The article below offers a new perspective on the known aspects of Sabina Spielrein’s biography and presents the hypothesis of a difficult turning point in her life. Tragically, the destructive forces that Spielrein insightfully described in 1912 and relentlessly opposed throughout her life would ultimately prevail.
Jean-Pierre Robert has been exploring Jungian typology for many years and uses it to offer a fresh perspective on Spielrein’s complex journey.
French version of this article
On this page
- A life story that captivates and inspires
- Timeline
- All the elements are in place
- A key player in the development of psychoanalysis
- What is Sabina Spielrein’s true personality?
- Introversion and Psychological Type
- Exile in French-speaking Switzerland
- Charles Baudouin’s experience in Switzerland
- Return to her native Russia
- Victim of others and victim of herself
- Sabina Spielrein’s destiny
A life story that captivates and inspires
Sabina Spielrein’s life journey evokes strong reactions. Her story has inspired a wealth of books, plays, documentaries, essays, films, and lectures. Here are a few titles that provide a glimpse into this extensive and vibrant body of work:
- A most dangerous method: The story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein (book)
- The talking cure (stage play)
- The soul keeper (film)
And some titles that are not available in English:
- Entre Freud et Jung [Between Freud and Jung] (Sabine Spielrein’s letters)
- Sabina « la Juive » de Carl Jung [Sabina « the Jewess » of Carl Jung]
- Un amour presque cruel pour la science [A love almost cruel for science]
- La vie dérobée de Sabina Spielrein [The stolen life of Sabina Spielrein]
Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg secured $20 million for his film A Dangerous Method. Sabine Richebächer and Elisabeth Marton each dedicated seven years to exploring Spielrein’s life and work, traveling across several European countries. Richebächer wrote the most comprehensive and well-documented biography, Sabina Spielrein (in German, not translated into English), while Marton produced My Name Was Sabina Spielrein, the most faithful documentary on Spielrein’s life.
There is no shortage of writings by Freudian and Jungian authors, which are often at odds but sometimes aligned, as well as numerous writers and journalists who have extensively romanticized Sabina Spielrein’s life.
Timeline
In the first half of the 20th century, Europe was ravaged by events that crushed, shattered, and annihilated individuals, with evil reigning unchecked. It is against this backdrop of immense suffering that Sabina Spielrein’s life journey took shape.
She was born in 1885 to a prosperous Jewish family in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. A bright and talented student, she was committed at the age of 18 to the Burghölzli psychiatric hospital in Zurich. Like many women of her time, she was diagnosed with hysteria. The death of her younger sister Emilia in 1901 seems to have been a key factor in the deterioration of her mental health.
Her doctors, Eugen Bleuler and Carl Gustav Jung, aided in her recovery, and a few months later, she began her medical studies in Zurich. During her years as a student (1905-1911), she entered into a romantic relationship with Jung, which led to a complex situation that eventually drew Sigmund Freud’s involvement. Sabina Spielrein shared a deep admiration for the work of both Jung and Freud, and alongside these two influential figures, she contributed to the early development of psychoanalysis, demonstrating remarkable originality in her thinking.
In 1912, she married Pavel Scheftel, a general practitioner and veterinarian of Jewish descent, born in Rostov-on-Don like herself. They moved to Berlin, where their first daughter, Renata, was born the following year.
At the onset of World War I, they managed to escape Germany and find refuge in Switzerland. Her husband enlisted with the Russian forces in 1915, leaving Sabina Spielrein and their daughter stranded in the French-speaking part of Switzerland for the duration of the war. During this period, she struggled with severe challenges in obtaining food and housing, while her daughter was often ill.
In 1922, her mother Eva passed away suddenly in Rostov-on-Don. The following year, Sabina Spielrein left Switzerland and returned to Russia, where she took up a leadership position at the Moscow State Psychoanalytic Institute.
