You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The Origins of Psychoanalysis—the edited selection of Freud's letters to Fliess—proved to be informative but tantalizing. It certainly provided an exciting picture of Freud's mind at work during his most creative period, but the knowledge that portions of the letters had been omitted left one unsatisfied. Although the editors' wish to protect Freud's personal and professional confidences is understandable (especially in light of Freud's initial wish that the letters be destroyed), it was not credible that the letters that were deemed “confidential” contained nothing of significance. Ernest Jones and Max Schur, both of whom had access to the letters, confirmed these suspicions when they included important passages from the unpublished letters in their biographical works.
The guardians of Freud's legacy kept the complete correspondence shrouded in the same secrecy that surrounds The Freud Archives until Jeffrey Masson succeeded in persuading Anna Freud to permit their publication. His new edition of the correspondence contains, at last, all of the letters that are known to exist, complete