Freud and feminism: a critical appraisal

This paper traces the contributions made by women to Freud's ideas about women. Freud paid back the gifts he received from women with encouragement and support for their careers and with a theory that was instrumental in freeing women from both domestic bondage and fantasies of inferiority, but which was used by later "Freudians" as justification for returning women to an exclusively domestic life. Paying particular attention to Sabina Spielrein, Lou Andreas-Salomé, and H.D., the paper illustrates some of the contributions of women to early psychoanalysis, and speculates on ways in which Freud's thinking was guided by his belief that women are, and should be considered, equal to men.