Karen Horney
KAREN HORNEY 3
Karen Horney was a Neo-Freudian psychoanalyst who made significant contributions to the studies of Psychoanalysis and Feminine Psychology. Horney was born in Hamburg, Germany in September 16, 1885 into an upper-middle-class Protestant family (Kelman, 1966). Her family consisted of her parents, Berndt and Clothilde Danielson and her older brother, Berndt. She also had four older siblings from her father’s first marriage (Boeree, 1997). According to Horney, her father was a strict disciplinarian who uses authoritarian parenting style to teach his children (Kelman, 1966). He supported her brother’s education more than Karen’s (Burger, 2011). He was also a religious man who earned a nickname “the Bible thrower” from his children. After divorcing his first wife, Berndt married Clothilde who was 19 years his junior. Karen’s mother was a dynamic, intelligent and beautiful woman. She was described as more urban and a freethinker than her husband (Kelman, 1966). Unlike her husband who discouraged Karen from furthering her studies in higher education level, she was more supportive of her only daughter. Clothilde encouraged Karen to pursue her dreams of entering a medical school (Kelman, 1966).
Horney came from an economically and socially secured family with her father a devoted Bible reader, working as a Norwegian sea captain. Horney herself spent her early adolescence going through a period of religious enthusiasm (Kelman, 1966). Her father favoured Berndt, Horney’s older brother than herself. Deprived of her father’s love during childhood, she once drew a painting of him, describing him as an authoritarian who preferred her brother over her. Despite Horney’s perception of her father, he took her on three long sea voyages with him and even brought her presents from all over the world (Boeree, 1997). During the voyages, she developed a passion for travelling and grew an interest in strange and far-away places. Although she spent most of her time
Karen Horney was a Neo-Freudian psychoanalyst who made significant contributions to the studies of Psychoanalysis and Feminine Psychology. Horney was born in Hamburg, Germany in September 16, 1885 into an upper-middle-class Protestant family (Kelman, 1966). Her family consisted of her parents, Berndt and Clothilde Danielson and her older brother, Berndt. She also had four older siblings from her father’s first marriage (Boeree, 1997). According to Horney, her father was a strict disciplinarian who uses authoritarian parenting style to teach his children (Kelman, 1966). He supported her brother’s education more than Karen’s (Burger, 2011). He was also a religious man who earned a nickname “the Bible thrower” from his children. After divorcing his first wife, Berndt married Clothilde who was 19 years his junior. Karen’s mother was a dynamic, intelligent and beautiful woman. She was described as more urban and a freethinker than her husband (Kelman, 1966). Unlike her husband who discouraged Karen from furthering her studies in higher education level, she was more supportive of her only daughter. Clothilde encouraged Karen to pursue her dreams of entering a medical school (Kelman, 1966).
Horney came from an economically and socially secured family with her father a devoted Bible reader, working as a Norwegian sea captain. Horney herself spent her early adolescence going through a period of religious enthusiasm (Kelman, 1966). Her father favoured Berndt, Horney’s older brother than herself. Deprived of her father’s love during childhood, she once drew a painting of him, describing him as an authoritarian who preferred her brother over her. Despite Horney’s perception of her father, he took her on three long sea voyages with him and even brought her presents from all over the world (Boeree, 1997). During the voyages, she developed a passion for travelling and grew an interest in strange and far-away places. Although she spent most of her time
References: American Institute for Psychoanalysis (2010). Karen Horney biography, in brief. Retrieved from http://www.aipnyc.org/institute/biography.html Bayne, E Boeree, C. G. (1997). Personality theories: Karen horney [Adobe Digital Reader Version]. Retrieved from: http://www.social-psychology.de/do/pt_horney.pdf Burger, J Burger, J. M. (2011). Personality. United States of America: Wadsworth. Coolidge, F Eckardt, M. H. (2006). Karen Horney: A portrait. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 66(2), 105-108. doi: 10.1007/s11231-006-9008-4 Friedman, H Garrisson, D. (1981). Karen Horney and Feminism. Signs, 6(4), 672-691. Kelman, H. (1966). Introduction. In H. Kelman (Ed.), Feminine psychology (pp. 7-31). New York, NY: W.W Norton & Company. O’Connell, A. N. (1980). Karen Horney: Theorist in Psychoanalysis and Feminine Psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 5(1), 81-93. Paris, B. J. (1999). Karen Horney’s vision of the self, American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 59(2), 157-166. Quinn, S. (2000). Horney, Karen Theodora Clementina Danielsen. American National Biography Online. Retrieved from http://www.anb.org/articles/14/14-00295.html Ryckman, R Semmelhack, D., Farrell, K., Pojas, J., & Ende, L. (2011). Womb envy and Western society: On the devaluation of nurturing in psychotherapy and society. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 1, 164-186.