In Freud's Little Hans case, what did the horse symbolize?

In Freud's Little Hans case, what did the horse symbolize?

• A. The father
• B. The mother
• C. Hans's fear
• D. The bus driver

Answer: (A)

In this Freudian reading, a child’s phobia is seen as expressing unconscious family dynamics. The horse in Hans’s fear is interpreted as a stand-in for the father—an embodiment of paternal authority and potential punishment. This symbolic link fits Freud’s idea of the Oedipus complex, where the child feels rivalry with the father and a desire for the mother, with fear of the father reflecting castration anxiety. So the horse is best understood as symbolizing the father, rather than the mother or other figures like a bus driver, and the fear itself is a manifestation of that underlying conflict.

In this Freudian reading, a child’s phobia is seen as expressing unconscious family dynamics. The horse in Hans’s fear is interpreted as a stand-in for the father—an embodiment of paternal authority and potential punishment. This symbolic link fits Freud’s idea of the Oedipus complex, where the child feels rivalry with the father and a desire for the mother, with fear of the father reflecting castration anxiety. So the horse is best understood as symbolizing the father, rather than the mother or other figures like a bus driver, and the fear itself is a manifestation of that underlying conflict.