Was Anna Freud a lesbian?

When I was a volunteer at the Freud Museum in Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead, one of the tasks that I found most rewarding and enjoyable was giving tours of the museum. The museum is Sigmund Freud's last home, the place where he lived in his final year of life, having escaped from the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. As a museum it's a fascinating space, combining Freud's library and study, frozen in time, containing the iconic analytic couch, as well as displays and artefacts relating to psychoanalysis, and a variety of temporary exhibitions. 

A tour of the museum always included the Anna Freud room, which gave visitors the chance to learn about the life and work of Freud's youngest child, who lived in the house until her death in 1982. Anna's lifelong friend and colleague, Dorothy Burlingham, joined the household in 1940, and the two women collaborated on a number of professional projects. These included the founding of the Hampstead War Nurseries, which cared for children who had been bombed out during the Blitz; running the Hampstead Clinic, now the Anna Freud Centre; and publishing extensive research into child development, based on their observations and interventions

During a tour, I would be asked a whole range of questions by visitors, ranging from the very practical 'Where can I go to get some lunch?', to the more theoretical 'Can you explain the Oedipus conflict?' There was one question that I would be asked regularly, and I was never able to give an answer that satisfied visitors. 'Was Anna Freud a lesbian?'

Spoiler alert: Nobody knows, despite what you might read on Wikipedia. But being asked about this one aspect of Anna's life so frequently prompted me to try to understand why Anna's sexuality is of such interest. I came up with three possible explanations…

The importance of recognising LGBTQ+ role models

First, what we know. Anna was the only one of six siblings never to marry, despite having a number of suitors, including Ernest Jones, psychoanalyst and Sigmund Freud's biographer. Sigmund disapproved of their relationship, and this was enough to quash any romance between them. 

Anna and Dorothy met in Vienna when Dorothy brought her son for psychoanalysis with Anna, and Dorothy herself had psychoanalysis with Sigmund Freud for many years. Dorothy, whose grandfather was founder of the Tiffany retail empire, was fleeing an unhappy marriage, and left the United States with her four children in 1925. The two women became close friends, buying several holiday homes together over the years, where they could escape from the demands of their work in London.

Anna and Dorothy shared a home, essentially co-parented Dorothy's children, as well as having a highly successful professional partnership. What is not known is whether their friendship extended into a romantic or sexual relationship. 

Perhaps this gap in our knowledge is not surprising. Until recently, people identifying as LGBTQ+ were absent from history, or at best, marginalised. An assumption made by the producers of history books and other historical accounts is one that sees figures from the past through a 'straight lens', i.e., failing to consider whether their sexuality was anything other than heterosexual. At the same time, those who openly identified as LGBTQ+ may have been deliberately excluded or had their achievements minimised. 'Straight washing', particularly prevalent in the film and TV industries, is the tradition of depicting someone from the LGBTQ+ community as heterosexual in order to placate censors or not to challenge audiences. These practices lead to rendering LGBTQ+ individuals invisible from history and society, causing their contributions to be ignored and overlooked. In turn, this lack of recognition stifles our understanding and acceptance of those from the LGBTQ+ community, allowing stereotypes and prejudice to flourish.

Many of the visitors to the Freud Museum are A-level and University students who are studying psychology. The importance of positive LGBTQ+ role models for young people is highlighted by the Barnardo's charity, who state that 'It's important for our LGBT+ young people to see other people like them in society so that they feel represented, inspired and motivated to be their best selves'.

Therefore, I believe that asking 'Was Anna Freud a lesbian?' is a highly apposite question. She is already a positive example of a successful woman in the field of academic research, a field dominated by men. As a lesbian, she would be a strong LGBTQ+ role model as well, helping to break down barriers, reduce prejudice and promote diversity.

However, while this would be important for the LGBTQ+ community and society as a whole, in itself doesn't fully account for why Anna's sexuality is of such interest to so many visitors. An explanation drawing on Social Identity Theory may provide a greater understanding.

Social Identity Theory

Henri Tajfel and colleagues proposed Social Identity Theory in 1979, suggesting that individuals try to make sense of others and the world around them by categorising people into groups. This social categorisation helps us to manage the overload of information we get when we encounter someone new, by mentally allocating people to different groups, e.g., Scottish, student, farmer, Sikh, tourist etc. By categorising others, we can take cognitive short cuts and can feel confident about the attributes individuals are likely to possess. This is helpful because we don't need to spend time getting to know everyone we meet in depth in order to interact with them, but also unhelpful because such assumptions may be wrong, and can lead to stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. 

