Who was Corresp. Wilh.?
Also, other Viennese newspapers, Neues Wiener Tagblatt, Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung, as well as Neue Freie Presse, recounted the same detailed story of Nathan’s life, marriage, unhappiness, and death. Apparently, the secret correspondent had sent the same letter detailing Nathan's story to several newspapers that printed it without verifying its accuracy.
So who was the secret correspondent Wilh.? Taking into account the article's style, and content, and its uncanny likeness to Freud's letter to Martha, if appears indisputable that it was Freud who was hiding - as so often, in other cases (for example in the Screen Memories essay) - behind the anonymous moniker of "Corresp. Wilh.".
Death notice
Helene Weiss, née Fein, hereby fulfills the painful duty of announcing, in her name and in the name of her deeply shocked family, the passing of her dearly beloved husband
Dr. Nathan Weiss,
University lecturer and head of the electro-therapeutic department of the Imperial and Royal General Hospital.
The earthly remains of the dear deceased will be laid to rest in the Israeli section of the Central Cemetery on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Silent condolences are requested.
September 17, 1883
What follows is a compilation of the relevant statements appearing in the following newspapers: Neues Wiener Tagblatt, Neue Freie Press, and Wiener Allegemaine Zeitung, on September 17.
Remarkably, each of the newspapers printed almost exactly the same information. Thus, although, the author was not specified, it is apparent that he must have been a freelance writer, without doubt, the same well-informed "Corresp. Wilh". Taking into account the style of the articles, there's little doubt about the identity of the author. Who else could it be if not the infamous doctor Freud. The articles start by recounting the sad fact that,
Yesterday was the farewell of the university lecturer Dr. Nathan Weiss.
Disturbed state of mind
As the author claimed, He was undoubtedly in a disturbed state of mind, as we have already reported. This is a clear indication that the article was authored by "Corresp. Wilh". Actually, Nathan's actions were anything but "disturbed". If we are to believe the correspondent, it is apparent that Nathan had planned his actions of the day of his suicide.
It is apparent that "Wilh." tried to intimate that Nathan's fatal decision was due to some kind of "madness".
The suicide note
Remarkably, the author revealed the content of the suicide note, explaining that,
He left a letter in which he, in loving words, takes leave of his young wife, asking forgiveness for the pain caused and even tries to comfort her; this letter contains the following passage: "I see that I have succumbed to mental illness that completely confused my mind."
How could the author know what was in the note? Did the widow share the content of the note with Nathan's "friend", Freud?
The funeral
Proving that Freud fabricated the whole story about the families fighting over the dead man's coffin, this is how the article recounted the event:
An extraordinary number of mourners for the unfortunate man, including doctors in large numbers, witnessed the burial. The coffin covered with flowers stopped at the open grave.
Further, Dr. Friedman, Dr. Robert Steiner, Baron v. Pfungen and a personal friend of the deceased gave positive eulogies. The mourning ceremony was closed with a hymn. The aged mother of the unfortunate man was so overwhelmed by pain that poor woman plan had to be carried unconscious from the place. The funeral ended after 11 am.
Apparently, the whole story of the family feud was the product of Freud’s sick brain. As a matter of course, when reporting what happened at the funeral - since the article could have been read by people who attended the funeral - Freud couldn't lie about the actual event.
No unrequited love
Nathan had all the reasons to live. In fact, he had only recently been married to a young and beautiful woman to whom he had devoted his fullest love.
Moreover, full of life, happy and cheerful he had returned from his honeymoon, and no circumstance in his marital life or in his social contact with relatives and friends even remotely indicated suggested that his mind could have been occupied by such a frightful thought.
Without doubt this statement contradicts the mysterious correspondent's earlier claims about Nathan's unhappiness in marriage being the cause of his despair and suicide.
Actually, this contradictory claim is typical Freud. In fact, Freud's letter to Martha is filled with contradictory statements about Nathan.
Continued in Weiss Part 4.