Freud classified himself as a scientist while denying the magnitude of his creative and literary talents. At the same time he expressed, albeit with some ambivalence, great admiration for such writers as Schnitzler, Rolland, and Mann. Kanzer feels that these artists were transference figures for Freud's brother Alexander. Freud's yielding the field of literature was symbolic of his acceptance of his replacement by Alexander as his mother's favorite son.