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eLetters: Priority for Pathology in Pooh
In response to: Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne
Stephen L. Black
Email: sblack@ubishops.ca
Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bishop's University
Posted on: December 18, 2000
Shea, Gordon, Hawkins, Kawchuk, and Smith (1) have provided an imaginative analysis of the Dark Underside of Hundred Acre Wood. However, they fail to acknowledge the prior work of Karl Anschaaung (2), who, many years earlier, had courageously deduced that all was not well among the superficially happy creatures of Hundred Acre Wood. Dr. Anschaaung insightfully pointed out that Pooh's creator, A.A. Milne, suffered from a honey-balloon-pit-gun-tail-bathtubcomplex. As a result, Dr. Anschaaung concluded 'His case is a relatively simple one of advanced animal-phobia and obsessional defense, somewhat complicated it is true by anal-sadistic and oral-helpful phantasies, skoptophilia and secondary exhibitionism, latently homosexual trends in identification with the mother, severe castration anxiety and compensatory assertiveness, and persistence of infantile misconstructions of birth, intercourse, and excretion (p. 136).'
At the least, Shea et al might have reviewed this seminal work before proceeding to their own analysis.
References
1. Shea, S., Gordon, K., Hawkins, A., Kawchuk, J., & Smith, D. Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne. CMAJ, 2000:163, 1557-1559.
2. Anschauung, K.(1963) A.A. Milne's honey-balloon-pit-gun-tail-bathtubcomplex. Reprinted in F.C. Crews, The Pooh Perplex. New York: E.P. Dutton.
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