Anna O" and the Meaning of Private Theater

In the case history of Anna O., Freud's coworker Breuer makes no mention of when Anna coins the phrase "private theatre." The abstraction reveals in itself two distinct personalities, and thus a notable self-awareness. It cannot be that in the midst of a daydream, she described the experience, as then she would no longer be daydreaming. Nor does the thought seem haphazard. It is a most refined abstraction revealing at least a partial understanding of …

…up the curtain. It might be argued that the hysteric retreats to "private theatre" exactly like the daydreamer since the language in both cases is private, whereas I have claimed that hysteria is the exteriorization of that intimate world. This is a semantic argument, rooted in the ambiguity of the word "public." A quick reworking of the terminology clears up the confusion immediately. An escape into "private theatre" is, in all cases, a dress rehearsal.