Freud on Women : A Reader

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Freud held that women suffer from penis envy and hate their mothers for sending them into the world ``insufficiently equipped.'' He believed that women feel that their babies are a compensation for not having a penis. He also maintained that libido is ``masculine,'' that masturbation is harmful and that the girl who engages in clitoral self-stimulation is marked by a ``masculinity complex'' and strong bisexuality. Critics charge that Freud's bizarre notions demean women by positing feminity as failed masculinity. Wesleyan professor Young-Bruehl, biographer of Anna Freud and Hannah Arendt, insists that the critics are wrong. What the founder of psychoanalysis actually argued, she claims, is that feminity develops from an innate bisexuality that is universal in women (and in men). Her unconvincing introduction to this chronologically organized anthology of Freud's essays, case material and letters reads like apologia. (July)

Library Journal

Freudian scholar Young-Bruehl chronologically assembles Freud's writings on women while remaining mainly neutral regarding feminist critiques of his views. Hoping to ``discourage . . . simplistic versions of what Freud supposedly said about women,'' she has selected about 20 entries, the pivotal one being ``Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality'' in which Freud expressed his belief in human bisexuality. By means of a lengthy introduction, commentaries, and an annotated bibliography, she documents Freud's evolution in thinking about female psychology, including his concepts on narcissism, mother attachment, penis envy, and woman's ``flexible'' superego. General readers may feel overwhelmed by the jargon and scholarly style, but this title will doubtless find a welcome place in most feminist and/or psychology collections.--Janice Arenofsky, formerly with Arizona State Lib., Phoenix

Booknews

An anthology of Freud's writings on the subject of women, containing letters and excerpts from the psychoanalyst's publications, presented chronologically to show how Freud's ideas were refined and revised over time. The important introduction by Young-Bruehl (letters, Wesleyan U.) traces the historical evolution and illuminates the theory. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)