o take her own life. Her parents thought that she didn’t really mean it, but were concerned enough to force her to see a doctor. Other symptoms of apparent illness were: a "nervous cough", a history of fainting spells, loss of voice, headaches, and depression that could be traced back to her early childhood. Freud diagnosed her collection of symptoms as a typical case of hysteria, and made it his business to figure out the cause. Freud was convinced that it was a deeply rooted leftover from her early sexuality. Freud’s observation was that Dora was "tenderly attached" to her father. Her mother was the sort of woman who spent most of her time obsessively cleaning the house and performing other mindless and typical "female" activities. Dora was extremely critical of her mother and the two did not generally get along. Dora’s older brother sided with the mother in all of the arguments, and that left the family divided in a constant mother/son vs. father/daughter confrontation. A governess had been part of the household and was very close with Dora until the girl began to suspect that the reason they got along so well was that the woman was trying to attract her father. Dora’s father told Freud that he believed he knew what had caused his daughter’s latest symptoms and the suicide note. The family had formed a close friendship with another married couple, Herr and Frau K. Frau K, and energetic and very attractive woman, had nursed Dora’s father through a long illness, and Herr K was very fond of Dora. He took her on walks and bought her presents, and his wife acted as Dora’s confidant. She took on a role virtually like a mother figure for Dora (which was something that the child lacked while she was growing up). Two years before, Dora told her father that Herr K had made an indecent proposal to her while they were walking past a lake. She had slapped him in the face and had gone home alone. When conf...
