Freud (1984). Episode 4

Freud, also known as Freud: the Life of a Dream, (1984) is a BBC television serial based on the life and times of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. David Suchet stars as Freud. The 6-part production is 360 minutes in duration. Episode 4. “Madonna“: When Freud’s concept of child sexuality and the seduction theory are rejected by his colleagues, including Breuer, he finds himself isolated. As Martha tends to the home and their growing family, Freud engages more with Martha’s sister Minna, whose own fiancé had died. At first rejecting his brother Alexander’s suggestion that he travel to Italy and Rome, mainly because of the Catholic Church’s history of Jewish persecution, Freud relents. Traveling with Alexander and later with Minna, his observations of the many images of the Madonna and child and memories of incidents from his own childhood lead him to propose the concept of the Oedipus complex and abandon the seduction theory.