As a psychoanalyst and author, Lou Andreas-Salomé traverses the mystery of sexuality in much of her work. This book, comprised of two texts originally written for adolescents, uniquely explores sexual education and the collision of sexuality and religion across the lifespan. The first piece, âThree Letters to a Young Boy" (1917), is a psychoanalytic fairy tale. The letters offer an interesting version of the evolution of sexual knowledge from childhood through adolescence. The second piece, âThe Devil & His Grandmother" (1922), merges sexuality with religion, encapsulating three ages of womanâchild, to a lost soul and the Devilâs bride, to the Devilâs Grandmother. Written in charmingly convoluted dialogue, this work has a cinematic, fanciful feel. Both pieces dispense with academic formality and point to a relaxed new phase in Saloméâs writing life. Interestingly, this tone can also be detected in her blossoming correspondence with Sigmund Freud, which contrasts starkly with her somber letters to Rainer Maria Rilke. It is with the spirit of free thinking demonstrated in these two selections, perhaps informed by Saloméâs experimentation with free association, that the reader is transported to a new theatre of Saloméâs imagination.
Relihiyon at Ispiritwalidad