ABSTRACT
Since the beginning of the Freudian movement, psychoanalysis and women saw a mutually open and fruitful interaction in Hungary. In the late 1930s the proportion of female analysts was the highest there. They typically focused on the issues of the early mother-infant relationship, child analysis, and education (Alice Bálint, Lillián Rotter, Alice Hermann, Kata Lévy, Klára Lázár, Margit Dubovitz, and Erzsébet Kardos). However, they were involved in other areas as well, often as pioneers, for example, in the psychoanalytic technique and training (Vilma Kovács), psychoanalytic ethnography (Alice Bálint), Buddhism (Edit Gyömrői), and the therapy of schizophrenia (Lilly Hajdu). This chapter opens with an exploration of the general characteristics of the cultural background of Hungarian women analysts. Then, it briefly introduces professional biographies of several pioneering female psychoanalysts. The pivotal part of the chapter is devoted to one of the earliest Hungarian female analysts, Vilma Kovács. It provides a detailed examination of her life story and her work.
