Freud, Ferenczi, and Rosmersholm: incestuous triangles and analytic thirds

Utilizing a field theory of unconscious communication, and in particular the concept of the analytic third, this paper situates Freud's interpretation of Ibsen's 1886 Rosmersholm, presented in the section of his essay "Some Character-Types Met with in Psycho-Analytic Work" (1916) entitled "Those Wrecked by Success," in the context of his relationship with Ferenczi. Both in his interpretation of Rosmersholm and in his earlier papers on the psychology of love, it is argued, Freud may be seen to commenting both on Ferenczi's incestuous love triangle with Gizella and Elma Pálos and on his equally incestuous triangle with Martha and Minna Bernays. In a postscript, the challenge offered by Groddeck to Freud's oedipal reading of Rosmersholm is assessed.