ANALYSIS OF THE PHOBIA OF A FIVE-YEAR-OLD BOY (LITTLE "HANS". INTRODUCTION)
Sigmund Freud (1909)
Summary:
I. INTRODUCTION
In reality, the clinical and therapeutic history presented in the following pages does not come from my direct observation of an
extremely young patient. While I guided the treatment plan as a whole and had a personal intervention in a conversation with the
child on one occasion, it was the father who carried out the treatment himself.
I want to formally thank the father for entrusting me with his notes for publication. The father's merit goes further: I believe that
no one else could have obtained such confessions from the 5-year-old. The father's ability to interpret his son's expressions was
crucial in overcoming the technical difficulties of psychoanalysis at such an early age.
This unique collaboration between parental authority and medical knowledge made possible an application of the method that
would normally be considered inappropriate.
The first thing I knew about Hans dates back to when he was not yet three years old. From then on, he showed a keen interest in
his "pee-pee," as he used to call it. On one occasion, she asked her mother if she had one, too. At the same age, when he saw a
cow milking, he related the fact to the coming out of milk from his own "pee-pee", which anticipated that much of what Hans
showed would be typical of infant sexual development.
His interest was not only theoretical; he also touched his limb. At the age of three and a half, his mother found him like this and
threatened to cut him off, to which he naively replied that he would pee with his tail later. This experience marked his "castration
complex", a frequent element in the analysis of neurotics. At the same age, excited, he commented on seeing a lion's "pee-pee"
at the zoo.
At the age of three and three-quarters, at the train station, he watched a locomotive pour water and wondered where his "pee-
pee-maker" was. This reflected his sexual curiosity and his growing capacity for conceptual discernment. He also showed interest
in his parents' genitals, asking them if they also had "pee-peeing", with expectations typical of their age.
Hans's curiosity revealed not only his appetite for knowledge, but also his childlike sexual development, inseparable from his quest
to understand the world around him.
The birth of her baby sister, Hanna, was a big event in her life when she was exactly three and a half years old. She clearly
remembered the day of delivery: she woke up at 7 a.m. and heard her mom's moans, wondering why she was coughing. He most
certainly associated these sounds with the arrival of the stork, as he had heard many times that the stork would bring a little
brother or sister.
When he was taken to the kitchen and saw the doctor's suitcase, he did not hesitate to affirm that the stork was arriving. After the
birth, when the midwife asked for tea, Hans related his request to his mother's cough. Later, when he entered the room, he did
not look at the mother, but looked at the containers of blood, surprised that his "pee-pee" had no blood on it.
Her reactions showed her distrust of the stork and her jealousy of the arrival of her little sister. At first, he felt relegated and even
contracted angina. After half a year, he overcame jealousy and became a tender brother who was aware of his superiority. She
remembered Hanna's first bath and how she commented that her "pee-pee" was small but would grow over time.
At the same age, three and a half years old, she shared her first dream. He dreamed that he was in Gmunden with Mariedl, the
daughter of the owner of the house with whom he used to play. These memories highlight how the birth of her baby sister and
her experiences during that time influenced her development and perception of the world.
When Hans' father shared a dream in which he was alone with Mariedl, Hans corrected him, emphasizing that he was completely
alone with her. This memory evoked his summer in 1906 in Gmunden, where he spent his days playing with the children of the
owner of the house. Initially, Gmunden's move to the city did not seem like it would make him so happy, but it turned out to be a
refreshing change. For weeks he barely spoke of Gmunden, but then the memories began to surface, vividly colored, and Hans
began to fantasize about Berta, Olga, and Fritzl, his friends there.
1
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Sigmund Freud (1909)
Summary:
I. INTRODUCTION
In reality, the clinical and therapeutic history presented in the following pages does not come from my direct observation of an
extremely young patient. While I guided the treatment plan as a whole and had a personal intervention in a conversation with the
child on one occasion, it was the father who carried out the treatment himself.
I want to formally thank the father for entrusting me with his notes for publication. The father's merit goes further: I believe that
no one else could have obtained such confessions from the 5-year-old. The father's ability to interpret his son's expressions was
crucial in overcoming the technical difficulties of psychoanalysis at such an early age.
This unique collaboration between parental authority and medical knowledge made possible an application of the method that
would normally be considered inappropriate.
The first thing I knew about Hans dates back to when he was not yet three years old. From then on, he showed a keen interest in
his "pee-pee," as he used to call it. On one occasion, she asked her mother if she had one, too. At the same age, when he saw a
cow milking, he related the fact to the coming out of milk from his own "pee-pee", which anticipated that much of what Hans
showed would be typical of infant sexual development.
His interest was not only theoretical; he also touched his limb. At the age of three and a half, his mother found him like this and
threatened to cut him off, to which he naively replied that he would pee with his tail later. This experience marked his "castration
complex", a frequent element in the analysis of neurotics. At the same age, excited, he commented on seeing a lion's "pee-pee"
at the zoo.
At the age of three and three-quarters, at the train station, he watched a locomotive pour water and wondered where his "pee-
pee-maker" was. This reflected his sexual curiosity and his growing capacity for conceptual discernment. He also showed interest
in his parents' genitals, asking them if they also had "pee-peeing", with expectations typical of their age.
Hans's curiosity revealed not only his appetite for knowledge, but also his childlike sexual development, inseparable from his quest
to understand the world around him.
The birth of her baby sister, Hanna, was a big event in her life when she was exactly three and a half years old. She clearly
remembered the day of delivery: she woke up at 7 a.m. and heard her mom's moans, wondering why she was coughing. He most
certainly associated these sounds with the arrival of the stork, as he had heard many times that the stork would bring a little
brother or sister.
When he was taken to the kitchen and saw the doctor's suitcase, he did not hesitate to affirm that the stork was arriving. After the
birth, when the midwife asked for tea, Hans related his request to his mother's cough. Later, when he entered the room, he did
not look at the mother, but looked at the containers of blood, surprised that his "pee-pee" had no blood on it.
Her reactions showed her distrust of the stork and her jealousy of the arrival of her little sister. At first, he felt relegated and even
contracted angina. After half a year, he overcame jealousy and became a tender brother who was aware of his superiority. She
remembered Hanna's first bath and how she commented that her "pee-pee" was small but would grow over time.
At the same age, three and a half years old, she shared her first dream. He dreamed that he was in Gmunden with Mariedl, the
daughter of the owner of the house with whom he used to play. These memories highlight how the birth of her baby sister and
her experiences during that time influenced her development and perception of the world.
When Hans' father shared a dream in which he was alone with Mariedl, Hans corrected him, emphasizing that he was completely
alone with her. This memory evoked his summer in 1906 in Gmunden, where he spent his days playing with the children of the
owner of the house. Initially, Gmunden's move to the city did not seem like it would make him so happy, but it turned out to be a
refreshing change. For weeks he barely spoke of Gmunden, but then the memories began to surface, vividly colored, and Hans
began to fantasize about Berta, Olga, and Fritzl, his friends there.
1
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