reverse the coming of death. Perhaps, too, he feared that he would be infected by his dis-
eased brother the last heir but one of a tragedy-ridden family.
Yet when all is explained or guessed at, the incident reflects the kind of callousness
Reich could sometimes show toward people once very close to him, who had helped him,
but who for one reason or another were no longer relevant or for whom nothing could be
done. This was particularly the case when someone died. I recall his reaction to the death of
a promising young psychiatrist who had been in training with him and whom he had liked
very much. When Reich heard the news, he simply said grimly, “The best die young,” and
went on about his business.
If Reich personally distanced himself from Robert during the illness, he was close
to Ottilie after Robert’s death. Ottilie was now in difficult straits: she had no career, and
there was a young child to care for. In the fall of 1926, she moved in with the Reichs in order
to pursue a professional training in Vienna. At the time Ottilie was interested in becoming
a nursery-school teacher, and Reich helped her not only to obtain a formal education but
also with various extras that he was in a position to arrange, such as a psychoanalytic semi-
nar on adolescence given by August Aichorn. Ottilie was as grateful to him for this attentive
help as she had earlier been disappointed by his behavior^17.
At the close of1926,Reich’s personal life revealed a similar mixture of success and
storm clouds on the horizon as his professional life did. By 1926, he had won considerable
attention through his writings, his seminar, and his clinical skills. At the same time, several
influential analysts now disliked him intensely and Freud himself was giving less than full
support to the more controversial aspects of Reich’s contributions. As far as the marriage
was concerned, Annie felt that until 1927 it was a happy one and their mutual life together
a satisfying existence. But for Reich, things were more complex. He undoubtedly felt some
dissatisfaction with his marriage. Annie was less than enthusiastic about the direction his
work was taking in emphasizing the function of the orgasm, though there is no evidence
that she opposed it at that time. And what ancient scars and griefs his brother’s death trig-
gered can only be imagined.
112 Myron SharafFury On Earth