"Les vilains serpents de Emy Von R." / painting

"Fräulein Elisabeth von R." is the pseudonym Freud gave to Ilona Weiss, a young woman of Hungarian origin, whose case is described in the Studies on Hysteria (1895d) and whom he treated in the fall of 1892 and July 1893. The third daughter in a well-to-do Hungarian family, Elisabeth von R. was twenty-four years old when Freud treated her in the autumn of 1892 for pains in her legs and difficulties walking, problems she had been experiencing for two years. He confirmed the diagnosis of hysteria that had been made and noted that "if one pressed or pinched the hyperalgesic skin and muscles of her legs, her face assumed a peculiar expression, which was one of pleasure rather than pain. She cried out—and I could not help thinking that it was as though she was having a voluptuous tickling sensation—her face flushed, she threw back her head and shut her eyes and her body bent backwards" (1895d, p. 137).
Case of Elisabeth von R.

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"Les vilains serpents de Emy Von R."
180x70cm
mixed medias on canvas - June 2012
private collection Nantes