In 1924, she returned to her hometown of Rostov-on-Don and settled there permanently. That same year, after a seven-year separation, she reunited with her husband, and they had a second daughter, Eva, in 1926. During their time apart, her husband had a relationship with Olga Snitkova, with whom he had a daughter named Nina.
Sabina Spielrein’s three brothers—Isaak, Jascha, and Emil, all distinguished scientists—were victims of Stalin’s purges and were executed in 1937/1938. During this turbulent time, her husband also passed away from a heart attack, and her father Nikolai died from grief over these devastating losses.
Left alone with her daughters, Sabina Spielrein formed a close bond with Olga and her daughter Nina, who was a half-sister to her own children. During these particularly challenging times, the two women supported each other and pledged mutual assistance. In July 1942, Sabina Spielrein and her daughters were tragically murdered by Nazi forces, along with the other Jewish residents of Rostov-on-Don.
In 1977, part of her diaries and correspondence was uncovered in the basement of the University of Geneva, which in the 1920s was home to the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute of Psychology. It was at this institute that she had taught, conducted analyses, and provided supervision.
All the elements are in place
What stands out is that all the elements are in place to fuel multiple narratives:
- the discovery of hidden diaries,
- a miraculous recovery,
- her secret affair with Jung,
- the conflict between Freud and Jung,
- a life of hardship during World War I,
- execution by the Nazis along with her two daughters.
Her status as a victim dominates the narratives, as she often finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, solidifying her role as an indisputable victim.
A key player in the development of psychoanalysis
She played an important role in shaping Jungian psychology concepts, including the anima, and contributed to Freud’s expansion of his work and concept of the death drive. As a pioneering researcher in various fields, she made significant contributions to child and women’s psychology. Her research on childhood was later incorporated by notable figures such as Anna Freud, Jean Piaget, Melanie Klein, and Donald W. Winnicott, among others.
Her current renown is largely due to the discovery of her diaries. Prior to this, she had been largely forgotten, with her name appearing only in a few obscure footnotes. Such periods of neglect, whether intentional or not, are unfortunately common.
What’s essential is that Sabina Spielrein was widely recognized and valued by those around her, who relied extensively on her research.
She promoted psychoanalysis in her native Russia, where she faced considerable challenges, as her work clashed with the expectations of a communist regime focused on creating a new type of individual aligned with the party’s goals.
What is Sabina Spielrein’s true personality?
Defining Sabina Spielrein’s true personality is challenging, as she is often depicted merely as an « object ». Amidst the Freud-Jung conflict, she emerged as a central figure in the early development of psychoanalysis. As the first woman to join the prestigious Vienna Psychoanalytic Society in 1911, she is frequently highlighted as a significant example of women’s rising presence in a predominantly male-dominated field.
But who is she at her core, and at what point was her inner development disrupted or hindered? Her time in the Zurich hospital and her diary offer some insights. From 1911 onward, with her medical degree in hand, her persona grew more confident, largely masking her inner reality.
Many questions emerge:
- What factors led her to make seemingly poor choices?
- Why did she leave Switzerland and throw herself into the lion’s den of Soviet Russia?
- Was it impossible for her to integrate into Swiss society?
- Why did she leave behind such valuable and personal documents?
- Did she plan to return to Geneva?
Introversion and Psychological Type
To address these questions, it is helpful to draw on Jung’s Psychological Types (CW6). In her book Lectures on Jung’s typology, co-edited with James Hillman, Marie-Louise von Franz revisits this topic and emphasizes the concept of the inferior function.
She builds and expands on Jung’s explanations, affirming that determining a person’s typology is very difficult. The task is even more complex when it comes to defining one’s own typology. Moreover, these aspects can evolve throughout a person’s life, except for the primary attitude (extraversion or introversion). Sabina Spielrein is undoubtedly a highly introverted individual with great sensitivity.
It is difficult to identify Sabina Spielrein’s dominant function. Intuition is strong in her, as evidenced by the innovative ideas fueling her rich creativity. Her thinking is highly structured, as demonstrated in her writing. At the same time, feeling is also deeply present, underlying all of her actions.