As well as categorising others, we categorise ourselves in the same way. By working out which groups we belong to, we identify with the characteristics we assume people in those groups possess. This helps us to adhere to group norms and to fit in with others. We are rewarded by a feeling of belonging, and our self-worth will be linked to membership of the group. We are therefore motivated to see our 'in-group' in a positive light as this will enhance our self-esteem, while we tend to view other 'out-groups' more negatively.

When visitors to the Freud Museum are told the story of Anna and Dorothy, I believe that Social Identity Theory may explain how they are trying to make sense of who Anna and Dorothy are, and which groups they belong to, in the same way that individuals try to categorise anyone new that they meet. The tour of the museum provides information which makes it possible to categorise Anna into several groups, e.g., female, Jewish, analyst, researcher and spinster, but leaves the social category of sexuality open. By hearing about Anna's life, uncertainty about her relationship with Dorothy is created and this uncertainty produces cognitive discomfort. We are strongly motivated to work out how to categorise Anna. 

However, there is no evidence amongst either Anna or Dorothy's papers and letters held by the Freud Museum to confirm or to refute the idea that they were in a romantic and/or sexual relationship. Those who knew them at the time have never communicated anything to suggest their relationship was anything more than close friends, and therefore the mystery remains. We all need to live with that uncertainty, however frustrating it may be for visitors to the Museum. 

A closer understanding of Anna as a person

Another possible explanation to account for visitors' curiosity regarding Anna's sexuality is simply to reach a closer connection to her as a person. Sexuality is a fundamental part of who we are as people. Cameron and Gatewood (2000) consider the reasons why people visit historical sites and museums and conclude that 'the desire to have a more personal experience with a previous time period and its people' is a strong motivating factor. As well as seeking information and knowledge about a specific place or event, visitors are keen to have a 'deeper and more meaningful connection'.

A visit to the Freud Museum offers far more than the opportunity to learn about the development of psychoanalysis; it offers the visitor the chance to immerse themselves in the daily life and experiences of those who lived in the house. It is only by stepping into Freud's study that it is possible to fully appreciate what it must have been like to lie on the famous couch. There are many photographs of Freud's library, but only by visiting is it possible to comprehend the enormity of his collection of books and artefacts from the ancient world, gaining a fuller appreciation of Freud as a collector and expert antiquarian.

The same is true for Anna; the house is filled with objects and artefacts that give an insight into her personality, interests and achievements. She was very creative, passionate about knitting and weaving. She composed poetry and translated several books from English into German. The walls of her room are filled with certificates displaying her many honorary Doctorates and other academic accomplishments. Her dedication both to her father and to the promotion of psychoanalysis are revealed through numerous objects, photographs and displays. Yet that final piece of the apparent puzzle for many visitors is missing.

'She spent her life with children'

The question of whether or not Anna Freud was a lesbian will likely remain a mystery forever. But perhaps a more important question is: 'does it matter?' The answer, for me, is 'yes'.

It matters because of her extraordinary legacy in furthering our understanding of child development and child analysis. Her sexuality clearly has no bearing on the body of work she has left behind, and which has stood the test of time, continuing to inform and understand the emotional lives of children. However, if she was indeed a lesbian, she would be a significant role model, highlighting the contribution made by someone from the LGBTQ+ community, helping to foster acceptance and inclusivity.

Anna was actually a very modest person though, and may not have felt comfortable taking on the position of a role model at all. She felt that she was not a suitable subject for a biography, commenting that there was 'not enough "action"! You would say all there is to say in a few sentences – she spent her life with children!'

- Laura Smith is the Counselling Coordinator at Juno Counselling, a charity based in Hertfordshire offering counselling to adults affected by sexual violence, and also practices as a Counselling Supervisor. She is a graduate member of the British Psychological Society, and has taught A-level Psychology and Counselling Skills.

References

Barnardo's (2019). Why Young People need LGBT+ Role Models.

Cameron, C.M. and Gatewood, J.B. (2000). Excursions into the Un-Remembered Past: What People Want from Visits to Historical Sites, The Public Historian 22,3: 107-127

Freud Museum London, nd, Anna Freud's Later Work.

Tajfel, H., Turner, J. C., Austin, W. G., & Worchel, S. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. Organizational identity: A reader, 56-65.