Sigmund Freud Museum

On June 1^st, 2010, our class went to the Sigmund Freud Museum and the Wien Museum exhibition that featured Johann Strauss. I was not impressed by the Sigmund Freud Museum, and I really feel that Vienna did not give him the tribute he deserves. For many less well-known people, I have seen elaborate and beautiful displays. However, Vienna decided to have the exhibit in Freud’s apartment that he rented until 1938. The apartment did not seem to have been restored in any noticeable way, and I wish that there were more of his personal works. It was nice to see where he had lived for so many years though.

            I am researching Freud and the role of women during the time period of the fin de siècle. Freud is a great character for the time period because he played a role in the shift away from tradition. Along with Freud, Johann Strauss was instrumental in creating a wonderful operetta named Die Fledermaus. It was awesome that we were able to see the operetta in person that same day. It was such an exciting show that combined ballet, waltz, and other types of dancing. In class, we learned about four different dances that people enjoyed during the times: polkas, waltzes, galopp, and radetzky. The first three were prominent in Die Fledermaus, but I do not remember seeing the radetzky, a march to commemorate the general who killed the revolution.

I embraced the culture of Austria.

The whole operetta was presented in German, which made it difficult to follow along. The subtitle would summarize almost fifteen minutes of speech, and I know we missed out on some good jokes. As I heard the people laugh around me, I embraced the culture of Austria. I have gained cultural knowledge and a genuine perspective from which to write my thesis paper about Freud.