ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the case study of late-nineteenth-century psychopathologist's record. Cesare Romano revisits Dora's clinical case in light of Freud's own seduction theory. Dora's first traumatic experience, namely the scene of the kiss with Herr K—to which her immediate response was one of violent nausea—is a rather controversial point. Freud immediately condemned Dora for her reaction of violent nausea to Herr K's kiss, and instantly judged her to be a hysteric. Other factors in Dora's case might have played a part in determining her reaction of disgust. The "reaction of disgust" was the first symptom that immediately prompted Freud to diagnose a girl just less than fourteen years of age as hysterical. In The Aetiology of Hysteria Freud had been bluntly explicit about the perverse sexual practices that involved children who would later develop hysterical symptoms. Freud uses the term "seduction" in the essay, despite the fact that his declared intention was to confirm, through this case history.
