Chapter 3, Frau Anna G., Section 3 Summary

When Anna returns from Gastein, she appears to be changed. She is happy and healthy, but Freud senses her hysteria is only manifesting itself differently. He asks her to write down what she is feeling, and she produces "Don Giovanni." Freud decides she includes his son in her fantasy, because she wants to take the place of his daughter. He is confused and upset by her writings, so he asks her to go home and write an interpretation of her hallucination. Instead, she returns with "The Gastein Journal," which Freud decides will explain everything if they study it.

Freud interprets the white hotel as the mother's womb. It's a place where there is no sin or guilt. He says the focus on orality ("sucking, biting, eating, gorging, taking in") reflects a baby's first years, and...