I am the doctor who is sometimes spoken of in rather unflattering terms
in this novel. Anyone familiar with psycho-analysis will know to what
he should attribute my patient’s hostility.
About psycho-analysis I shall here say nothing, for there is quite
enough about it elsewhere in this book. I must apologise for
having persuaded my patient to write his autobiography. Students
of psycho-analysis will turn up their noses at such an unorthodox
proceeding. But he was old and I hoped that in the effort of recalling
his past he would bring it to life again, and that the writing of
his autobiography would be a good preparation for the treatment.
And I still think my idea was a good one, for it gave me some quite
unexpected results, which would have been better still if the patient
had not suddenly thrown up his cure just at the most interesting point,
thus cheating me of the fruits of my long and patient analysis of these
memoirs.
I take my revenge by publishing them, and I hope he will be duly
annoyed. I am quite ready, however, to share the financial spoils with
him on condition that he resumes his treatment. He seemed to feel
intense curiosity about himself. But he little knows what surprises lie
in wait for him, if someone were to set about analysing the mass of
truths and falsehoods which he has collected here.
Dr. S.