4 : Becoming a Psychoanalyst: 1918-1920 63
then have the formidable organizational structure it was to develop some years later, with
the requirements of psychiatric residency, training analysis, analytic seminars, and case
supervision. In 1920, if one had Freud’s blessing an important “if,” since Freud controlled
most of the referrals that came to the new specialty of psychoanalysis one could begin ana-
lytic practice with virtually no formal training. One was expected to steep oneself in the ana-
lytic literature and required to present an acceptable paper in order to become a member of
the Society, but little else. Ironically, Reich himself was to make a significant contribution not
least through the elaboration of “character analysis” to lengthening the apprenticeship
required of analytic candidates.
The significance of Freud and psychoanalysis to Reich becomes even more appar-
ent if we take a closer look at Reich’s personality and private life during this period.
Those who knew Reich as a young medical student around 1919-20 focus on his
vitality and brilliance. For some, it was not only his forceful nature but also a kind of rude-
ness that impressed them. Grete Bibring, musing about the young Reich, spoke with a mix-
ture of fondness, admiration, and disdain. She commented on his intelligence, his eagerness
to learn, and his capacity to “soak up everything.” At the same time she found him less
sophisticated and less knowledgeable in terms of general culture than many of her fellow
students. She also felt he was quite impressionable and cited an example from around the
year 1920. Reich had a patient in analysis who was a Communist. One day Willy excitedly
came to Grete and Edward, exclaiming that Communists weren’t necessarily fools. Since this
was hardly news to the young couple, they did not share Willy’s sense of great discovery. A
strain on the relationship was Reich’s competitiveness with Edward Bibring, for Willy, too,
was drawn to the attractive, spirited, and intellectual Grete a romantic interest she did not
reciprocate^13.
Willy’s colleagues also criticized, initially with good humor, later with more acerbity,
his tendency to dominate groups. In the student seminar, for example, a story tells how
Reich,as leader or temporary leader,was outlining a series of presentations for the coming
weeks.He meant to say that after he had presented a certain topic, another member would
speak on something else. Instead, he made the slip: “Nach mir, ich komme” (After me, I come).
The group burst out laughing and someone said: “That’s the trouble with you, Willy—‘After
me,Icome.’”^14
Some ofthe same personal qualities, as well as others, are revealed in Reich’s rela-
tionship with Lia Laszky. Laszky recalled meeting Reich when both were lab partners in a
first-year anatomy course. Reich was taking an accelerated program that permitted him to
complete the regular six-year curriculum in four years. He repeatedly urged Laszky to do the
same so that they could continue working together. “So like a fool I did. I wasn’t as smart
as he was, I wasn’t as determined. It was all too much for me.” Later she was to drop out of
medical school altogether^15.
Lia Laszky felt that Reich at that time was both “fascinating and abhorrent”: fasci-
nating because ofhis vitality,his radiant interests, and his personal charm during good