(1973). Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 21:127-134 Three Letters from Sigmund Freud to André Breton PSYCHOANALYSIS, ORIGINATING IN VIENNA and in the mind of a single brilliant man, has come to have worldwide recognition (if not acceptance) and has influenced the development of concepts in such diverse fields as anthropology, art, history, sociology, literary criticism, and law. One of the clearest examples of such an effect may be found in the work of André Breton, the founder of Surrealism. In 1916 Breton served as a medical aide in the psychiatric center at Saint-Dizier where he came in contact with mental patients evacuated from the front. It was here that he first heard of psychoanalysis and began to read Freud's works. He recorded patients' hallucinations and delusional experiences and subsequently tried to "interpret" them, relying on psychoanalytic principles. After the war, Breton along with other Dadaists experimented with what came to be known as automatic writing. This consisted of writing rapidly without pausing to reread or correct, or writing while i [This is a summary or excerpt from the full text of the book or article. The full text of the document is available to subscribers.] |
