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Freud's Last Session

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Book annotation not available for this Freud's Last St. Germain, Dramatist's Play ServicePublication 2011/03/01Number of 37Binding PAPERBACKLibrary of

37 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

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Mark St. Germain

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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for Verba Non Res.
495 reviews129 followers
May 30, 2019
Algunas críticas apuntan, erróneamente creo yo, al carácter del diálogo que sostienen los dos personajes de la obra. Es cierto: ninguno da un argumento concluyente, o siquiera novedoso, para demostrar o refutar la existencia de Dios, y al despedirse cada uno de ellos se mantiene firme en su postura original. Es cierto, pero ¿no es esa un poco la esencia de todos nuestros diálogos? Creo que la mayor parte de las veces no hablamos ni siquiera para convencer al otro, mucho menos para dejarnos convencer, sino para reconocernos en nuestra mutua existencia, o algo así. Freud invita a Lewis a su estudio no para ver si se convierte al cristianismo, sino, digamos, para charlar un rato y que después cada uno siga con su vida, y Lewis va más o menos con la misma idea. Es así; la función apelativa del lenguaje es más bien excepcional si la comparamos con su función social. En cuanto a la originalidad de los argumentos, no es un demérito de la obra; son los que expusieron, en sus respectivos trabajos acerca de la religión y la existencia de Dios, Freud y Lewis. Los dos sabían escribir, pero ninguno venía originalmente de ese palo, así que sus razones para creer y para no creer están solamente bien formuladas. Me parece bien, además, porque son los argumentos que dos hombres educados podrían intercambiar en una charla. La cuestión sobre la existencia de Dios, que es un tema en el que yo he pensado mucho, no va mucho más allá (de hecho, una de mis razones para no creer en Dios descansa en lo pueril de la argumentación). Para ver una discusión con auténtica originalidad y relevancia filosófica, los involucrados tendrían que ser, por ejemplo, Graham Oppy en la esquina del ateísmo y Alvin Plantinga en la del teísmo. Pero eso quién querría verlo.

[De esta obra vi la puesta de 2012, dirigida por Daniel Veronese y protagonizada por Luis Machín y por un particularmente inspirado Luis Suárez]
Profile Image for Realini Ionescu.
4,181 reviews23 followers
June 22, 2025
Freud’s Last Session by Mark St. Germain

9 out of 10


Trying to start with a joke, I would call this CS Lewis meets Freud, or something along these lines, because for yours truly is more in awe with the author of Surprised by Joy https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/09/... than with Sigmund Freud

Indeed, it seems that Freud is more respected as a story teller today – in fact he took a prize, I think it was the Goethe, for his literary prowess, and he was told he is the first psychoanalyst to take it, and he responded, there had been none before – than for his work in psychology, ground breaking as it is, historically crucial…
However, the focus on sex in the babies, castration, is misplaced for most psychologists in the present, yes, there are ‘Freudians’, but in smaller numbers if I am not mistaken, in fact, CS Lewis is debating him, and in one stage, when they start taking about sex, the writer is right in pointing out that this offers very short-term pleasures

They also have opposing views on religion, Freud considers the existence of God an illusion, while CS Lewis https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/08/... makes the case for God, actually, he is one of the most convincing, his brilliance makes me ponder the issue, however much I side with atheism
Freud will speak of the deaths in his family, especially that of a child, and does the Almighty have to say about that, Fyodor Dostoevsky https://realini.blogspot.com/2021/01/... has chapters in which he looks at the pain inflicted to children, one is torn by the dogs of a boyar

The answer to this is ‘free will’, we have the hypothesis of the Creator, and he could have made a world in which everything worked like clockwork – incidentally, I like the argument of the clock, you find a watch in the desert say, and even if you do not have proof, see the maker, you know it did not just happen, some intelligent design is at play…
But will that be enticing, living in a world where all is established before, we have no say, it would not be interesting, on the contrary, it would feel boring, and like a prison, so we have the ‘free will’, and that results in humans making catastrophic, inhumane, atrocious decisions, Hamas attacks and kills innocent people
Freud is in the last stages of his cancer, and he wants to show CS Lewis that he ‘has hell in his mouth’, that is when the believer is stating that the psychoanalyst’s intention to commit suicide is disapproved by the Church, and the Jewish man is determined to get what is needed from his doctor, when he feels the time has come

Sigmund Freud has a very peculiar relationship with his daughter, Anna, he depends on her, but he is also ‘tyrannical and selfish’, as CS Lewis observes, she will be the first to work on psychoanalysis for children – alas, that means she might be in the camp that has this wrong, like her dad – but she appears to have no private life
Her father calls her when he is in pain, and she has to abandon her lectures, she is told that she had been absent, interrupted other presentations, and on top of it all, the despot would not allow her to marry, and she is a grown woman now, and has a pretender, who is told to get out of the house by the possessive parent

