The 5 Best Quotes From Anna Freud
Anna Freud’s sentences reveal a psychoanalyst following the legacy of her father, Sigmund Freud. However, in her case, the focus was almost exclusively on the world of children. It could not be otherwise as Anna herself lived a paradoxical childhood.
Her mother was more or less tired of education when Anna was born. She had already had five other children and did not feel capable of devoting herself to another. Therefore, she hired a housekeeper who became what Anna called her “ psychological mother ”.
Anna Freud underwent psychoanalysis with her own father. It must have been very difficult for her to succeed one of the most prominent men in history. Although it has remained in the line of classical psychoanalysis, the sentences of Anna Freud reveal a more sensitive facet of this current. Here are some of his phrases that we remember the most.
1. The mother, a frequent theme in the sentences of Anna Freud
Her mother’s imprint has remained very strongly engraved on her heart. This is why many of Anna Freud’s sentences refer to this figure. The following sentence, for example, is very representative: “ When the feelings of the parents are ineffective or too ambivalent or when the emotions of the mother are temporarily directed elsewhere, the children feel lost” .
We could say that this is one of the conclusions of his own psychoanalysis. Although she initially applied it to her individual situation, the claim has universal validity. A child who does not find a place in the heart of his parents does not find a place in the world either.
2. About the basics
Here is another sentence from Anna Freud which shows her dismay, her essential lack of maternal affection. She says: “ What I have always wanted for myself is much more primitive. It is probably nothing more than the affection of the people with whom I am in contact and the good opinion they have of me ”.
It is common for people who have grown up with emotional disabilities to carry a deep void in their hearts. Therefore, expressions of affection and approval from others are of decisive importance to them. This seems to be revealed in many of Anna Freud’s sentences: the desire for a love she never had.
3. Dissatisfaction and life
The life, not only of Anna Freud, but of all human beings, is marked by eternal dissatisfaction. Psychoanalysis reveals the existence of a malaise which has no way of being completely resolved. Life involves a large number of renouncements of impossible desires, thereby generating dissatisfaction.
This is what seems to be reflected in one of Anna Freud’s best-known phrases: “ If something doesn’t satisfy you, don’t be surprised. We call it life ”. Living, in the end, always involves shortcomings and contradictions. Dissatisfaction is inherent in life itself.
4. Change the world
Although many of Anna Freud’s sentences reveal a more or less tormented soul, there is also enormous hope in her. This is reflected in his work and in many of his sentences. One of them said: “ How wonderful that no one needs to wait a single moment before they start to improve the world ”.
This particular sentence distances Anne Freud from her father’s rational pessimism. The author of The Future of an Illusion did not perceive such a probability of changing the world. On the other hand, Anna places great hope in the human being and in the constructive changes that can be achieved.
5. The error and the truth
Many of Anna Freud’s sentences take on a philosophical connotation. They allude to universal themes and allow us to see another facet of his thinking. The following sentence, for example, departs from the analysis of the individual and refers to the collective. She says: “ When error becomes collective, it acquires the force of a truth ”.
It refers to the power of the group over the individual. The mechanism by which society grants a degree of truth to something. If many people share an error, the illusion that it is not is by the same created. Consequently, the strength of the collective prevails, not that of reason.
Anna Freud brought important elements which allow us to better understand certain aspects of psychoanalysis. Although she failed to achieve a transcendence equal to that of her father, she still achieved great relevance through her contributions. She is undeniably one of those thinkers worth reading and knowing.
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