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4 October 1909, Vienna, IX. Berggasse 19
Dear friend,
First many thanks for your letter. Then a few addenda to the wonders of our trip. The day after we separated an incredible number of people looked amazingly like you; wherever I went in Hamburg, your light hat with the dark band kept turning up. And the same in Berlin. Our friend Ferenczi made a strange admission to me, but only after our return. He took the key to his room at the Manhattan Hotel1 along with him! This means, of course, that he has taken possession of the (Frauen) zimmer2 so as to keep everyone away until his return. With this as a basis we could do a nice bit of analysis. He too has developed the transposition of fantasies we spoke about. Many of the ideas that he communicated to you and me really relate to his woman-complex. (My wretched fountain-pen is on strike today!)3
I arrived here Saturday morning and found all well, except for—my old mother4 and my two elder daughters. Mathilde is probably in for another operation. She is very brave and sensible, our son-in-law less so. So I am suddenly thrust back into life with all its surprises.
Other events have quickly followed. Hoche seems to have done a good deed by calling off his lecture, because my Vienna brood had banded together in indignation or fear and were hatching out all sorts of plans for a counter-offensive. My foreseeable anger over such poor tactics does not seem to have deterred them in the least. Saturday and Sunday were still relatively peaceful, today the turmoil has begun, and very soon I shall be busy eight or nine hours a day. How I am going to work on my many, absolutely necessary scientific projects, God only