psychoanalysis

RUSSIA GETS THE BALL ROLLING

The lost legacy of  Russian psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein.

By Stephen Wilson

On the shore in the rural village of Bollingen ,in Switzerland ,one can come across a stone panel showing a bear bending down and nudging a stone with its nose and an inscription stating 'Russia gets the ball rolling'. The stone sculpture was conceived by Carl Jung. It is thought to be a memorial to his former mistress and lover Sabina Spielrein. But the sculptor for whatever reason did not even mention her name! And in Moscow, there is also no memorial or plaque with her name on it despite the fact that Sabina was the founder of psychoanalysis in Russia, and a legendary teacher who taught at an Institute in Moscow. In fact ,for close to a century the life of Sabina Spielrein has been shrouded in dense fog of obscurity. We have all heard of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler and Anna Freud but Sabina Spielrein draws a blank. "Sabina who ? " And when specialists  have recently heard of her it is only as a passing reference or pointer to the more conspicuous works of Jung or Freud. Spielrein's role is reduced to a mere footnote in Freud's work, 'Beyond the Pleasure Principle', as an ex-patient of Jung as well as mistress, as well as correspondent of Freud and Jung. The film directed by Croneberg , A Dangerous Method, 2011, is a lurid and titillating depiction of her role as a secret lover of Jung. For all the films faults, it at least helped raise Spielrein's name out of obscurity if nothing else.

 

However, the reality that Spielrein was a pioneer of psychoanalysis in Russia, a brilliant genius and innovative thinker in her own right with a  unique voice  has only gradually been acknowledged in recent years. This largely began with the publication of the Freud and Jung Correspondence in 1974. Then the diaries, notes and a cache of Spielrein's papers were published by Aldo Carotenuto in 1982. And many thoughtful books exploring the intriguing ideas and thoughts of Spielrein have been published. For instance, Angela Sells' work' Sabina Spielrein, the woman and Myth', as well as John Kerr's 'A Most Dangerous Method,' 1993.

 

So what is special about Sabino Spielrein? Well quite a lot !  It seems that Spielrein made significant contributions to child psychology, how the language of children developed, the ideas of archetypes which inspired Jung as well as her own thoughts on the role of sex in relation to how it can radically transform the growth of a person. Spielrein had a hand in the development of not only the ideas of Jung and Freud but also a generation of Russian psychologists such as Luria and Vygotsky. The Russian influence on the ideas of Freud was more often, hardly acknowledged at all. The very notion of the Death Instinct was expressed by the Russian scientist Elie Metchnikoff , who wrote the work "Rhythm of Life" in 1903. Metchnikoff argued that people had a natural wish or desire to die. It was only the influence of religion which made people scared of death. Metchnikoff even won the nobel prize for his work. Freud took this idea but never acknowledged Metchnikoff as a source. The idea of a Death instinct is a very strange notion. Freud argued that people all wished to die so as to return to an original inorganic state. He never produced any concrete evidence to support this idea . There is even a current claim that Jung plagiarized the ideas of Spielrein as in her diaries she recorded her own anxiety that Jung might steal her ideas of archetypes.  

 

Spielrein was a devoted follower of Sigmund Freud. Like many people she fell under the spell of his novel ideas of how hidden impulses and wishes in the unconscious can inadvertently shape our behavior without us knowing. Freud thought that much repression of our desires and wishes could lead to all kinds of traumatic illnesses such as hysteria, and depression. However, I have found his views tend to provoke either awe or great hostility. At university one lecturer stated Freud's views on psychology could not be taken seriously. Freud was no more than either an  historical or literary interest. Daniel Ogen , an American teacher told me "It is all just nonsense ". A teacher from Britain, Daryl went so far as to claim that "Freud was the head of a religious cult who refused to allow any disagreement". Why do so many people now oppose Freud? Well perhaps it is because of many of the bizarre statements he could come out with . Freud once declared with unashamed gusto "I am not really a man of science, not an observer, not an experimenter,and not a thinker. I am nothing but by temperament a conquistador-an adventurer, if you want to translate the word-with the curiosity,the boldness,and the tenacity that belong to that type of being. " Both Freud and Jung did not tolerate any disagreements with their thoughts. Academic freedom was practically a foreign idea to such thinkers. A director called Eugen Bleuler  resigned from the International Psychoanalysis Association on the grounds that ,unlike in science, those thinkers refused to allow freedom of discussion and debate. The organisation was more like some authoritarian religious creed than anything else.

 

But Jung remains more popular than Freud in Russia. I made an acquaintance with a psychologist called Svetlana who worked with patients at 'The Family Club' in Moscow. She thought that Jung had more positive things to say about the subconscious than Freud who saw it as mainly negative. Once when I was helping the homeless at a soup kitchen I heard a nice photographer present state "All those people you see before you have a unique soul." I asked what was his philosophy and he told me how he was inspired by Jung. Jung tends to appeal to many Russians who have a mystical bent.

 

The history of Psychoanalysis seems to have led to quick disillusionment and disenchantment.Hopes seem to have been betrayed. This need not have been so as in the early stages Psychoanalysis seemed promising. It offered a new way of not only perceiving problems but treating them in a non-judgmental way. It offered a new way of listening called 'free association' where the patient sat on a couch and told anything which came into his mind while the therapist listened attentively. To stop quacks or charlatans becoming 'self styled ' therapists; strict qualifications, and experience were required. An analyst had himself to be analysed before practicing. Freud did help many patients to recover from problems. However, people became deeply skeptical of his ideas when he refused to publish a single article or list of practical guidelines for prescribed treatment.

 

Perhaps if people had listened to Speilrein, psychoanalysis could have developed differently.

Speilrein was originally a highly distressed patient of Jung who was admitted to a Swiss psychiatric hospital called 'the Burgholzli Clinic. She had been sexually abused by her father and was treated and cured by Jung. Speilreins' noble vision was expressed by a letter from Jung to Freud in the following letter ; 'An hysterical patient told me that a verse from a poem by Lermontov was continually going round in her head. The poem is about a prisoner whose sole companion is a bird in a cage. The prisoner is animated by only one wish : sometime in his life , as his noblest deed, to give some creature its freedom. He opens the cage and lets his beloved bird fly out. What is the greatest wish ? "Once in my life I would like to help someone to perfect freedom through psychoanalytic treatment". That is what Speilrein sought to do. She wanted to help others find freedom. She offered many unique insights into the psychology of human behavior which were presented in numerous papers, and articles. One such article was her 'Transformation' article which stresses how love can play a prominent role in healing the wounds of people. She declared 'Where love reigns, the ego ,the ominous despot dies. ' Unfortunately, her fate was very tragic. Speilrein returned to Russia, where the institute she worked at in Moscow was suppressed by Stalin. She had to treat patients in secret.Three of her brothers were arrested and executed by the authorities during the purges. Speilrein ,who moved to Rostov on Don with her family were arrested and murdered by the Nazis , in a synagogue . Nevertheless now more and more people are rediscovering her legacy. That is she was a child analyst before Anna Freud and thought up many new ideas in a wide range of subjects ; Linguistics, education ,childhood development and trauma. She had a lot to say about why children would harm themselves and become too timid and terrified of affirming life. Her ideas are still relevant to contemporary day to day problems. She was without doubt a great and generous genius !