Her sensation, being extraverted (its opposite pole), seems to be the least developed of all her functions. Largely unconscious and thus unrecognized, it operates from within and leads her down challenging paths.
In her 1912 article Destruction as the cause of coming into being [Journal of Analytical Psychology 1994, 39, 155-186], Sabina Spielrein states:
The statement that we psychically experience absolutely nothing in the present strikes us as paradoxical and yet it is correct. (p. 157)
Such a profound observation would have been unlikely to emerge in the mind of someone whose primary function is sensation.
Marie-Louise von Franz provides a practical method for identifying one’s own psychological type and offers guidance on how to recognize one’s inferior function by asking the following questions:
What is the greatest cross for the person? Where is his greatest suffering? Where does he feel that he always knocks his head against the obstacle and suffers hell? (Lectures on Jung’s typology, p. 26)
Exile in French-speaking Switzerland
The greatest challenge for Sabina Spielrein seems to be her difficulty in adapting to the external world. On January 6, 1918 she wrote to C.G. Jung:
I live so deeply immersed in the ideal that I view the inconveniences of real life, such as hunger, cold (down to 7° in my room), and sleep (due to lack of time), only with a humorous eye. […] I have always been this way; I remain so. I see how different I am from normal people, and I tell myself that it must mean something.
(translated from the French, Entre Freud et Jung, p. 304)
In a letter to Jung at the end of the same month, Sabina Spielrein recounts an incident where she intended to go to the Conservatory to present one of her musical compositions. She got lost on the way, went to the wrong school, met her future teacher, and concluded by saying:
For several months, I was convinced I was at the Conservatory, so much so that I lived apart from the world.
(translated from the French, Entre Freud et Jung, p. 318)
During the 1920s, she also wrote to Pierre Bovet, director of the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute of Psychology, where she worked:
People who know how to make money are much more esteemed in this world, and they have the right to live with their children. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to change myself. You’re not going to let us die like this, are you?
(translated from the French, Sabina Spielrein, une oeuvre pionnière, un destin singulier, p. 25)
Despite being « overqualified » (as a physician and psychoanalyst), and being multilingual, Sabina Spielrein struggled to find a position that paid well enough to cover the basic needs of herself and her daughter during her extended stay in French-speaking Switzerland.
Charles Baudouin’s experience in Switzerland
In that same period, Charles Baudouin left France in 1915 to settle permanently in Switzerland, where he compiled his Carnets de route (Travel journals, not translated into English) (1915-1919), which are available today. He describes how he quickly established connections with prominent figures, such as Carl Spitteler, Romain Rolland, Stefan Zweig, Edouard Claparède, Auguste Forel, and others.
He joined the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute of Psychology and started conducting group suggestion sessions by the fall of 1915. A few months later, he noted, « My last consultation in March [1916] gathered sixty people: an invasion » (p. 98). This marked the beginning of his distinguished career as a psychoanalyst.
His book also illustrates how Switzerland welcomed « a large number of foreigners » during the Great War, including « discharged soldiers, refugees, deserters, pacifists, and revolutionaries » (p. 11).
Charles Baudouin left behind a significant body of work and maintained a close relationship with Jung. His work integrated aspects of both Freud and Jung’s theories.
He had a highly developed sensation function, as evidenced by his travel narratives, which sets him apart from Sabina Spielrein. Additionally, being a man, it was easier for him to form relationships in the early 20th century. One of his students, a Russian émigré, confided in him in 1915:
that he suffers from his isolation in Geneva. The people of Geneva are very aloof; they are the antithesis of the Russian character. They do not engage in friendly socializing; they are extremely reserved and expect others to be just as reserved.
(translated from the French, Carnets de route, p. 49)
Return to her native Russia
Sabina Spielrein’s return to Russia raises many questions. Contemporary newspapers, such as La Tribune de Genève, extensively reported on the precarious and dangerous situation in Russia following the Bolshevik takeover. Her father Nikolai Spielrein’s property was confiscated, and his income had plummeted.
