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26 May 1935
Vienna, XIX. Strassergasse 47
Dear Jones,
At present I am affected by a communication1 from the Royal Society of Medicine informing me that I have been unanimously elected an honorary member. As this cannot have happened “because of my beautiful eyes,” it must be proof that respect for our psychoanalysis has made great progress in official circles in England. I thanked them most emphatically. Does not this appointment give one the right to add a whole string of letters after one's name, such as:
H.F.R.S.M.?2
Your cordial letter for my birthday was the proper continuation of your visit, which we all still recall with pleasure. (Incidentally, I have seldom seen two such delightful children as yours, each in their own way.)
I do not underestimate the differences in our theoretical views, but if there is no underlying malice, there can also be no bad consequences. I may insist that we in Vienna did not accompany our opposition with any feelings of hatefulness; whatever injustice Melanie Klein and her daughter committed in this respect to Anna has been set right by your kindness. To be sure, I am of the opinion that your society followed Mrs. Klein on a wrong path, but I am unfamiliar with just that sphere of observations which she draws upon and hence have no right to a firm conviction.
Your proposal that the discussion you initiated in Vienna should be continued by a guest in London has met with general approval. As I hear, Dr. Wälder is intended for this task.
Many thanks for explaining the point in your lecture on instinct which misled me. But you admit that the connection was “rather misleading.”3