"…the Mystery turns upon your mother… She is, as you know, your formal rival in your fathers affections…" (Pg. 210)

In the analysis of a case of hysteria, case of "Dora" Freud gets into the case of figuring out the reasons why  this young 18 year old girl, whom he calls Dora is showing hysteric symptoms. I want to focus on the first dream that Dora discusses with Freud of the "jewelry box," which he then gives his interpretations of the dream. 

"…The mystery turns upon your mother. You ask how she comes into the dream? She is, as you know, your formal rival in your father's affections. In the incident of the bracelet, you would have been glad to accept what your mother had rejected… it means that you were ready to give your father what you mother withheld from him…" (Pg. 210)

Freud directly indicates that Dora's dream of the jewelry box is her incestuous wanting of her father. In the dream their house was on fire and her mother wanted to save her jewelry box but her father refused too. Freud tells Dora that she has everything backwards that she is desiring her father, wanting to give what her mother wouldn't; by him not retrieving the jewelry box in the dream indicates that he is not doing his duties as a father by protecting her "jewel-case" from Herr K. The reason behind it was because she when she first came to see Freud her relationship between her and her father went bad just like her relationship with her mother, because she suspected her father to be having an affair with Frau K. which upsets her greatly. And when telling her father about the kiss Herr K pushed upon her he did not believe it. As what Freud explains in the interpretation of the jewel-case dream. I find this to be typical Freud getting to the root of this girls dreams, and hysteria because of the Electra complex. 

When thinking about this particular part in the case, relating it to modern day culture, it made me think about the film "Precious," which was about a young girl who was sexually abused by her father, and had children in this incestuous, unwanted relationship. Precious' mother Mary, was also extremely verbally and physically abusive towards her; obviously because of what her husband did to her daughter. It displays the Electra complex in reverse where it is not the daughter who is fixated on the father, but the father who is fixated on the daughter, committing full blown child abuse. But what I found interesting is in the clip below of Mary's confession to the social worker and to her daughter Precious. She tells them how she was so utterly fixated on "her man" that she just let him do as he pleased. She repressed the memories that she was the one who actually let the abuse continue, after it started. Mary blamed Precious for just "lying there" and "letting it happen," Precious was the one who made her man leave. By displacing the blame on Precious because her man left her, it made Mary feel that every thing that she had done, and said to Precious was okay, in her mind she deserved what she was going through, which was the insecurities of feeling ugly, fat, unworthily and unloved. In her mind she deserved what she went through; the jealousy, envy and competition that Mary felt with her daughter, let her allow the abuse. 

Over all, I found this to be a twist to the Electra complex, the mother is the one who is in competition with the daughter rather than vice-versa. How would Freud interpret Mary's actions? Obviously because of her wanting to be loved by a man, she let abuse to occur to her own daughter and displacing the blame onto her as well, so the guilt won't afflict her and make herself believe she was the actual victim not her daughter.