Conclusion
In this series of papers Horney's evolving ideas on feminine psychology are reflected, her differences with Freud are defined and the emergence of her own views on the theory and practice of psychoanalysis are noted. While developing her ideas, those aspects of her holistic philosophy and the positive aspects of her approach to psychoanalysis were present, operating and maturing. Having confronted Freud's male-oriented psychology with her own on so-called female psychology, the way had been prepared for a philosophy, psychology and psychoanalysis of whole persons, living, being and interacting with changing environments which had their impact on them, which they in turn influenced.
I feel a study of Horney's papers on feminine psychology is an invitation and an opportunity to accompany a woman of wisdom and experience on a voyage of discovery and creation while searching for better ways to alleviate human suffering. The closing sentence ofNeurosis and Human Growth 31 fittingly convey the spirit, the method and the efforts displayed in these papers and in her whole life's work: “Albert Schweitzer uses the terms ‘optimistic’ and ‘pessimistic’ in the sense of ‘world and life affirmation’ and ‘world and life negation’. Freud's philosophy, in this deep sense, is a pessimistic one. Ours, with all its cognizance of the tragic element in neurosis, is an optimistic one.”
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Feminine psychology Table of Contents
On the Genesis of the Castration Complex in Women. Int. J. Psychoanal., V, Part 1, 50–65, 1924. (Zur Genese der weiblichen Kastrationskomplexes. Inter. Zeitschr. f. Psychoanal. IX:12–26, 1923.)
The Flight from Womanhood. Int. J. Psychoanal., VII:324–339, 1926. (Flucht aus der Weiblichkeit. Intern. Zeitschr. f. Psychoanal. XII:360–374, 1926.)
Inhibited Femininity. Psychoanalytic Contributions to the Problems of Frigidity. (Gehemmte Weiblichkeit. Psychoanalytischer Beitrag zum Problem der Frigidität. Zeitschr. f. Sexualwissenschaft. XIII:67–77, 1926–27.) (Translated from the German.)
The Problem of the Monogamous Ideal. Int. J. Psychoanal., IX:318–331, 1928.
Premenstrual Tensions. (Die prämenstruellen Verstimmungen. Zeitschr. f. Psychoanal. Pädagogik, V:1–7, 1931.) (Translated from the German.)
The Distrust between the Sexes. (Das Misstrauen zwischen den Geschlechtern. Die Ärztin, VII:5–12, 1931.) (Translated from the German.)
Problems of Marriage. (Zur Problematik der Ehe. Psychoanal. Bewegung. IV:212–223, 1932.) (Translated from the German.)
The Dread of Women. Observations on a Specific Difference in the Dread Felt by Men and by Women Respectively for the Opposite Sex. Int. J. Psychoanal., XIII:348–360, 1932. (Die Angst vor der Frau. Über einen spezifischen Unterschied in der männlichen und weiblichen Angst vor dem anderen Geschlecht. Intern. Zeitschr. f. Psychoanal. XVIII:5–18, 1932.)
The Denial of the Vagina. A Contribution to the Problem of the Genital Anxieties Specific to Women. Int. J. Psychoanal., XIV:57–70, 1933. (Die Verleugnung der Vagina. Ein Beitrag zur Frage der spezifisch. weiblichen Genitalangst. Intern. Zeitschr. f. Psychoanal. XIX:372–384, 1933.)
Psychogenic Factors in Functional Female Disorders. Am. J. Obs. & Gyn., XXV:694–703, 1933.
Maternal Conflicts. Am. J. Orthopsych., III:455–463, 1933.
The Overvaluation of Love. A Study of a Common Present-Day Feminine Type. Psychoan. Quart., 111:605–638, 1934.
The Problem of Feminine Masochism. Psychoan. Rev., XXII:241–257, 1935.
Personality Changes in Female Adolescents. Am. J. Orthopsych., V:19–26, 1935.
The Neurotic Need for Love. (Das neurotische Liebesbedürfnis. Zentrabl. f. Psychother., X:69–82, 1937.) (Translated from the German.)
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Kelman, H. Karen Horney on feminine psychology. Am J Psychoanal 27, 163–183 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01873051
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01873051