The alarm sounds, because of a potential air raid, and when they enter the cave of the nearby church, CS Lewis has a panic attack, explained by the fact that he had been hit during an attack in World War I, when he was hit by shrapnel, a piece is too close to the heart, so they cannot take it out, his friend was killed then
They had had a pact, if one is killed, the other would take care of the other’s parent, so CS Lewis is supposed to care for the dead man’s mother, only she says she does not need a protector, and then the much younger man offers friendship, and they become lovers, so there is the interpretation of the psychoanalyst

Because of the death of the mother, when he was a child, and the fact that the father sent the two boys to England, and instead of affection, he just offered material support, so that they can study at Oxford, the writer is tempted to look for a more mature woman, I think she is twenty years older than he is…albeit this will change
Anthony Hopkins played CS Lewis in a film where he falls in love with an American woman, they get married, only she dies soon…Freud has written a book or essay on humor, and the subject is touched upon, there is even the joke with two Jewish men talking about having a meal, and then one says ‘why, is one missing?”

Something to that effect, and CS Lewis is saying this is as funny as a funeral, nevertheless, Freud is terrified by this cancer, and CS Lewis can see that, and the paradox of having scores of statues of various gods on the desk and on shelves, while being an adamant atheist, and Sigmund Freud accepts that he is so interested in religion
He has some soties from his own childhood, when he had a catholic woman taking care of him, and bringing him to church, only when his father finds out, the latter is so furious, he throws her out of the house, for his a very religious man, but he is into the Talmud, when the issue of his son ‘praying for him’ is suggested by that Christian woman, the parent is again infuriated, and repeats that his son is never supposed to pray for him…

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”



Profile Image for John Walker.
37 reviews5 followers
September 10, 2013
I've only read a few plays in my life and I've enjoyed even fewer, but today I add another to my prestigious list: Freud's Last Session

This is a rather short play (34 pages) written by Mark St. Germain based off the work by Armand Nicholi The Question of God. The plot is rather simple, a young C. S. Lewis is invited by the aged and dying Sigmund Freud to meet him at his study. Lewis has just recently published the Pilgrim's Regress which he supposes has drawn Freud's wrath. Upon his arrival to the great psychologist's den he learns of the true purpose for his summons. Freud, having learned through an Oxford professor of Lewis' conversion, seeks to find out why a man with "superior intelligence and a talent for analytic reasoning" would leave skepticism to embrace belief. (p. 11)

And so begins the banter. The ensuing dialogue jumps from God, to sex, to evil, to suicide, to Jesus, and underlying it all is Freud's search for meaning--for a way out of misery. With his health rapidly declining and his depression evident, the infamous psychoanalyst appears frail and weak--even desperate--adding an urgency to the conversation. All the while the play is powerfully augmented by the backdrop of Germany's invasion of Poland and the fearful anticipation of another world war.

St. Germain does well not to beatify Lewis nor leave all his answers satisfactory, at one moment, regarding the problem of evil, he states soberly: "I don't know. [...] And I don't pretend to. [...] I can't justify your pain. Yet I can't imagine God desires it." (p. 25)

Both characters are well portrayed, and while it is clear who claims the playwright's sympathies, Freud appears neither devilish nor foolish. I'd venture that readers of all sentiments will find the work provocative and entertaining. The sheer wit in their badinage is a joy to read.

All in all, I recommend the read for anyone interested in either of these two giants of the twentieth century.
Profile Image for Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog.
1,083 reviews71 followers
June 28, 2017
Bottom Line: I had seen Mark St. Germain’s Freud’s Last Session as a live performance and came away hoping that I had missed something. Have finished reading this version I am still hoping for more depth and breath. Instead of an exchange of thoughtful, respectful arguments by two great minds, Last Session has glimpses of what each might have said if given more time. There is too much background clutter and only the one act. I can recommend the play and the script, but not with much enthusiasm.

Freud’s Last Session arranges a fictionalized meeting between Sigmund Freud and writer C.S. Lewis. Freud is older in the last stages of dying from mouth cancer . He is a determined atheist. Lewis, had been a disbeliever but had switched to being a devout religious and sometimes mystical leaning Christian. The world famous psychoanalyst is curious about why the switch and the younger man is curious about why he is of interest to the alienist.

Filling out the short time for discussion are the many demands of Freud’s collapsing health, the imminent outbreak of Europe’s World War II and calls to Freud’s daughter who is famous in her own name as a psychoanalyst. Lots of business interrupting what should have been more talking.

The two personalities are very fine and deep thinkers. St. Germain is to be credited with ignoring obvious or low level cases for and against belief in God. The author is respectful of his dramatis personae but there is a lack of deep thinking or analytical fire. Neither side gives over to the other.

If either argument is victorious it is not obviously so. The younger man is respectful and quietly adamant. The older man is cranky and in too much pain to wax eloquent.

