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The paper presents the hypothesis that Freud's motive in writing On Aphasia was to be able to understand the speech phenomena observed in three remarkable women patients: Anna O, Emmy von N, and Frau Caecilie. Freud also wanted to 'demolish' the significance of localized
speech centres and to provide a model of a speech apparatus that could enable him to understand simultaneously (a) aphasias caused by anatomical lesions, (b) the functional pathology of speech of neurotic patients, (c) the curative power of the spoken word, and (d) the normal function of speech.