Five Of Anna Freud’s Best Quotes
Anna Freud was a psychoanalyst. She continued the legacy of her father, Sigmund Freud. But she focused almost exclusively on children. This actually made sense because Anna herself had a confusing childhood.
From birth, her mother was already tired of raising children. She already had five other children by then and felt unable to devote herself to another child.
That’s why she hired a governess. That woman became to Anna what she called a ‘psychological mother’.
Anna Freud practiced psychoanalysis with her own father. It must have been very difficult for her to be a follower and child of one of the most eminent men in history.
She followed classical psychoanalysis strictly. Yet Anna Freud’s words reveal a more sensitive side. These are some of her unique quotes…
1. The Mother, a recurring theme in Anna Freud’s quotes
The mother figure leaves a strong mark on a person’s heart. For that reason, several phrases by Anna Freud refer to this figure. For example, this quote is very representative of these kinds of sentences.
2. About the essential
This is yet another quote that betrays Anna Freud’s confusion and basic lack of maternal affection.
It is normal for people who grew up with emotional shortcomings to carry a deep emptiness in their hearts. For that is why displays of affection and the approval of others are of decisive importance. We see this in many of Anna Freud’s words: the longing for a love she never had.
3. Dissatisfaction and life
Life, and not just that of Anna Freud but of all people, is marked by an eternal discontent. Psychoanalysis speaks of the existence of an uneasiness which in no way is ever completely resolved. Life holds so many denials of impossible desires that discontent dwells within us.
This is what one of Anna Freud’s most famous quotes seems to say:
Living means dealing with gaps and contradictions. Dissatisfaction is part of life itself.
4. Changing the World
Many quotes from Anna Freud show us a somewhat tormented soul. But there is also a tremendous sense of hope within her. This is reflected in her work and in many of her quotes. We give an example:
This sentence in particular removes Anna Freud from her father’s rational pessimism. The author of The Future of an Illusion thought it unlikely that the world would change.
Anna, on the other hand, shows a great sense of hope in humanity and in the constructive changes that people can achieve.
5. Error and Truth
Many Anna Freud quotes are philosophical in tone. They refer to universal themes and allow us to see another side of her thinking. This quote, for example, is separate from the analysis of the individual and refers to the collective. It says:
It is about the power of the group over and over the individual. What is meant is the mechanism by which society gives something a degree of truth.
If many people share a mistake, it will create the illusion of a truth. In this way it is not the power of reason that triumphs. Because the power of the collective is more powerful.
Anna Freud had a major influence on psychoanalysis. She may never have received the prestige of her father, but she is a very important figure nonetheless. She was a thinker worth reading and getting to know.
