The Psychogenesis of a Case of Female Homosexuality

Homosexuality in women, which is certainly not less common than in men, although much less perturbing, has not only been ignored by the law, but has also been neglected by psychoanalytic research. The narration of a single case, not too pronounced in type, in which it was possible to trace with certainty and completeness the history of its psychical development, may, therefore, have a certain claim on our attention. If the presentation sets forth only the most general outlines of the various events concerned and the conclusions reached from study of the case, suppressing all the characteristic details on which the interpretation is founded, this limitation is easily to be explained by the medical discretion called for in discussing a recent case.

A beautiful and clever girl of eighteen, belonging to a family of good standing, had aroused displeasure and concern on the part of her parents by the tender passion with which she pursued a certain lady, about ten years older than herself. The parents asserted that this lady, in spite of her distinguished name, was no better than a cocotte. It was said to be a well-known fact that she lived with a married woman-friend, having intimate relations with her, while at the same time she carried on promiscuously with