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 author discusses Kathleen Meigs’ “When Harry Met Jimmie” from the perspective of a graduate of the William Alanson White Institute, of which Harry Stack Sullivan was a cofounder. During the time of the author’s training at White (1988–1992), discussions of Sullivan’s homosexuality seemed more discomforting to faculty than talking about his early psychosis. These attitudes partially reflected Sullivan’s own lack of self-acceptance. Although Sullivan was known to be “homosexual” by many, he was not “out and proud.” Given Sullivan’s own attitudes about being gay, it is not surprising that his theories about dissociative processes offer insights into the psychology of being in the closet. The author questions conclusions about the Harry/Jimmie relationship as one skeptical of efforts by psychohistorians and psychoanalysts presenting “archeological” histories as if some factual, hidden truths can be uncovered. From the constructivist perspective, a narrative truth, no matter how deeply felt or believed, is not necessarily what actually happened. The author repeats the analytic dicta to mind one’s own biases and hold one’s theories lightly.