(I published this sometime last year. Don’t remember when. I decided to republish it since my Psychology club wanted to be able to read it and my club advisor asked me to make it available! So enjoy. Everything is published as is)
Today I will be talking about some famous Psychologists in the 1900s. There are so many Psychologists to choose from that period of time. However, I have decided to talk about five specific people that are all connected. (There were a lot more connections, but I do not want to make this into a book). Let’s name these gems! Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Emma Jung, Sabina Spielrein, and Antonia Wolff. If you have ever taken a Psychology class you might know at least two of the names mentioned.
Where do I start first? Hmm…okay I guess I will start with Carl Jung as this is pretty much about him. So Jung is best known for creating a few things – collective unconscious, individuation, archetype, anima, and animus. Most importantly ya’ll know when you or someone says ‘I’m and extrovert/I’m an introvert?” Yeah, Jung created extraversion and introversion that’s why sometimes when you take a personality test it might be called “Jung personality test” or “Myers Briggs test” (Myers/Briggs test is another test revamped and influenced by Jung). Jung developed eight types; Extraverted Sensing (modern types: ESFP, ESTP), Introverted Sensing (modern types: ISTJ, ISFJ) ,Extraverted Intuition (modern types: ENFP, ENTP), Introverted Intuition (modern types: INFJ, INTJ), Extraverted Thinking (modern types: ESTJ, ENTJ) ,Introverted Thinking (modern types: ISTP, INTP), Extraverted Feeling (modern types: ESFJ, ENFJ) and Introverted Feeling (modern types: INFP, ISFP). So aside from what he is known for he was besties with Sigmund Freud for a while! When they first met in 1907 they spoke for 13 hours straight like two psychologists in a psych ward. Haha bad metaphor I know! But, hey at least I tried. Sigmund Freud was a famous psychologist in his time and invented Psychoanalytic talk therapy, ID, Ego, Super ego, psychosexual stages, the unconscious mind and sh** ton of other stuff. Oh and one more fun fact! Freud was a heavy coke user. He belived that cocaine could cure physical and mental ailments. Something that was common back in the day. Anyways, at the time Freud thought very highly of Jung and felt he would be his replacement in Psychology – kind of like the next person to hold the Freudian torch. They were so close they traveled together giving lectures on psychoanalysis and they would even psychoanalyze each other’s dreams. Withal, their friendship ended when Freud unfriended and blocked him from his life — like one does on social media today. Freud did this the way people used to “unfriend” their friends. He wrote a letter to Jung; he told Jung his behavior was abnormal and that he was in denial about it. In the letter he said “I suspect that you lack insight of your illness.” Why? Freud did not agree with the new sh** Jung was doing. He thought he had gone mad because Jung was focusing on religion and mystical sh**. He also did not approve of Jung’s romantic affairs with former patients (specifically with Sabina Spielrein). Freud decided that Jung was no longer on the Psychology route and had made up his mind that Jung was no longer credible. Basically Freud busted a “Mean Girls” move and was all “You ain’t doing science and you’re mentally ill. You can’t sit with us!”
Sigmund Freud on the left and Carl Jung on the right
Now, I will be talking about three women in Carl Jung’s life. His wife Emma Jung, his former patients/romantic partners Sabina Spielrein and Antonia Wolff.
So, Emma Jung was Carl’s wife and they met when she was seventeen and he twenty four. He was poor and she came from money. Anyways, She supported Jung and his research and pretty much everything in their life. Emma became a psychoanalyst because she was immersed in Jung’s workings and had developed a massive interest in psychology/psychoanalysis. The interesting thing about Emma is that she did not attend school, but because she worked as Jung’s assistant and did a lot of the work – it was a title she earned. Kind of like today when sometimes exceptional students are gifted an honorary doctorate. Aside from that Emma did a lot of sh** for Carl, and when he was mentally unstable she would continue his work for him while he took the credit. She even put up with his affairs. I believe Emma Jung did a lot more then what is public knowledge and there is also more info I could provide but I am trying to keep this short!
Emma Jung
Sabina Spielrein was a Jewish Russian girl diagnosed with psychotic hysteria – for hallucinations, tics, laughing and crying uncontrollably out of nowhere. She at first was in a sanitarium for her conditions, but that was unsuccessful. She then was taken to a mental hospital where she became Carl Jung’s patient. Through talk therapy with Jung it was discovered that she was beaten by her father as a child and that she was a masochist. She was sexually aroused by being spanked and beaten. After nearly a year of being treated by Jung – she had recovered and decided to pursue Psychology and Psychoanalysis. Also during this time she and Jung had a romantic relationship and it has been said that he would punish her and give her the pain she desired. By the end of 1910 their relationship had ended. Aside from the affair let us focus on what Sabina did! One of the biggest things she did was her several psychoanalytic studies of Schizophrenia. She was one of the first to ever focus on Schizophrenia in her field. It is because of her the study and focus on Schizophrenia and mental illness’s became important. She also wrote several academic journals and studied multiple aspects in psychology and psychoanalysis. Sabina passed away in 1942 in the most tragic way. At the time she was 56 and her daughters (aged 29 and 16). They were lead to their deaths by the (Nazis) SS “Death Squad,” they were shot in the head in a line of 25,000 Jewish people. This death devastated Carl Jung and Jean Piaget amongst many others. Although, Sabina was once dubbed as psychotic she influenced many like Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and Alexander Luria. She even influenced her own influences like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. I would say this woman was resilient and powerful – proof that you can accomplish anything despite misfortunes. She would of totally been my homie if I was in her time.
Sabina Spielrein
Lastly I will end this with Antonia Wolff. Another one of Jung’s patients who suffered from severe depression. She later became a psychoanalyst as well as Jung’s mistress in 1913. Wolff was his mistress and often referred to her as his “other wife” up until her death in 1953. He did not attend her funeral, because of mixed feelings. But, again Emma his wife did for the both of them. Later Jung would say his wife Emma was his “foundation” and Wolff was his “fragrance.” What does this mean? In short and simple words Emma was his home and what kept him grounded and Wolff was his muse and the person he could confide in and trust.
Antonia Wolff aka Toni
So, what do you guys think? Carl seemed like a selfish egotistic man right? Self-serving and manipulating? Or was he just a man full of passion and emotion? Or was he a horny bastard who demanded and hogged his cake?