Beata Rank-Minzer, born Beata Minzer or Munzer, known to friends by the nickname Tola (1886 – 1961) was a Polish-American psychoanalyst.
[Helene Rank-Veltfort]
Rank-Minzer (Munzer), Beata (1886-1961)
''International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis''. Online at encyclopedia.com. Accessed 28 March 2020.
Life
Beata Minzer was born on February 16, 1886 in
Neu Sandez near
Krakow, Poland, then part of the
Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Her aunt introduced her to
Otto Rank
Otto Rank (; ; né Rosenfeld; 22 April 1884 – 31 October 1939) was an Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, and philosopher. Born in Vienna, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, ...
, who was stationed in Krakow editing the from 1916-18. They married in a Jewish wedding ceremony on November 7, 1918, days before the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The couple moved to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
soon afterwards, where Otto took her to present to
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...
as a sort of 'court presentation'.
Their only child, Helene, was born in August 1919.
Though Freud's initial impression of Beata Rank had been unfavourable - "a little Polish-Jewish wife whom no-one finds congenial and who betrays no higher interests" – he soon revised his opinion.
She became
Freud's hostess for social events, entertaining visitors like
Lou Andreas-Salomé
Lou Andreas-Salomé (born either Louise von Salomé or Luíza Gustavovna Salomé or Lioulia von Salomé, russian: link=no, Луиза Густавовна Саломе; 12 February 1861 – 5 February 1937) was a Russian-born psychoanalyst and a ...
.
She attended lectures and seminars on psychoanalysis. Like
Anna Freud
Anna Freud (3 December 1895 – 9 October 1982) was a British psychoanalyst of Austrian-Jewish descent. She was born in Vienna, the sixth and youngest child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. She followed the path of her father and contribut ...
– who felt some rivalry towards her – she took dictation from Freud in the publication of ''Imago''.
In 1923 she translated
Freud's ''On Dreams'' – an abridged version of ''
The Interpretation of Dreams
''The Interpretation of Dreams'' (german: Die Traumdeutung) is an 1899 book by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, in which the author introduces his theory of the unconscious with respect to dream interpretation, and discusses what w ...
'' – into Polish. A 1923 paper on the role of women in the development of human society, which integrated Freud's theory of
Oedipal conflict
The Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) is an idea in psychoanalytic theory. The Complex (psychology), complex is an ostensibly universal phase in the life of a young boy in which, to try to immediately satisfy basic desires, he Uncons ...
with
Bachofen's'
mother-right theory,
[J. C. F.]
Applied Psycho-Analysis: Beata Rank. Zur Rolle der Frau in der Entwicklung der menschlichen Gesellschaft. Imago, 1924, Vol. X, p. 278
''The International Journal of Psychoanalysis
''The International Journal of Psychoanalysis'' is an academic journal in the field of psychoanalysis. The idea of the journal was proposed by Ernest Jones in a letter to Sigmund Freud dated 7 December 1918. The journal itself was established in 1 ...
'', Vol. 7, p. 89. gained her entry to the
Vienna Psychoanalytical Society
The Vienna Psychoanalytic Society (, WPV), formerly known as the Wednesday Psychological Society, is the oldest psychoanalysis society in the world. In 1908, reflecting its growing institutional status as the international psychoanalytic authority ...
.
[
Beata Rank always kept a good personal relationship with Freud. However, her emphasis on the importance of women may well have encouraged Otto Rank's increasing theoretical emphasis on the mother-child relationship, an element in what became his split from Freud.] Otto started visiting the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in 1924, though Beata did not want to move there. After his break from Freud, the couple compromised by moving Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
in 1926. There she continued researching the role of women, using the Bibliotheque Nationale. In 1933 she worked with Otto as an administrator for the Summer Institute of his Psychological Center, but in 1934 he left her.[
Beata Rank remained in Paris with her daughter until 1936, when they emigrated to ]Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. The Boston psychoanalytic community included her old friends Helene and Felix Deutsch. She worked there as a child analyst and as a training analyst at the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute.[
Beata Rank died on April 11, 1961.][
]
Works
* 'Zur Rolle der Frau in der Entwicklung der menschlichen Gesellschaft' n the role of the woman in the development of human society ''Imago'', Vol. 10 (1924), pp. 278–295.
* 'Where child analysis stands today', ''American Imago
''American Imago'' is an academic journal established in 1939 by Sigmund Freud and Hanns Sachs. It seeks to explore the role of psychoanalysis in contemporary cultural, literary, and social theory, while also considering issues related to anthropol ...
'', Vol. 3, No. 3 (1942). pp. 41-60.
* (with Marion C. Putnam and G. Rochlin) 'The Significance of "Emotional Climate" in Early Feeding Difficulties', ''Psychosomatic Medicine'', Vol. 10, No. 5 (1948), pp. 279–83
* 'Adaptation of the psychoanalytic technique for the treatment of young children with atypical development', ''American Journal of Orthopsychiatry'', Vol. 19 (1949), pp. 130–139.
* 'Aggression', in Phyllis Greenacre et al, eds., ''The psychoanalytic study of the child'', Vol. 3-4 (1949).
* 'Intensive study and treatment of pre-school children who show marked personality deviations, or atypical development and their parents', in G. Caplan, ed., ''Emotional problems of early childhood: Proceedings of the International Institute of Child Psychiatry'', New York: Basic, pp. 491–501.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rank, Beata
1886 births
1967 deaths
Polish psychoanalysts
American psychoanalysts
Jewish emigrants from Austria to the United States after the Anschluss