SOURCE: "Karen Horney: Her Early Papers," in American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1954, pp. 55-64.

In the following essay, Weiss examines some of the central ideas in Horney's thought, focusing on their expression in some of her early writings and comparing these with her later works.

"Science has often found it fruitful to look at long-familiar facts from a fresh point of view. Otherwise there is a danger that we shall involuntarily continue to classify all new observations amongst the same clearly defined group of ideas" ["The Flight From Womanhood: The Masculinity Complex in Women, as Viewed by Men and by Women," International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. VII, 1926]. This statement by Karen Horney expresses the spirit of sincere acceptance and creative reevaluation of previous observations which have characterized her work from the beginning. The study of her early papers provides a fascinating experience. It means participating in that...