qualitative differences.
Reich’s movement away from the more political aspects of Marxism was heightened
by experiences with his colleagues during these years. Difficulties emerged especially around
the issues of publication. Several of his young socialist assistants wanted “equal” rights in
determining the content of the JournalReich felt that since he was primarily responsible for
most of the ideas and for paying publication costs, he was “more equal” than the others^18.
This led to charges that he was “dictatorial,” a criticism not without some justification then
and one that was to be repeated throughout his life.
Reich’s closest male friendship during this period seems to have been with Sigurd
Hoel, the novelist. In 1957 1 met Hoel and found him to be an extremely engaging, witty,
reflective person, still full of warm memories if also criticisms of Reich. He liked Reich as
a therapist: “He was a very good therapist with me. I saw him four times a week. The only
thing that interfered was the fact that I was also seeing him socially. I saw him almost every
day for five years.”
As noted, Hoel for a period served as editor of Reich’s Journalso that he met Reich
as patient, friend, and co-worker. Yet Hoel felt that Reich wanted even more from him:
“There was nothing of the liberal man about Reich. ... He was a tyrant. ... He wanted your
whole life. ... He knew he couldn’t have mine—I had my writing, my loves.”^19
It was a mark of the two men’s intimacy that Hoel felt comfortable going unan-
nounced to Reich’s apartment on the night of Hitler’s invasion of Austria in March 1938.
He thought Reich should not be alone. “I never saw Reich cry, but he was close to tears that
night. He said he had wondered if any of his friends were thinking of him,”
Hoel’s reference to Reich as a “tyrant” applied especially after the start of the
Norwegian newspaper campaign in late 1937. Then Elsa Lindenberg and most of his col-
leagues discerned a change in him. Hoel commented that after the campaign Reich ceased
to be such a good therapist: “He began to take out his anger on his patients. He never did
that with me,but he did it with others.I saw him crush several people. That was unforgiv-
able because he was the strongest one in the group.Unforgivable!”
Hoel also told me the one well-documented example of Reich’s sexual indiscretion
with a patient:
“Shortly after the Norwegian campaign started, Reich took on a female patient, the
ex-wife of a close colleague. She was a very beautiful actress. She had gone into therapy with
the explicit purpose of seducing Reich. In the beginning Reich told her that that of course
was out of the question. But in time she succeeded. The analysis stopped, the relationship
began:then the relationship would stop and the analysis resume. How long this went on I
don’t know, but at some point both the relationship and the analysis ended, the relationship
at least at Reich’s instigation. The patient was furious and was determined to tell the press
about the incident. Reich suggested that I speak to her, which I did. She poured out her
hatred. I confined myself to listening and to pointing out how much she would hurt her-
self—not only Reich—through newspaper stories about the affair. She finally decided not to
go to the newspapers.”^20
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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