudian Mystique: Freud, Women, and Feminism. New York and London: New York University Press.
Freud and Martha Bernays had a passionate relationship and after pursuing her for four years, they married. He decided to go into practice rather than research because he knew that he would make more money to support them financially. As their marriage continued, the passion faded because Sigmund became more dedicated to his work.
He had a rather interesting relationship with Martha. In his letters, he referred to her as "my little princess" and "my little girl." In another letter, he tells her that he is more in love with her than she is with him. In another situation, he tells her, "'Since I am violent and passionate, with all sorts of devils pent up that cannot emerge, they rumble around inside or else are released against you, you dear one'" (Slipp, 1993, p. 83). It seems that Freud's unresolved feelings about his mother and Resi affected the way he treated his wife. It appears that he was never able to truly understand women's sexuality or how to treat his wife.
Additionally, while they were courting, he was very jealous of people who had her attention over him, including her family. He told her that if she could not be "'fond enough of [him] to renounce for [his] sake [her] family, then [she] must lose [him] and wreck [her] life'" (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p. 296). It seems that he had attachment issues that continued with Martha. He appears to need to control her, even asking her to abandon her family. These feelings most likely come from his feelings of potential abandonment and loss.
Sources:
Freud, S. (1985). The complete letters of Sigmund Freud to Wilhelm Fliess, 1887-1904 (J. M. Masson, Ed. and Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Gay, P. (1988). Freud: A Life for Our Time. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2012). A History of Modern Psychology (10 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Slipp, S. (1993). The Freudian Mystique: Freud, Women, and Feminism. New York and London: New York University Press.