Sigmund Freud is one of the most revered and controversial people of the 20th century. Whether you like him or not simply it’s a matter of intellectual history. We have a lot to think Freud for. He created a revolution in the way people think. Sigmund Freud’s theory. I’m not a scorned woman. I think she was hysterical. Shrill and almost unhinged. Calm down, dear. Listen to the doctor. It’s gonna be tickly. Sorry. Are you OK? Yeah. Ooh. I’m sorry. No. It’s my fault. Is this your first film? Yes. Oh, wow. Oh, now I’m nervous. [MUSIC PLAYING] The patient, whom I will call Dora, was a girl of engaging looks. She was in the first bloom of youth But she was a source of heavy trials for her parents. One day her parents were alarmed to find a letter in which she said she could no longer endure her life. It was determined, in spite of her reluctance, that Dora should come to me for treatment. It started with my suicide note. No, it was before that, when my father decided we should all move to the mountains for clean air and tourists. [MUSIC PLAYING] For my mother, nothing changed. She still spent all day polishing — I don’t know what she polished. But for my father everything changed. [MUSIC PLAYING] Peppina had one of those plump asses that men love. And she was cool. She didn’t care what kind of trash I watched or how much I smoked. I can’t really blame my father for falling in love with her. Her husband was Hans. Hans was always nice to me. He used to bring me flowers and little gifts. He gave me this jewelry box once. I loved it. No one had thought any harm of it. The big event every year was this church parade. For some reason, all us Jews loved watching the priests and choirboys march by. Hans’s office had the best view. He invited me to come watch with him and Peppina. But when I got there he was all alone. He started closing all the shutters. I thought, how will we see the parade? Then he grabbed my wrist and pulled me up against him and started kissing me. I was 13. This was just the situation to call up a distinct feeling of sexual excitement. But instead Dora had a violent feeling of disgust. I had on a brand new pair of sneakers. They were so stiff. I remember looking down and thinking they were stitched to the carpet. But then my feet started to move. [MUSIC PLAYING] I left the bathroom, went down the same stairwell, through the living room and left the house. I remember being on the street and feeling this enormous sense of relief that I had escaped that house. For a very long time, I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone these details. After that, I’d make up excuses not to be alone with him. Stomach aches, homework, anything. Nevertheless Dora continued to see him. Why in God’s name would you ever speak to a man like that the rest of your life? I was afraid of retaliation. At 14, I was not able to make those kind of choices. Well, women are still labeled liars and troublemakers, and you just can’t take a joke. I was scared. This was the governor. One of the things that I have come to understand about harassment — that this response, this kind of response, is not atypical. And I can’t explain. It takes an expert in psychology to explain how that can happen. She kept the little scene in Hans’s office a secret. A few years later, Peppina had invited us to come stay at their lake house. It was one of those perfect summer days. Hans convinced me to go for a boat ride with him and then we walked along the shore together. It was nice. He leaned in to light my cigarette. He had this smell like sunscreen and pine needles. I remember exactly what he said. “I get nothing out of my wife.” I don’t know how I found my way back. I went to my room and shut the door. But when I woke up later, he was standing next to my bed. I asked him what the fuck he wanted. Her behavior was completely hysterical. My father confronted him, and you know what he said? I could not imagine anything that I said or did that could have been mistaken for sexual harassment. And then everyone turned on me. First Peppina. Oh, it was so brave for this woman to come forward. Oh, give me a break. Then my father. I find the references to the alleged sexual harassment the product of fantasy. Her father told me, “Please, bring her to reason.” Dr. Hill, there’s a plot. I know that that sounds crazy, you’re probably thinking, oh, my god, this poor girl has really flipped. But I — I haven’t flipped, Dr. Hill. I swear by all the saints I haven’t. Freud believed me. He actually believed me. He was the first one, the only one. I told him that Hans had given me a jewelry box once. I kept it on my desk for forever. Longer than I should have. Do you know that jewel case is an expression for the female genitals? Hans gave you a jewel case so you feel you need to give him your jewel case. No way. [BOX CRASHING TO FLOOR] It was becoming clear. For all these years she had been in love with Hans. She was more afraid of herself and the temptations she felt. That is the thought which had to be repressed. No. Now let me ask you this, though. You indicated that you repressed a lot. Look, she was down with it. You brought it on yourself. What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? I said it again and again, but he wouldn‘t listen. Dora persisted in denying my interpretation. She was motivated by jealousy and revenge. Did it occur to you that people would suspect your motives? This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit. It’s simply dirty politics. Every famous, powerful, or wealthy person is a target. Are women born with a special gene for telling the truth and men with a special gene for lying? The fact that the hysteria has nothing to do with you means that we should ask, what’s the hysteria coming from? I happened to know Hans. He was quite young and attractive. You have to keep in mind this is a law graduate from one of the four or five best law schools in this land. Ms. Hill was disappointed and frustrated that Mr. Thomas did not show any sexual interest in her. When I reported the problem, my supervisors didn’t take it seriously. One of them told me I was giving sexual appeal to him. Her behavior must have seemed incomprehensible to Hans from the innumerable signs that he had secured her affections. Did I send out signals when I went to his office to watch the parade or when I went out on the lake with him? I don’t think so. No. Until finally, just when my hopes of a successful treatment were highest, she opened the next session with these words: [MUSIC PLAYING] I left Freud. And it felt good to walk out of that dark cave. From those statues always looking down on me. Watching me like a ghost. I finished writing and today I feel short of a drug. And then Freud embalmed me. I was his Dora, preserved like a dead animal and hung on a wall for study and observation. It is the subtlest thing I have written and will put people off even more than usual. But one does not write only for one’s time. Only my name isn’t Dora. It’s Ida. But none of that matters because everyone knows me as Dora, Freud’s hysterical girl. But was I really hysterical? Am I hysterical now? [CLASSICAL MUSIC]