Chapter
The Case of Ellen West: An Anthropological-Clinical Study (IN: Existence, ed. by R May, E Angel and H F Ellenberger)
Binswanger L
A detailed case description & the analyses of an European woman who committed suicide near the turn of the century are described. Excerpts from Ellen West’s diary are used to illustrate her obsession with food & her developing illness. Shortly after release from the Kreuzlingen Sanitorium, where she was seen by Kraepelin, Bleuler & others, West poisoned herself. Existential, existential/psychoanalytic, & psychopathological analyses are considered. (RM)