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The author, a judge in the Circuit Court of Florida, has tried some five thousand divorce cases in the past ten years. Of the different types of cases that appeared before him he observed that one occurred with great frequency, and with such characteristic features that, as soon as the preliminaries of such a case began to be presented, he could foretell what the major elements of the story were sure to be. He describes one example of this type, which he regards as a 'hitherto unclassified neurosis'. It turns out to be an instance of pathological jealousy on the part of the wife, which leads to divorce proceedings. The remainder of the paper is taken up by an effort to interpret cases of this sort according to psychoanalytic principles.
The story, in brief, is this. A young couple, of modest social and financial position, marry. The marriage is at first a happy one, and two children are born. The husband makes progress in business and acquires more culture and knowledge of the world. But as he develops the wife remains stationary. Sensing the growing difference between them, she reacts with jealousy, passing at length from mere suspicions of infidelity on the husband's part to actual delusions in some instances. Under the influence of these ideas the wife finally deserts the husband, who at length applies to the courts for a divorce.
While recognizing the similarity of such cases to paranoia, the judge doubts whether homosexuality plays any rôle in their pathogenesis. In his opinion, repression of the normal love for the husband is the main pathogenic factor. He fails to make plain what might be the motive force that accomplishes this repression.
We regret that the author's interpretation of the case cannot be considered particularly successful. The type of case he describes is better understood than he realizes. Envy of the husband's progress may be the factor which incites the pathogenic process in such cases; but this conscious envy is associated with