Sophie Freud, the granddaughter who defied her grandfather

Those who attended Sophie Freud’s classes at Simmons College (now Simmons University) in Boston were surprised. Whoever was a professor of psychosociology was known, above all, for laying the foundations of feminism in the field of social work. And if there was something she frequently did, it was criticize many of the theories of her famous grandfather.

Indeed, Sophie Freud was the daughter of the lawyer Jean Martin Freud and the speech therapist Ernestine Drucker.. His father was the eldest son of Sigmund Freud and later director of the Psychoanalytic Publishing House. When she was very young she was forced to flee the shadow of Nazism that devastated Europe, to rebuild her life in the United States. It was here that she, in her own words, “grew up in an upper-class Jewish ghetto.”

The shadow of Freud and the almost implicit obligation to collect his legacy haunted her during part of her youth. However, Sophie Freud always stood out as the black sheep of her family. Not only was he not trained as in psychoanalysis, but he did not believe in it and never went to therapy..

Her character, her relationship with her grandfather and her critical vision of this classic school of psychology made this woman a very special figure. She passed away in June of this year at the age of 97.

Freud was not, according to Sophie Freud, a warm grandfather.

Who was Sophie Freud?

Sophie Freud was a professor at Simmons College, a university in Boston.. She was also a professor of social work in Canada and in various European countries, as well as a book review editor for the American Journal of Psychotherapy. As we can well imagine, there were many students who sought to attend his psychosociology classes because of who he was.

However, She always made it very clear: “I am a Freud, but I am not a Freudian.” He refused from very early on to follow in the footsteps of his famous surname. Perhaps it was because of the tumultuous relationship between his parents, because of the disagreements that were felt within the family.

The grandparents, uncles and other relatives made up a hive that was too noisy, problematic and marked by notable differences. As she once explained in an interview with The Boston Globe, “I am very skeptical about much of psychoanalysis, I think it is too narcissistic and that my grandfather was a false prophet of the 20th century.”

Sophie Freud’s relationship with her grandfather

Sophie Freud remembers her childhood visiting her grandfather every Sunday. He described him as a not very warm man, a regal and distant figure who did not talk excessively, who was neither close nor affectionate. He was also a person who lived in pain due to his mouth cancer caused by his addiction to tobacco.

Let us also think that The last years of the father of psychoanalysis were especially hard. The malpractice in his treatment prolonged his suffering to an almost inhuman limit. What’s more, as various studies reveal, it is very possible that his death was the result of euthanasia.

Be that as it may, her granddaughter admits that her loss affected her, but that due to her determined and independent character, she soon overcame that void. After all, She and her mother Esti managed to distance themselves from the Freud clan and have a fairly comfortable life in the United States.

Sophie Freud, a feminist among the Freuds

Part of Sophie Freud’s work at the university was research. It was in 1970 when she began to review her grandfather’s work regarding women and narcissism. After many interviews, proved that Sigmund Freud was wrong in his assertion that only men demonstrate “true passion.”

Women are also competitive, decisive and work on their goals like the male gender. The study of passion in women was one of his favorite topics, as was promoting women’s rights in universities and fighting against another very common reality at that time.

Sophie Freud laid the social foundations to make young women see that becoming pregnant and becoming mothers did not have to put an end to their education. Nor to having to give up their jobs and professional aspirations.

Sophie Freud was very combative against the idea inherent in her grandfather’s theories that women had a secondary role in society.

The black sheep of the family

Sophie Freud earned the rejection of her family early on. Her aunt Anna Freud, a psychoanalyst and faithful heir to her father’s theories, viewed negatively the personal drift that her rebellious niece always demonstrated. However, she didn’t care too much about being the black sheep of her relatives’ clan.

If there was one thing he considered, it was that the fundamental theories of psychoanalysis, such as “penis envy” or the concept of transference, were outdated. Also She was very critical of the patriarchal vision of female sexuality that her grandfather defended.. The figure of women in the theoretical fabric of psychoanalysis was, in his opinion, degrading.

“The woman, —said Sigmund Freud—, opposes change and receives passively without adding anything. Likewise, the man is anatomically superior, so the woman is envious of the man’s penis, fulfilling herself only by having a male child.”. These Freudian precepts were always rejected by Sophie Freud.

This feminism activist and interesting psychosociologist left us just a few months ago. Her legacy and her figure undoubtedly make up a most suggestive canvas for the history of psychoanalysis itself. For those who want to know more about her and her family, we have the book Living in the Shadow of the Freud Family. A work as revealing as it is full of juicy details.

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