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Dr. Bergler has attempted to compress his extensive knowledge of the problems of marriage into a small volume. He has produced a book which outlines many of the views of Freud and of a few
other well-known analytic writers. He emphasizes his own views that the neurotic is incapable of tender love and that the repetitive responses of a transference nature cannot result in satisfactory marriage. The review of the older formal literature, the many clear clinical examples given, and the discussions of the normal and abnormal sexual manifestations in marriage, make the book valuable for the student and for the interested psychiatric practitioner.
The book suffers from the author's attempt to cover so much material in small compass. It has led him to make dogmatic pronouncements which he might well qualify if not under the pressure of limitations of space. From some of these, the untrained reader might get the impression that the term neurosis is an epither: 'The fact is neurotics are unfit for good marriage'; or, '… the majority of people today are neurotic … and are therefore incapable of love' or, 'Neurotics … psychically … all have remained standing somewhere between the ages of one and three years'.
The omission of the psychic development of the girl as beyond the scope of the book because of its complexity, has precedent, but is unfortunate in a book dealing with a joint problem of the sexes. It could lead also to the incorrect impression that the point of view is predominantly a male one.
In his introduction Dr. Brill has suggested that physicians, psychologists, and intelligent laymen will find the work interesting, instructive and profitable, especially in view of the author's refreshing and somewhat provocative manner. To the reviewer, the condensation of the material carries the untrained reader too rapidly into deep material. A clearer and more meaningful picture would result if more of the important relationships closer to the surface were explored.