an Edipus-complex, the cause of the anxiety attacks becomes clear, namely, they resulted from unconscious motives and incubations in which the repressed love for his mother was more powerful than his feeling for his fiancée. Additional data showed a neurotic family history and revealed the fact that since childhod the patient had been subject to states of anxiety and timidity on facing new enterprises. An analysis of the dreams revealed other phases of the repressed complexes, and also furnished interesting examples of number symbolisms or unconscious manipulations of numbers. It could be shown that the numbers appearing in the dreams were not accidental but that they represented the important unconscious mental conflicts of the subject,— namely, the Edipus-complex,-and this bore an intimate relationship to the biographic data secured.' Dream. He seemed to be in a lawyer's office. The assistant was making notes and writing figures on sheets of yellow paper. The figures when added made the sum of 3,990. These figures seemed to be kind of an inventory of the subject's mental make-up, that is, integrity so much, honesty so much, etc. The assistant commented that the lowest figures were those concerned with the subject's affections and finally said, "It is useless to go on with this thing," which the subject interpreted as his betrothal. Dream. He seemed to be standing near a large building in front of which was a green-colored moving van with yellow lettering and the figures 317 at the bottom of the team. Analysis of the Number Dreams. The first dream seemed to reduce his unconscious mental make-up and aspirations to an exact mathematical science. The yellow color in both dreams seemed to him to characterize the "yellow streak" in his character,—namely, the fear that he might not be able to honorably terminate the betrothal. The dream also meant to him a mathematical demonstration of lack of feeling for his betrothed. An analysis of the figures occurring in the two dreams demonstrated how complicated For analyses of number dreams and the symbolism involved, see papers by Jung and Jones in the Zentralblatt f. Psychoanalyse (Vols. I and II), and also Steckel's Die Sprache des Traumes (Chapter XXXVIII). may be the various manipulations of figures taking place in the unconscious and furnished an exact demonstration of the subject's mental conflict. This number symbolism as follows: was ·317 = 3 +1 + 7 = 11 3990 = 39 + 9 + 0 = 48 = 4811 59 (the age of the subject's mother). 3+1+7= 11 21 + 11 = 32 (the age of the subject's fiancée). Thus the numbers were not accidental, but clearly revealed the struggle taking place in the unconscious. This struggle was symbolized by numbers, representing both the age of the subject's mother and of the subject's fiancée; in other words, the emotional conflict of the dipus-complex which produced the anxiety phenomena. ANAL EROTICISM AND CHARACTER' BY A. A. BRILL, PH.B., M.D. Clinical Assistant in Psychiatry and Neurology, Columbia University; Visiting Neurologist to Bronx Hospital and Dispensary I N his Three Contributions to the Sexual Theory, Freud2 shows that the sexual impulse in man consists of many components and partial impulses. Many essential contributions to the sexual excitement are furnished by the peripheral excitement of certain parts of the body, such as the genitals, mouth, anus, and bladder outlet, which we call erogenous zones. All these zones are active in infancy, but only some of them go to make up the sexual life. The others are deflected from the sexual aims and utilized for other purposes. This is the process of sublimation. During the sexual latency period four to beginning of puberty, eleven — reaction formations, like shame, loathing, and morality, are formed in the psychic life of the individual at the cost of the excitements furnished by these erogenous zones, which act as dams for the later sexual activity. The anal zone is one of the components of the sexual impulse which, though active in infancy, falls into desuetude in the course of development, for our present cultural life does not use it for sexual purposes. It is the reaction formation of this zone that I shall here discuss. In the course of psychoanalysis we come across patients who tell us that it took them a long time to learn to control their bowels. These patients recall that even in the later years of childhood they occasionally met with an accident. When we investigate still further we find that they belonged to those infants who refused to empty their bowels when placed on the chamber because defecation caused them pleasure. A number of my patients clearly recalled that even in later years they obtained pleasure by withholding their movements, and that they took an unusual interest in their 1Read before the American Psychoanalytic Society, Boston, May 28, 1912. Translated by A. A. Brill, Nerv. and Ment. Dis. Monograph. fecal excretions. This usually shows that their sexual constitution brought along an enhanced erogenous significance of the anal zone. As they grew older all these activities disappeared, and instead they manifested a triad of qualities which were described by Freud in his article on Character and Anal Eroticism.1 case: To illustrate this character I shall cite the following 2 X, forty-four years old, divorced, a very successful merchant, was referred to me for treatment by Dr. F. Peterson. The patient stated that his present illness dated back to his twentieth year. On examination it was found that he presented a typical compulsion neurosis, and that some of the compulsive ideas were as follows. When eating soup he would think it urine; when eating sausage he would have to think of feces. The noise of an auto horn made him think of a flatus or horse's flatus, on account of which he gave up automobile riding. On going to sleep he became obsessed by visions of people having movements of the bowels. A woman's mouth made him think of the rectum, her eyes recalled the anus. Shaking hands with a person recalled a man using toilet paper. Looking at big fat persons would obsess him with thoughts of their fecal excrements, the size, consistency, etc. A person with protruding teeth would recall feces protruding from the anus. moon constantly recalled the rectum. The These are only a few of the many dozens of similar compulsive ideas which forever obsessed him. Besides the obsessions he suffered from chronic constipation and from many other somatic disturbances. On hearing this voluminous skatological story I naturally thought of the anal eroticism, and the more I became acquainted with my patient the completer the picture became. Now Freud describes the persons showing the anal eroticism as being especially orderly, economical, and obstinate. Every one of these terms embraces a small group or series of allied characteristic features. Thus orderly includes physical cleanliness as well as scrupulosity in little 'Sammlung kleiner Schriften zur Neurosenlehre, p. 132. 2 Brill, Compulsion Neurosis, American Medicine, December, 1911. things; its opposite would be disorder and negligence. Economy may shade into avariciousness; obstinacy may lead to spite and to a tendency for violence and revengeful acts. It is the last two-economy and obstinacy - that hang most firmly together, and are most constantly encountered, though the third is often found in the same person. X dressed and looked very neat and gentlemanly. He was very conventional, moved in very nice circles, and tried to make the impression that he was very particular about society matters. Thus, he often referred to his friend as not a gentleman because he would not always put on evening dress for theater. The slightest infraction of the general rule offended him. He lived in the best hotels and belonged to some very fine clubs. From his history I found that he was extremely self-willed and obstinate. He hated all his brothers because they claimed that he thought he knew it all, and he would give me many instances to show that he really was superior to them. This characteristic was not only apparent in his dealings with his family, but with every one else, including doctors. He consulted physicians in almost every principal city in the United States and abroad, and spoke disparagingly of all. He had also been a Christian Scientist and a New Thoughter, but as they did. not benefit him he put them on the same level with the doctors. It was often very amusing to hear him speak of doctors I knew, and I have no doubt that I fare no better when he talks to others. His obstinacy and revenge led him to enter into commercial competition with his own brothers, and when his older brother implored his help and threatened to blow out his own brains because of financial ruin, he not only refused to assist him, but said to him, "Not a cent! Shoot yourself; do you remember how you treated me?" (revenge and spite.) As an illustration of his financial dealings I shall cite an experience I had with him. As I said above he was Dr. Peterson's patient, and I first saw him in Dr. Peterson's office. He became unusually friendly, and as soon as an opportunity presented itself he proposed that if I charged him less for the treatment he would leave Dr. Peterson and come to me. I told him nicely that I could not think of |