Chapter 2    Freud: Psychoanalysis63
fei75766_ch02_019-071.indd 63  02/19/20 08:59 AMoftheneurotransmitter dopamine (Monti &Monti, 2007). Thisisrelevant toand
consistent withFreud’s theory thatdreams aremotivated andnotjustrandom neu-
ralactivity (Berridge, 2007). Indeed, evencritics ofFreud’s theory ofdreams have
acknowledged thisfinding isconsistent withFreud’s notion thatdreams maybemoti-
vated andarenotrandom brain activities (Hobson, 2014). Insum, numerous linesof
modern neuroscientific research appear tobearoutsome ofFreud’s keyassumptions 
andideas about dreams asmotivated andasattempts toexpress suppressed and/or 
repressed ideas.
Critique of Freud
Incriticizing Freud, wemust firstasktwoquestions: (1)DidFreud understand 
women, gender, andsexuality? (2)WasFreud ascientist?
Did Freud Understand Women, Gender, and Sexuality?
Afrequent criticism ofFreud isthathedidnotunderstand women andthathistheory 
ofpersonality wasstrongly oriented toward men. There isalarge measure oftruth to
thiscriticism, andFreud acknowledged thathelacked acomplete understanding of
thefemale psyche.
Why didn’t Freud have abetter understanding ofthefeminine psyche? One
answer isthathewasaproduct ofhistimes, andsociety wasdominated bymen
during those times. In19th-century Austria, women were second-class citizens, 
withfewrights orprivileges. They hadlittleopportunity toenter aprofession orto
beamember ofaprofessional organization—such asFreud’s Wednesday Psycho -
logical Society.
Thus, during thefirstquarter century ofpsychoanalysis, themovement was
anall-men’s club. After World WarI,women gradually became attracted topsycho -
analysis andsome ofthese women, suchasMarie Bonaparte, Ruth Mack Brunswick, 
Helene Deutsch, Melanie Klein, LouAndreas-Salomé, andAnna Freud, wereableto
exercise some influence onFreud. However, theywerenever abletoconvince him
thatsimilarities between thegenders outweighed differences.
Freud himself wasaproper bourgeois Viennese gentleman whose sexual attitudes 
werefashioned during atimewhen women wereexpected tonurture theirhusbands, 
manage thehousehold, careforthechildren, andstayoutoftheirhusband’s business 
orprofession. Freud’s wife,Martha, wasnoexception tothisrule(Gay, 1988).
Freud continually grappled withtrying tounderstand women, andhisviews on
femininity changed several times during hislifetime. Asayoung student, heexclaimed 
toafriend, “How wiseoureducators thattheypester thebeautiful sexsolittlewith
scientific knowledge” (quoted inGay,1988, p.522).
During theearly years ofhiscareer, Freud viewed male andfemale psycho -
sexual growth asmirror images ofeachother, withdifferent butparallel linesof
development. However, helaterproposed thenotion thatlittlegirlsarefailed boys
andthatadult women areakintocastrated men. Freud originally proposed these ideas 
tentatively, butastimepassed, hedefended them adamantly andrefused tocompro -
misehisviews. When people criticized hisnotion offemininity, Freud responded byFinal PDF to printer