Freud's Nanny and Her Impact on Him: Resi Wittek
Resi Wittek was young Sigmund's nanny, whom he considered his surrogate mother. As a child, she spent so much time with Sigmund that he was confused about who was his mother because he thought his father, Jacob, was married to Resi. This was also due to the fact that Jacob and Resi were both much older and because Sigmund's niece and nephew called his father "grandfather." When Freud was rather young, Resi was caught stealing money from his parents. Because of this, she was arrested and taken to jail. Freud did not understand this at the time, so he thought she had died and he blamed himself for her disappearance. After Resi disappeared, he began to associate sex with loss and punishment. Not only did he have sexual feelings for his mother right before Resi was arrested, making him associate sex with loss, but he believed that the sexual feelings he had for Resi sent her to Hell. He wrote that she bathed him in the same water she bathed in and fondled his genitals, which he considered sexual experiences. As a young boy, he remembered that Resi said that sin sent people to Hell, so he began to believe that the sexual experiences they had caused her disappearance and eventual eternity in Hell.
Sigmund Freud always believed he had two mothers throughout his childhood and this was an idea he held on to. He connected very strongly with Oedipus because he also had two mothers. Freud also had two mothers for his children - his wife and his sister-in-law, Minna. He had Minna come stay with his family to help out with the children, and he often said that his children had two mothers. It is possible that the idea of loss associated with Resi and Amalie followed Freud for the rest of his life, complicating his ideas of women and their sexuality.
Source: Slipp, S. (1993). The Freudian Mystique: Freud, Women, and Feminism. New York and London: New York University Press.
Sigmund Freud always believed he had two mothers throughout his childhood and this was an idea he held on to. He connected very strongly with Oedipus because he also had two mothers. Freud also had two mothers for his children - his wife and his sister-in-law, Minna. He had Minna come stay with his family to help out with the children, and he often said that his children had two mothers. It is possible that the idea of loss associated with Resi and Amalie followed Freud for the rest of his life, complicating his ideas of women and their sexuality.
Source: Slipp, S. (1993). The Freudian Mystique: Freud, Women, and Feminism. New York and London: New York University Press.