Diario di una segreta simmetria. Sabina Spielrein tra Freud e Jung

by Aldo Carotenuto

English, Italian (translation)

Genres: Psychology, Biography, Psychoanalysis

336 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Professor of personality theory at the University of Rome and the director of the Review of Analytical Psychoanalysis and the Historical Journal of Dynamic Psychology.

Reviews

[Adriana Scarpin · Rating 4 out of 5]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH. Porque estava tirando pó dos livros, não me aguentei e estou relendo essa bostinha, ao menos só a parte do diário e cartas.




No diálogo que se desnvolve entre Spielrein e Jung é possível captar, por parte da aluna de Jung e Freud, uma tentativa ecumênica. Já antes, Sabina tivera a estranha idéia de se tornar tradutora tanto de Jung quanto de Freud. O próprio Freud fica surpreso, observando-lhe que "habitulamente, porém, só se faz uma coisa semelhante quando, em um trabalho como este, é possível defender também as próprias convicções".
Sabina, todavia - pelo menos é o que parece -, tenta a todo custo fazer entender, sobretudo a Jung, os pontos em comum que este tem com Freud.
Prescindindo da justeza das observações de Spielrein, devemos no sperguntar quais podiam ser as motivações que a impeliam a uma visão de conjunto das duas teorias. É certo que toda tentativa de síntese pode ser considerada como uma dificuldade em aceitar o conflito; e toda a vida de Sabina Spielrein, inclusive no próprio conteúdo do seus trabalhos, é um desejo de conciliar posições opostas. Ela percebe, por exemplo, a rivalidade entre Bleuler e Jung; busca depois, junto a Jung, uma mediação; suas amigas mais queridas são uma judia e uma cristã; o filho que fantasiara ter com Jung, e aquem deveria dar o nome Sigfrido, poderia representar - segundo a interpretação de Freud - um herói cristão-semita; a esquizofrenia não é uma doença sem sentido, mas é na realidade, uma outra modalidade de expressão; finalmente, não existe a destruição porque esta é um símbolo de renascimento.
Esta exigência ecumênica exprime, grosso modo, a dificuldade em enfrentar as dilacerações, na medida que estas não são vividas de maneira dialética, quer dizer, de um modo ou de outro, propulsora, mas são vistas como paralisantes e destruidoras. É difícil entender como se pode ser incapaz de suportar os contrastes.

Mmmm, é díficil, é, seu italiano? Eu não acho. Rá!

[Ana-Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting from Sabina's journal and adding letters to and from Freud, together with various writings between Freud and Jung, Carotenuto brings to the public unknown biographic details that complete the widely known portrets of Jung and Freud and creates the portret of Sabina, another prolific analyst. The book does not contain the letters from Jung to Sabina, the author did not get permission to publish those, but although missing, many of Sabina's letters are in response to those. In the end, this book helps one see the giants Jung & Freud as humans, struggling with animosities, competition, social conventions, pride and of course attraction. Sabina is also an interesting "character", one that manages to create a name for herself in spite of the shadows cast by her professors.

[Rosa Maiuccaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un ineccepibile lavoro di ricerca. Una storia, quella di Sabina Spielrein, emozionante e indimenticabile. Interessante anche l'opera di contestualizzazione e l'analisi psicologica dei tre noti psicanalisti

[Bohemian Bluestocking · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really interesting. I'm also about to pick back up John Kerr's A Most Dangerous Method and the Freud/Jung Letters that I was reading this past summer but never finished. Jung met Sabina as his patient when she was about 19 and he 30. They experienced transference and counter-transference which lasted past their dedicated time in analysis at the hospital where Jung worked. Because of the relationship, Jung realized he had "polygamous tendencies" and had to deal with conflicting emotions when it seemed as the relationship he had with her and perhaps other female patients formed the subject of rumors in the public. Furthermore, his break with Freud added to the emotional stew, especially when layered with Sabina now corresponding with Freud and considering herself to align with Freud's ideas, although she did work on translating Jung's work and resumed correspondence with Jung after getting married and working in the field of psychoanalysis herself. I think the book is valuable in that it gives a glimpse into the areas of gender, ethics, and history during the beginnings of psychoanalysis in Europe.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

So a bit of a preface: this book has 3 main parts: Sabina’s diary, her letters to Freud and Jung, and the authors analysis of the former two parts. For this review I will only talk about the analysis, because it is impossible to review private writings. This applies to the starred review as well. Also I am not at all qualified to review the accuracy of the psychoanalysis, only how well the author was able to explain it to a completely clueless reader like myself. So with all that being said, this was overall a decent read. I felt like I left the book with a good understanding of the main points the author made and a whole lot of new knowledge about not only the works of famous psychologists but also their lives, which I found super interesting. However, I felt the book could have focused more on Sabina. We got to learn so much about her through her diary and letters, but in the actual parts by the author he focused on her not as her own person but as a tool to look more into Freud and Jung. She became a side character in what I felt should have been her own book.