The Collected Clinical Works of Alfred Adler, Volume 9 - Case Histories: Problems of Neurosis by Alfred Adler

Author:Alfred Adler [Adler, Alfred]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Alfred Adler Institute of Northwestern Washington
Published: 2011-07-17T05:00:00+00:00

When I was finally alone with one girl who was supposed to know a great deal, I asked her if she knew where children come from. She said, “Yes.” I begged her to tell me. I had heard different things, but didn’t believe them. She didn’t want to tell me at first. I teased her so long, however, that she finally consented. I had to swear that I would never tell anyone.

Notice how the girl who is supposed to be the most experienced is ashamed and embarrassed, demanding that it be kept a secret.

Then she put her head close to mine, walked up and down with me, and said that one must have sexual intercourse in order to have a child. The expression “sexual intercourse” was not clear to me, so she described the procedure. Horrified, I cried, “That can’t be true!”

Chapter VIII

The Shock of Sexual Knowledge

Individual Psychology has always believed that man is an indivisible whole, a concentrated bundle of life, striving toward a goal. To attain this goal, he constructs a system embracing everything that may help him and rejecting all that may hinder his progress. When a man has an experience that registers in his memory, it becomes a part of and belongs to his system. This system continues throughout his life, including all forms of expression. The life of an ordinary healthy person conceals this system; serious mental disorders reveal it distinctly. Psychiatrists have long recognized the rigid schematicism of mental illnesses, especially noticeable in paranoia. Individual Psychological investigations have gone a step further and have pointed out that a similar life scheme is present in every human being, with the modification that in relatively normal individuals it is not so prominently noticeable.

When we apply this idea to our story, we come much closer to an understanding of this girl’s system. Until now, we have been able to harmonize every trait and expression with her system. We are dealing here with a spoiled child who wants to occupy the leading position and avoid every situation which does not fit into her style of life. Let us see whether our hypothesis is confirmed.

My lack of confidence seemed to offend her somewhat, so she described the whole thing to me again. Then I wanted to know if only certain people had intercourse, or really everybody.

This is one of the common questions children ask as soon as they learn something about sex.

She answered, “Everybody, otherwise there would be no children,” and then promised to tell me more about it the next time.

Here we now have the point of which I have often spoken. We should not believe that explanations by children are more pernicious than those by educated adults. When we compare the explanations given by children and by scientists, we often prefer the children’s explanation. Their description is more human, more delicate. This child does not have to believe the other who is supposed to know more; she can doubt and in this way prepare herself for the truth.

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