''The Trauma of Birth'' (german: Das Trauma der Geburt) is a 1924 book by the psychoanalyst

Otto Rank Otto Rank (; ; né Rosenfeld; 22 April 1884 – 31 October 1939) was an Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, and philosopher. Born in Vienna, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, ...

. It was first published in English translation in 1929. Especially with its focus on the connection between microcosm and macrocosm, it foreshadows Rank's most popular book, ''Art and Artist,'' published in 1932 and considered a masterpiece by scholars of art history.

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...

, the founder of

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

, reacted critically to ''The Trauma of Birth'', responding to Rank's ideas in his own work.

Summary

Rank aims to apply psychoanalysis to "the comprehension of the whole development of mankind, even of the actual fact of becoming human.". The chief purpose of the work, according to Rank, is elaboration of how the form of the womb expresses the protective forms of art, myth, religion, philosophy and culture.

Publication history

''The Trauma of Birth'' was first published in 1924. The book was published in English by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., Ltd. in 1929. The book was republished, with a new introduction by E. James Lieberman, by

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...

in 1993.

Reception

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, read the manuscript, and initially welcomed the book, writing to Rank to tell him that he would accept its dedication to him. Freud's attitude to the book later changed, and he alternated between praising it and criticizing it. Several members of a committee secretly established in 1913 to protect Freud reacted to more harshly to ''The Trauma of Birth''. The psychoanalysts

Karl Abraham Karl Abraham (; 3 May 1877 – 25 December 1925) was an influential German psychoanalyst, and a collaborator of Sigmund Freud, who called him his 'best pupil'. Life Abraham was born in Bremen, Germany. His parents were Nathan Abraham, a Jewish ...

and

Ernest Jones Alfred Ernest Jones (1 January 1879 – 11 February 1958) was a Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst. A lifelong friend and colleague of Sigmund Freud from their first meeting in 1908, he became his official biographer. Jones was the first En ...

expressed opposition to the work, since they believed that it implicitly contradicted some of Freud's basic ideas. The author Richard Webster suggested that Abraham and Jones were correct in this belief. Freud's ''Inhibitions, Symptoms, and Anxiety'' (1926) was a response to ''The Trauma of Birth''. Lieberman described ''The Trauma of Birth'' as one of "the most remarkable books in the history of psychology", and wrote that it presents insights "set in solid historical, philosophical, anthropological, artistic and literary foundations." He suggested that the work was "feminist" in its criticism of an ideology that emphasized men's perspectives at the expense of those of women and its recognition of the importance of early mother–child relationships. In his view, clinical evidence supports "Rank's observation that the ending of treatment brought forth dreams and strong emotions replete with birth symbolism." He maintained that other writers distorted Rank's ideas, for example by attempting to connect them to the obstetrician Frédérick Leboyer's views about natural childbirth and the psychologist

Arthur Janov Arthur Janov (; August 21, 1924October 1, 2017), also known as Art Janov, was an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and writer. He gained notability as the creator of primal therapy, a treatment for mental illness that involves repeatedly de ...

primal therapy Primal therapy is a trauma-based psychotherapy created by Arthur Janov, who argues that neurosis is caused by the repressed pain of childhood trauma. Janov argues that repressed pain can be sequentially brought to conscious awareness for resoluti ...

, or by falsely claiming that Rank believed that all children should be born by Caesarean section to prevent birth traumas. He suggested that Rank was responsible for some of this confusion, by speaking of more and less severe birth traumas.

References

Bibliography

;Books * * * * * 1924 non-fiction books Books about psychoanalysis Books by Otto Rank German non-fiction books {{psych-book-stub