Mark as complete bdagostino2687 9/10/17 Trevor, I agree that a deeper understanding of Freud’s historical context does not shed much light on the details of Oedipal theory, but that misses my point about the importance of historical context. Let me sketch a little more of what I have in mind and why historical context cannot be dismissed as “nice window dressing.” As I said in my previous email, I am a beginner in Freudian studies and can only present what I have gotten out my limited reading of the literature. If I misstate anything, don’t hesitate to point it out so I can continue to learn. Let’s start with Pierre Janet, whose published lectures beginning in 1889 outlined the role of early childhood trauma, especially sexual abuse, in the etiology of hysteria. Janet pioneered the concepts of the unconscious and of dissociation, and connected the dots between early childhood abuse, dissociation, and the symptoms of “hysterics.” Freud