THE LEIPZIG INTERLUDE - A SIGNIFICANT PHASE IN FREUD,SIGMUND EARLY-LIFE

The unusual circumstances surrounding the brief episode in Leipzig of Sigmund Freud and his family illuminate the nature of child developmen t, particularly with respect to parental relationships. The emotional impact on the child Sigismund (later Sigmund) of his early life experi ences seems to illustrate the reactions of all children to their loss of security in infancy and childhood and their lasting effects into ad ulthood. An effort has been made to explore the motivations, on the pa rt of the older generation, in their responses to this change in local e. Special note has been made of the role of Jacob Freud in his son's life. He has been subjected to misunderstanding and denigration by man y of Freud's biographers. They accepted Freud's pronouncements respect ing his father without evaluating their possible bias and distortion o r appreciating the significant contribution of;Jacob's character to hi s son's development.