Ruth Jane Mack Brunswick (February 17, 1897 – January 24, 1946), born Ruth Jane Mack, was an American psychiatrist. Mack was initially a student and later a close confidant of and collaborator with

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 psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

and was responsible for much of the fleshing out of

Freudian theory Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) is considered to be the founder of the psychodynamic approach to psychology, which looks to unconscious drives to explain human behavior. Freud believed that the mind is responsible for both co ...

. Brunswick pioneered the psychoanalytic treatment of psychoses, and the study of emotional development between young children and their mothers, and the importance of this relationship in creating mental illness. She went to

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

in 1914 and planned on going to Harvard to receive medical education, but was denied due to her gender and graduated from

Tufts Medical School The Tufts University School of Medicine is the medical school of Tufts University, a private research university in Massachusetts. It was established in 1893 and is located on the university's health sciences campus in downtown Boston. It has ...

instead. Her work was noticed by Freud and she began working with him to develop psychoanalysis in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Early life and education

Ruth Jane Mack Brunswick, born Ruth Jane Mack, was born on February 17, 1897, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and was raised in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. She was the only child of attorney

Julian Mack Julian William Mack (July 19, 1866 – September 5, 1943) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Commerce Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the United States Circuit Courts for the Seventh Circui ...

, later a federal judge, and his wife Jessie (Fox) Mack. Her parents were part American and had some German-Jewish roots. She was on bad terms with her strict father. There is little information about her relationship with her mother. She was educated irregularly but early became unusually well versed in literature, music, and the arts. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1918 under the tutelage of

Elmer Ernest Southard Elmer Ernest (E. E.) Southard (July 28, 1876February 8, 1920) was an American neuropsychiatry, neuropsychiatrist, neuropathology, neuropathologist, professor and author. Born in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, Southard lived in the city for nearly ...

, an eminent Harvard scholar, who initiated her interest in psychology. Rejected by

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

because of her gender, Brunswick went to Tufts Medical School, where she finally received her M. D. ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' in 1922.

Marriage

In 1917, she married Dr. Herman Blumgart, who later pursued a successful career as a heart specialist. His brother Leonard had gone to Vienna for a short analysis with Sigmund Freud at the end of World War I. Ruth had completed her psychiatric residency when, at the age of twenty-five, she also went to Freud. Her marriage was already troubled; her husband saw Freud in an unsuccessful effort to salvage the marriage, but Freud evidently decided the relationship was hopeless. Ruth had fallen in love with a man five years younger than herself, and got married a second time in March 1928 to Mark Brunswick, an American composer. Ruth was still in analysis with Freud in 1924 when Mark as well began to consult Freud. According to Mark, Freud later admitted that it had been a mistake for Freud and Ruth to have discussed Mark's case in detail. This marriage also resulted in divorce.

Working with Sigmund Freud

Her most fascinating period as a psychologist took place in Vienna where she was psychoanalyzed by

. Later she became an intimate member of Freud's circle of psychoanalysts, where she played an important role as a mediator between American analysts and Freud's circle (James, et al., 1971). Ruth Brunswick had a place in Freud's life which few if any of his biographers have noted (Freeman & Strean, 1987). She became his favorite collaborator, and both were inseparable.

Anna Freud Anna Freud CBE ( ; ; 3 December 1895 – 9 October 1982) was a British psychoanalyst of Austrian Jewish descent. She was born in Vienna, the sixth and youngest child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. She followed the path of her father a ...

herself expressed her discontent with (and jealousy of) Brunswick's privileged to Freud's researches. For years, rumors of their fierce rivalry flooded the psychoanalyst circles. This rivalry was exacerbated when Freud gave Brunswick access to one of his most illustrious patients, the "Wolf-man", which Anna was also expecting to have. Brunswick was charming, intelligent, feminine, and vivacious (James, et al., 1971). Her generosity drove her to help many of her friends to leave Austria once the Nazis invaded it. She herself had to leave Vienna to save her own life. Brunswick pioneered the psychoanalytic treatment of psychoses, and the study of emotional development between young children and their mothers, and the importance of this relationship in the genesis of mental illness.

Death

Brunswick was suffering from a gastrointestinal illness that led her to overuse painkillers and other drugs. By 1933, she developed a total dependency on opiates. She died in New York on January 24, 1946, as a result of falling in the bathroom while intoxicated with opiates. The ''American Journal of Psychoanalysis'' only wrote that "She had a sudden tragic death" (Freeman & Strean, 1987).

Notes

References

External links

''The Accepted Lie'' - a paper of Mack Brunswick's published in ''Psychoanalytic Quarterly'' in 1943
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunswick, Ruth Mack 1897 births 1946 deaths American atheists Freudians American psychoanalysts Analysands of Sigmund Freud American women psychiatrists American psychiatrists Tufts University School of Medicine alumni Radcliffe College alumni 20th-century American physicians