Although she had openly shared her struggles, Sabina Spielrein’s professional circles in Geneva, Vienna, and Berlin appear to have underestimated the gravity of her situation. Were they so impressed by the clarity of her intellect and the depth of her personality that they failed to see her vulnerabilities? Sabina Spielrein ultimately decided to return to Moscow, believing that reconnecting with her homeland was preferable to staying in Geneva.
From one tragedy to another, she and her two daughters ultimately fell victim to the Nazi troops. Despite having potential escape routes, she underestimated the imminent threat. She believed that the German people could not commit such atrocities, given their culture, which she greatly admired. Indeed, the rumors circulating at the time were almost unimaginable. But Stalin’s actions—having massacred her three brothers and many others—should have served as a warning sign.
Victim of others and victim of herself
Her profound introversion, strong intuition, nuanced thinking, and emotional sensitivity were all dedicated to helping others, with a special focus on children and women. In contrast, the external world appeared to her more virtual, distant, and blurred.
According to Jung’s typology, when the dominant function and the two auxiliary functions are well-developed, the fourth function, or inferior function, can lead its own life if it isn’t given adequate attention. It is overshadowed by the other functions, struggling to defend itself and often causing significant obstacles, seeping into every gap, and sometimes leading the individual directly into a wall. This was true for Sabina Spielrein.
She was undoubtedly a victim of her environment, the relationships she invested deeply in, and the particularly malevolent collective she lived in. Yet, she was also a victim of herself—of unconscious forces that never managed to find a positive outlet in her life.
Sabina Spielrein’s destiny
She was spot-on in 1912 when she saw what lay beneath the surface—the existence of a paradoxical destructive drive. She was personally affected by this issue of Evil that transcends the individual.
Her inner development seems to have abruptly stalled during the years when her relationship with Jung ended and she earned her medical degree. From that point on, all her qualities were mobilized for research and psychoanalysis. Her work reveals her exceptional ability to connect with others, though this connection is primarily on the inner level.
Jung stands out as a counterexample in his 1913 confrontation with his own unconscious. His encounter later proved crucial, offering guidance to each of us on our personal journey.
The end of the romantic relationship between Sabina Spielrein and C.G. Jung was abrupt. What could have continued as everyday interactions was reduced to an exchange of letters over the course of about ten years.
From 1918 onward, Sabina Spielrein’s final letters reveal the depth of her inquiries and showcase her remarkable intelligence. In my view, her questions did not receive the attention they deserved from Jung.
It is clear that Sabina Spielrein had a deep understanding of the intricacies of depth psychology, with a particularly keen insight into the works of both Freud and Jung.
Her comments subtly reveal that she played a key role in Jung’s somewhat later discovery of the intuitive function.
Had Sabina Spielrein known how to address her unconscious as Jung did, she might have uncovered not only Evil within her shadow but also genuine treasures. Her spirituality, which had remained at a childlike stage, and her passion for music might have found their rightful place in her life.
In one of her earlier dreams, her father or grandfather blessed her with the words: « A great destiny awaits you, my child » (A secret symmetry: Sabina Spielrein between Jung and Freud, p. 79-80). She was indeed on the path to a great destiny. She was also ahead of her time, and psychology owes her much.
Her final years were genuinely tragic, which significantly deepens the sense of intrigue surrounding Sabina Spielrein.
The above hypotheses aim to illuminate not only Sabina Spielrein’s life but also the experiences of those who today navigate similar life paths.
Original article by Jean-Pierre Robert,
translation by Peggy Vermeesch.
October 2024
Jean-Pierre Robert
Jean-Pierre Robert is the founder of Espace Francophone Jungien (1998). He oversees the publication of content, has authored several articles, book presentations, interviews, and manages the website layout. From 2017 to 2023, he co-facilitated Jungian-themed workshops in partnership with Chantal Armouet.
Articles
For a list of articles and interviews published in French, visit Jean-Pierre Robert’s page on EFJ.