Hamilton re-examines the complexities of Freud's analysis of Helene Deutsch who was in analysis with Freud at the same time she was analyzing Victor Tausk. Hamilton postulates that Freud's guilt about the death of his infant brother Julius caused countertransference problems. For Freud, Deutsch's preoccupation with Tausk recreated the situation of vying for the attention of a woman interested in another man. Hamilton suggests that Freud was unconsciously angered that Deutsch allowed herself to be captivated by Tausk, and because of the anxiety over revived death wishes, he forced Deutsch to terminate her analysis of Tausk. Freud's conflict of sibling rivalry and early object loss had been intensified by the child's belief in the omnipotence of thought. The author also considers that these issues had an important influence on Freud's formulation of the death instinct.