Steven Marcus
FACES OF FREUD
In nineteen hundred thirty six, on the occasion of Freud's
eighti eth birthday, Arnold Zweig sent a leller to the grea t old man in
honor of the event. In addition
to
being a writer of some parts, Zweig
was an ardent beli ever in Freud and hi s teachings, and an analytic
pa ti ent of longs tanding seniority. In the course of hi s celebration of
Freud 's achievements, Zweig remarked tha t he was toy in g "constantly
with the idea of writing your biography-if you would permit me."
Freud promptl y replied tha t he was "alarmed by the threat that you
want to become my biographer. " There are so many beller and more
important things for Zweig to do and
to
write abo ut, he continued:
no, I am far too fond of you to permit such a thing. An yone who
writes a biography is commiued
LO
lies, concealments, hypocrisy,
fl allery and even to hiding his own lack of understanding, for
biographi cal truth does not exi st, and if it did we could not use il.
Truth is unobtainabl e, mankind does not deserve it, and in any
case is not our Price Hamlet right when he asks who would escape
whipping were he used after hi s desert ?
These h yperbo li call y sour remarks merit thinking about. The
problema ti cs of biography, even in these advanced times, remain as
unresolved as ever. And the problema ti cs o f the biographi es of great
men , the makers of history, the shakers and movers, the culture heroes
and captains of destiny lead the way, as they have a lways done, in
difficulties, hazards, ambushes, and traps fo r the unwary and the wary
as well. As a rul e, the grea t have been idea lized by their fo ll owers and
contemporari es. In the name of truth and rea lity they a re subsequentl y,
aga in as a rul e, de-idea lized . The great now seem less than grea t and
their fo llowers seem absurd. Something'S wrong here.
It
has now
become the turn o f the de-idealiza tion to be seen as excessive and
sometimes false and hence to be itself undone. And so it goes. The great
by their self-genera ted words and autonomo us deeds have changed the
