Fanny Moser (baroness)

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For other people named Fanny Moser, see Fanny Moser (disambiguation).

Fanny Moser (born Baroness Fanny Louise von Sulzer-Wart, also known as Emmy von N.; 29 July 1848 – 2 April 1925) was a Swiss noblewoman who at one point was the richest woman in Eastern Europe. She was one of the five women evaluated in Freud's Studies on Hysteria, which led to his psychoanalytic theories.

Biography[edit]

Fanny Moser was born on 29 July 1848 in Winterthur, Switzerland. Her father, Baron Heinrich von Sulzer-Wart had inherited his title from her grandfather, Johann Heinrich von Sulzer-Wart, who had been awarded a peerage for service to Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria.[1][2] On 28 December 1870, she married Swiss watchmaker and industrialist Heinrich Moser, who had made a fortune by developing high-quality watches to sell on the Russian market.[1] H. Moser & Co. then expanded to include a factory in Switzerland and Heinrich founded a railway company in Schaffhausen, furthering his wealth.[3]

The marriage caused scandal because Fanny was 23 and Heinrich 65, though both were from the upper echelons of society. The five older children from her husband's first marriage were fully grown, as their father had waited twenty years before his remarriage, but they rejected Moser. She had two children with Heinrich: Fanny [de], born 27 May 1872 and Luise, the author Mentona, born 19 October 1874, just four days before her father's death. The older children accused Moser of killing her husband and despite no evidence of foul play determined by two autopsies, suspicion continued. Moser had a mental breakdown and began seeing therapists in 1889.[1] She acquired a castle, Schloss Au where she entertained lavishly, but was known for her eccentricities, continuing treatment for almost a decade. Late in life, she became infatuated with a much younger man, lost part of her fortune and cut off relationships with her daughters.[3] She died on 2 April 1925 in Zürich. When she died, she left millions to her daughters, though she had been convinced she was living in poverty. Moser was buried at the cemetery of Kilchberg, Zürich.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Ellenberger, Henri F. (1993). "10. The Story of "Emmy von N.": A Critical Study with New Documents". In Micale, Mark S. (ed.). Beyond the Unconscious: Essays of Henri F. Ellenberger in the History of Psychiatry. Translated by Dubor, Françoise; Micale, Mark S. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 273–290. ISBN 978-1-4008-6342-6 – via Project MUSE.
  2. ^ Baertschi, Christian (3 December 2013). "Sulzer [Sulzer-Wart], Johann Heinrich von". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (in German). Berne, Switzerland: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b Borch-Jacobsen, Mikkel (1 July 2012). "Freud's Patients, A Serial: Fanny Moser (1848-1925)". Psychology Today. New York City, New York: Sussex Publishers, LLC. ISSN 0033-3107. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
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