Bellevue Sanatorium
On 12 July 1882, Breuer referred Bertha Pappenheim to the private Bellevue Clinic in Kreuzlingen on Lake Constance, which was headed by Robert Binswanger. After treatment in Bellevue she was no longer personally treated by Breuer.
While in Kreuzlingen she visited her cousins Fritz Homburger and Anna Ettlinger in Karlsruhe. The latter was one of the founders of the Karlsruhe High School for Girls (Mädchengymnasium), which was attended by the young Rahel Straus. Anna Ettlinger engaged in literary work. In an article which appeared in 1870 entitled "A Discussion of Women’s Rights" (Ein Gespräch über die Frauenfrage) she demanded equal education rights for women. She also gave private lessons, and organized "ladies’ literature courses".
Bertha Pappenheim read aloud to her some of the stories she had written, and her cousin, 14 years her senior, encouraged her to continue her literary activities. During this visit toward the end of 1882 Bertha Pappenheim also participated in a training course for nurses which was offered by the Women’s Association of Baden (Badischer Frauenverein). The purpose of this training was to qualify young ladies to head nursing institutions. She could not finish the course before her visit came to an end.
On 29 October 1882 her condition improved and she was released from treatment in Kreuzlingen. In the following years, about which little is known, she lived a quiet life with her mother in Vienna. There is evidence of three stays at Inzersdorf during this time; her sickness was not conquered.
Despite her illness, Bertha Pappenheim was a strong personality. Breuer describes her as a woman "of considerable intelligence, astonishingly astute reasoning and sharp-sighted intuition ”.
Read more about this topic: Anna O.