August 10, 1998
3801 Connecticut Avenue, NW
#136
Washington, DC 20008-4530
Lisa Osborne
Community Mental Health Center
Washington, DC 20007
Dear Ms. Osborne:
A previous letter, dated July 27, 1998 and addressed to Dr. Quint, contains a comparison of me with a criminal suspect. This letter shows that there are also several significant parallels between me and Sigmund Freud.
In the case of both subjects (Freud and Freedman) the father's name was Jacob, with all that implies about the development of a possible "Joseph identification."
"[O]ne may tentatively suggest that, given outstanding endowment, when the child's identification is with a historical son-figure who was not burdened by guilt and ambivalence, and when that identification is based on reality factors rather than only on fantasy or like psychic elements--such a combination may be a propitious beginning for later eminence." Eissler, K.R. Talent and Genius at 255 (New York: Quadrangle Books, 1971) (the biblical Joseph, the son of a Hebrew shepherd named Jacob, rose to prominence as Pharaoh's dream interpreter.). Eissler cautions, however, "[s]uch reality identification, if it is not combined with the sort of endowment that is necessary for its crystallization into achievement or success in reality, will, of course, lead to disturbances of a grave nature." Id. at 254 n. 6.
In both cases (Freud and Freedman) the father was in his 40's when the son was born; and the father was considerably older than the mother, with all that these facts may imply about child development;
In both cases the subjects suffered a serious accidental head injury (soft tissue) while toddlers (about age 2« to 3), with all that implies about superego development and father identification;
See Fernando, J. "The Exceptions: Structural and Dynamic Aspects." In: The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child. Vol. 52: 17-28 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997)). It is believed that serious physical trauma in childhood can affect both superego development and father identification. See Gaensbauer, T. "Work With A Traumatized Toddler." The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child. Vol. 49: 412-433 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994).
In both cases the subjects had difficult relations with a brother-in-law;
In both cases the subjects grew up in a female-dominated household, and both subjects had prominent misogynist qualities;
In both cases the subjects were avid readers of the philosophical works of Friedrich Nietzsche, (an individual whose own intense misogyny can be traced back to a male protest against a female-dominated developmental environment.);
In both cases the subjects had difficult peer relations, were shunned or ridiculed because of their unusual ideas, and were accused of living in "splendid isolation;"
Freud writes in his autobiography: "These first impressions at the University, however, had one consequence which was afterwards to prove important; for at an early age I was made familiar with the fate of being in the Opposition and of being put under the ban of the 'compact majority.' The foundations were thus laid for a certain degree of independence of judgment." Freud, S. "An Autobiographical Study." Standard Edition. Vol. 20: 7-74 (1925).
In both cases the parties analyzed their dreams, and had unusual access to their unconscious mental processes;
In both cases the subjects had an unusual ability to devote extraordinary energy to detailed, and sometimes monotonous, tasks;
Eissler writes about Freud: "The late Professor Gicklhorn . . . spoke in the most glowing terms about the incredible feat of the young [Freud]--the fact that he dissected 400 eels. Professor Gicklhorn assured me that no person inexperienced in the field could possibly have an adequate notion of what such an accomplishment means, in terms of endurance, zeal and self-discipline." Eissler at 275.
A former supervisor of mine wrote: "Gary is an invaluable, dedicated and highly-motivated individual who takes pride in his work and seems to thrive on heavy volume. Gary recently trained and supervised five temporary coders who were brought in to expedite the coding of some 200,000 pages of document production. In doing so, he inspired the group who were always eager to work and adopted Gary's own sense of commitment to the case." Freedman v. Dept. Human Rights, D.C. Court of Appeals no. 96-CV-961, record on appeal at 222.
In both cases the subjects feared that their writings about a father-figure would subject them to reprisal by governmental authorities, and both parties were compulsive letter writers. (Freud wrote upward of 35,000 letters. Reppen, J. "Memory and Archives: A London Conference." The American Psychoanalyst, 28(3): 24 (1994)).
Freud wrote, concerning a book about the prophet Moses (a father figure) that he was working on: "one must not allow oneself to slight the truth in behalf of supposed national interests." Freud's biographer adds: "He had found it painful enough to have Austrian politicians cow him into even temporary silence." Gay, P. Freud: A Life for Our Time at 633 (New York: W.W. Norten, 1988).
In the 1930's Freud co-authored with U.S. Ambassador William Bullitt a book about former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Publication of the book was postponed until 1966, after Bullitt's death, because of concerns that statements in the book about a U.S. President might lead to reprisals against Bullitt. See Freud, S. and Bullitt, W. Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological Study (1966) (New York: Avon Books, 1968). The publisher describes the book as "Freud's most controversial work, withheld from publication for more than thirty years."
In both cases intense male friendships were prominent features of the respective subjects' interpersonal relations, with all that implies about the subjects' respective father identifications.
See Blos, P. "Freud and the Father Complex." In: The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child. Vol. 42: 425-441 at 431-32 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987)
In both cases the subjects developed a professional relationship with a U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union;
Freud developed a close working relationship with William Bullitt, the first U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union; Freud and Bullitt collaborated on a book about President Woodrow Wilson, and it was Bullitt who was instrumental in securing the safe release of Freud and his immediate family from Nazi-occupied Austria, in 1938.
During the period June 1988 to October 1991 I was employed at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, whose founding partner, Robert S. Strauss, Esq., withdrew from the partnership in August 1991 to assume the post of U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union. Strauss was fated to be the last U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union; the Soviet Union was dissolved in December 1991, whereupon Strauss assumed the position of U.S. Ambassador to the successor state, the Russian Federation.
In the case of Freud high-ranking individuals in the U.S. State Department brought personal matters relating to Freud to the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"It was of even more consequence that William Bullitt, now American Ambassador to France, closely watched over his old coauthor [i.e., Freud]. The American consul general in Vienna, John Cooper Wiley, who had been appointed at Bullitt's instance, was on call as his agent in place. . . . On March 15, [1938] Wiley cabled the American Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, "Fear Freud, despite age and illness, in danger." Hull passed the message on to President Franklin Roosevelt, and noted on the following day that "in accordance with the President's instructions," he had requested the American ambassador in Berlin, Hugh Robert Wilson, "to take [the matter of Freud's emigration from Austria] up personally and informally with the appropriate German authorities; " [Hugh Robert] Wilson was to try arranging for the Freud family to go to Paris, "where the President is informed friends are anxious to receive him." Gay at 623-4.
_______________________________________________
To assert that simply because I share a few similarities with a criminal suspect, see letter to Dr. Quint dated July 27, 1998, that I may have criminal propensities may be as absurd as asserting that simply because I share a few similarities with Sigmund Freud that perhaps it is possible that a former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union (Robert S. Strauss, Esq.) and his law partner, Vernon Jordan, have brought personal matters relating to me to the attention of President Clinton. Now, isn't that ridiculous? Do you really think President Clinton knows anything about my friends, just as President Roosevelt knew about Freud's friends? That's simply not credible.
Sincerely,
Gary Freedman
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