Vienna, January 1, 1901
IX., Berggasse 19

I am tossing the “Psychopathology of Everyday Life” aside so as to answer you immediately, now that your letter has at last broken the alarming silence. I could not make up my mind to press you once more for news when you had shown so clearly that writing was burdensome for you and that you were not moved by a need to communicate. I explained the otherwise inexplicable phenomenon correctly to myself and therefore tolerated my deep loneliness with relative calm. I can well imagine how greatly your mother's illness must have affected you — all logic notwithstanding, because I know you have not been close to each other for a long time, but precisely for this reason you were affected even more deeply.

I am quite content now that I did not come to Berlin at Christmas.