As a woman, Anna Freud outwardly appeared colorless and plain, but seh had deeply affected the minds of men, women and children.
BUY The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence by Anna Freud
If Simund Freud is considered the father of psychoanalysis then Anna Freud, his youngest of six children, ought to be regarded as its mother. For not only was she the originator of child- psychoanalysis, she was also the caretaker of her father's private papers and manuscripts and was considered the titular head of Freudian psychoanalysis until her death. More significant were her own contributions to the field - both theoretical and practical.
Anna was not just another bright child in The Freud family. She bore from birth the stigma of being one child too many. Brought up by a devoted governess who left to be married while Anna was a child, she experienced painful maternal deprivation and turned to her father's company very early in her life. Like many intellectually gifted girls, Anna succeeded in school, her personal problems only emerging in adolescence and adulthood.
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Anna Freud thought of herself as a male, and dreamt only of males. She suffered from recurring sexual fantasies about her father, who concluded that "the Father Complex" is what keeps us going, nations as much as women. Anna suffered depressions as well as symptoms of anorexia as she was growing up, but when as a late bloomer she became involved with a man, he was considered unsuitable by her father and was taken in as a son.
The second suitor never made it to the Freud home - he broke an arm on the way. Anna finally confided in her life-long female companion: "As far as I can see, being in love is never really enjoyable." But then she became obsessed with wanting children and with "owning something for myself." That is when she took children into psychoanalysis and became so obsessed with the how and the what of it, that other innovators were branded as the enemy of psychoanalysis.
Anna Freud's life was one of personal turmoils and professional accomplishments of a truly gifted woman. Anna Freud's best known contributions emerged both from deep self reflection, and identification with her much admired father and her meticulous studies of children. Where would we be today without contributions such as "identification with the aggressor," "On losing and being lost" and "In the best interest of the child?"
Technique of Child Psychoanalysis: Discussions with Anna Freud