I had hopes for a serious and detailed dialogue. The author, perhaps realizing his inability to provide either, limits the play to one short act and the arguments are suggested rather than detailed and interspersed among too much clutter.
Profile Image for Kendalyn.
508 reviews61 followers
December 9, 2023
A fictionally conceived dialogue between a young, recently converted C.S. Lewis and a dying Sigmund Freud that puts their philosophies into (literal) conversation with each other. What a compelling idea. I was put onto this play because of the movie coming out which looked like the sort of thing I might enjoy (I absolutely did). I recognized a lot of Lewis's dialogue as things pulled from his actual publications so I assume the same goes for Freud.
I loved that this play came to no real resolutions, it fairly portrayed both mens ideas, and it was so funny and so human the whole way through.
Profile Image for sAmAnE.
1,373 reviews155 followers
September 27, 2024
نمایشنامه‌ای نسبتا کوتاه ولی عمیق از نظرات فروید و مردی به نام لوئیس، که با هم در مورد وجود خدا در خلال جنگی که شاهدش هستند، صورت میگیرد. به جرات میتونم بگم یکی از نمایشنامه‌هایی بود که قراموش نمی‌کنم... فیلمش هم هست که خوب ساخته شده ولی کتاب به نظرم بهتر بود. این گفتگو در حالی رخ می‌دهد که فروید به سرطان مبتلا است و به شدت بیمار است؛ او می‌گوید: من از خدای شما که بهم بیماری سرطان اعطا فرموده، ممنونم چون دیگر توی این دنیا نخواهم بود تا یه جنگ دیگه‌ای رو ببینم.
Profile Image for Mary Catherine.
34 reviews9 followers
July 12, 2022
I would give it 4.5, I wish it was longer, but with the impending doom of the Nazi airstrike, the length serves its purpose. This play is a brilliant retort to Nicholi's The Question of God. We never did see Freud and Lewis "battle it out" in person, and the stage gives us that opportunity. Though there is clear bias, maybe it is for the best because Freud is insufferable.
Profile Image for Scot Bellavia.
227 reviews
December 31, 2021
This was my first education on Freud so I have no choice but to accept it. I'd like to have seen a stronger argument given to Freud's position, but the author was obviously sympathetic to Lewis and Freud was a bitter man on his deathbed in the play. Perhaps it was not a straw man argument.
Profile Image for Stefani Celine.
36 reviews
January 22, 2018
wonderful short 2 hander. Great dialogue that clips along, interesting conversation of 2 great minds that doesn’t challenge one enough to get an audience upset. very enjoyable read
Profile Image for Emily H.
167 reviews
January 2, 2022
The author did a great job of incorporating quotes from Freud and C.S. Lewis. I wish the play had been longer so the ideas could be more fully fleshed out.
Profile Image for Gabriel  Cedron.
19 reviews
March 18, 2024
No pasó de ser una escena de algo más grande. Algo anecdótico. No es una historia realmente "redonda".
sin embargo, diálogos inteligentes y argumentos sólidos. Un debate.
Profile Image for Molly.
969 reviews4 followers
March 15, 2017
A really interesting play that I'd never heard of before. Engaging, quick, and it raises a lot of good questions.
Profile Image for Deyth Banger.
Author 77 books34 followers
March 27, 2024
"March 12, 2024 – Started Reading
March 12, 2024 – Shelved
March 12, 2024 – page 0
0.0% "Gracious, marvelous, magnificient
...
Crazy"
March 12, 2024 –
50.0%
March 22, 2024 –
100.0%"
Profile Image for Cassie.
587 reviews5 followers
February 5, 2013
Very surprised at St. Germain's writing style. I expected the conversation between Freud and Lewis to be stodgy and acadmeic--that it would be stimulating, but a bit lofty. I was pleasantly surprised that the dialogue is written with such a casual intelligence. It's essentially a one-act, but so much is packed into the pages that if feels much longer. An interesting philosophical debate between science and religion between two great minds in their field.
Profile Image for Erin.
929 reviews73 followers
July 12, 2015
Three and a half stars. I almost want to say four stars, because I really enjoyed it. However, I know that the C.S. Lewis dialogue is nearly-identical in places to direct quotes from his books and essays (I can't say the same about Freud because I am not nearly so familiar with his works). I understand that the basis for the dialogue must be derived from something, but it was a little too familiar at times.
Profile Image for Amy.
135 reviews16 followers
March 19, 2012
C.S. Lewis pays a visit to Sigmund Freud right at the beginning of World War II. They discuss a little of everything- religion, morality, sexuality, assisted suicide, war, etc. It was interesting to read a fictional conversation between two men who hold such differing views. I was hoping for a little deeper discussion, but I still enjoyed this thought-provoking drama.
Profile Image for Joseph Schickel.
Author 2 books3 followers
February 5, 2013
My wife, Susie, and I saw an excellent production of this play at the Ensemble Theatre in Cincinnati. It's a two person play that's basically a long discussion/argument be between CS Lewis and Sigmund Freud taking place on the eve of World War II. Very funny and insightful.
Profile Image for Azabu.
100 reviews4 followers
February 18, 2012
A play about CS Lewis and Sigmund Freud, two of my heroes. Very gripping imagined scene between two philosophers with opposing views.
Profile Image for Jaime L..
8 reviews1 follower
December 17, 2013
A short, but delightful, play that effectively portrays the primary views of two influential minds.
Profile Image for E. B..
Author 1 book4 followers
February 16, 2014
Interesting peek into the fear of death in both the atheist and the Christian.
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