Anna O. “Only a Girl”

Love did not come to me –

So I vegetate like a plant,

In a cellar, without light.

Love did not come to me –

So I resound like a violin,

whose bow has been broken.

Love did not come to me –

So I immerse myself in work,

Living myself sore from duty.

Love did not come to me –

So I gladly think of death,

As a friendly face.

*read reference post-image as follows,

The case of Anna O. was reported on the basis of hysteria in a 21-year-old woman by Josef Breuer (1842 – 1925). Breuer, a friend and medical colleague of Sigmund Freud, treated Anna, whose real name is Bertha Pappenheim for her conditions as a result of her constant nursing and caring for her seriously ill father until his death about a year later.

‘Her hallucinations in daytime became more violent after her father’s death. But at night, she would mumble words in a state of trance. These trances led to Breuer’s important discovery.’ (Phoca & Wright 17).

Breuer’s discovery coined as the ‘Talking Cure’ had an unexpected side-effect, as the “cathartic method” caused Anna to fall in love with him as she improved. She ‘even announced that she was “pregnant with his child”. This frightened Breuer and he fled.’ (Phoca & Wright 19)

Anna wrote ‘Love did not come to me’ supposedly in 1910 and dedicated her life to working for others. Allegations of her actual condition has circulated widely, and she is said to be almost certainly misdiagnosed. Many specialists strongly suggest that it was unlikely the “Talking Cure” as claimed by Freud and Breuer cured Anna, instead it was probably morphine prescribed by Breuer that made an impression on her condition.

Anna O. could have originally been suffering from a neurological disorder, but she continued to become a significant contributor to the welfare of women. She led the Jewish Women’s League for 20 years, which she also founded in 1904.