ABSTRACT
The relationship between the development of psychoanalysis and Freud's Jewish background has been the subject of much debate and interest. Throughout the latter part of the twentieth century, numerous scholars have considered influence of Jewish beliefs and culture on the creation of Freudian theory. The biographical data on Freud's family suggest that his parents and grandparents were deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of nineteenth-century Austrian Jewish life. Much has been written about household where Freud grew up, of a home in which Amalia's strong presence became legendary and where both husband and wife broke from the Orthodox and Hasidic culture of their past. The cultural designation of the Jew as different and inferior was further intensified by a Christian theological history in which the Jew was associated with evil and carnality. In contrast to Freud's theory of women, his views on psychoanalytic development of men focus on relationship among impulse control, fear of male aggression, and paternal authority.
