Scope and Content Note
The papers of Ruth Mack Brunswick (1897-1946) span the years 1921-1943, with the bulk of material dating from 1926 to 1938. The collection, written in English and German, documents Brunswick’s contributions to psychoanalytic theory expanding the work of her mentor, Sigmund Freud. Featured in the papers are Brunswick’s notes and writings related to her analysis of Sergius Pankejeff, a former analysand of Sigmund Freud and the subject of Freud’s “Wolf Man” case study. In addition to Brunswick’s own notes are notes and writings by Pankejeff including an extensive file of notes recording his dreams. Writings by Brunswick contained in the collection include “A Supplement to ‘History of an Infantile Neurosis,’” which explores her analysis of Pankejeff between 1926 and 1927, and numerous drafts of her 1940 article “The Preoedipal Phase of the Libido Development.” Brunswick first outlined her theories of a developmental phase preceding the Oedipal complex in an untitled work written in 1930. The collection includes a typescript of this early work annotated by Freud.
Correspondence includes letters from members of the Freud family including Sigmund Freud’s wife and daughter, Martha Freud and Anna Freud, letters from psychiatrist Ives Hendrick commenting on Brunswick’s pre-Oedipal article, and two letters from Sergius Pankejeff.