Meetings of the Psychoanalytic Institute and Society of New England, East

DISCUSSION: Dr. Goldsmith himself elaborated on the role of secrecy in Freud's life, his preoccupation with death (which he shared with Michelangelo), and the psychology of fascination. He also commented on problems in making inferences or interpretations of a psychoanalytic nature outside of the consulting room and without free association, transference, and resistance. This problem was discussed as well by Dr. Henry Smith, who commented on ways in which biographers may or may not corroborate information about the subjects in whose lives they immerse themselves. Dr. Goldsmith noted that his presentation was an applied psychoanalytic study about an applied psychoanalytic study, and he shared his feelings about the process of his study and writing. Dr. Alfred Margulies observed that the paper opened up a new perspective and enlivened its subject in a way similar to that of a new focus in a dramatic production, such as a Shakespeare play. Dr. Sheldon Roth wondered whether the voyeuristic aspects of Freud's essay, including the failure to refer to the horns on the sculpture, could also have to do with the nursemaid. Dr. Herbert Goldings noted that the paper offers a fresh view of Freud, one which is not always welcome, and addresses the issue of fascination with the work of a genius.