Early Freud and Late Freud

<p>Ilse Grubrich-Simitis, well-known as a Freud scholar and editor of Freud's works, has long advocated a return to his original texts in order to comprehend fully the power and innovative force of his theories. In <em>Early Freud and Late Freud </em>she examines the earliest psychoanalytic book, <em>Studies on Hysteria</em>, which Freud wrote together with Breuer, and <em>Moses and Monotheism</em>, Freud's last book.</p><p>The essay on <em>Studies on Hysteria</em> reveals to the reader why that book is indeed the 'primal book' of psychoanalysis. Not only does it offer a moving and dramatic account of the birth of the psychoanalytic method, but by introducing the key concept of trauma it establishes a foundation on which much of modern psychoanalysis has been built.</p><p>Freud was to return to his original theory of trauma in his last book, <em>Moses and Monotheism</em>, where he developed it further in the light of his intervening researches. On the basis of her study of the Moses manuscripts and by applying the psychoanalytic method, Ilse Grubrich-Simitis shows how contemporary traumatic events in Nazi Germany may have influenced this return to the beginning and the intensification of Freud's self-analysis. This in turn was to lead to new insights into archaic forms of defence, pointing the way forward for modern psychoanalysis.</p><p>Elegantly constructed and persuasively argued, <em>Early Freud and Late Freud</em> re-establishes the importance of two major Freudian texts, offering a new understanding of their significance.</p> List of Figures. Preliminary Note. Introduction. The Primal Book of Psychoanalysis: Studies on Hysteria a Hundred Years On. Freud's Study of Moses as a Daydream: A Biographical Essay. Appendix: Description of the Moses Manuscripts. Bibliography. Index of Names. Index of Subjects.