Cover Images for “Secrets of the Velvet Trap,” Chapters 5–8 by the author © Teresa Wymore

METAFICTION | PSYCHOANALYSIS | LGBTQ | 1930s

Patient Session Note 2

Confessions and confrontations: Summary of Chapters 5–8 from “Secrets of the Velvet Trap”

In 1930s Chicago, a troubled psychoanalyst and her tormented young patient pursue an unethical affair. In the shadows of an underground fetish club, their dark eroticism exposes the raw edges of desire.

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Consulting Analyst: Dr. Victor Stahl
Analyst: Dr. Eleanor Wentworth
Patient: Miss “Eddie” Langley
Date: November 19, 1935

Session Summary:
Eleanor discussed a recent session where her patient, Eddie, displayed a fascination with themes of bondage and engaged in a physical interaction with rope. The issue manifested not only in Eddie’s overt behavior but also in the power dynamics within the analytic relationship, which Eleanor described as a “skirmish that ended in a truce.”

Eddie exhibits sadistic tendencies, notably in her desire to tie and dominate women, including her own analyst. This predilection aligns with Freud’s theories on sadism as a manifestation of repressed aggression and unresolved Oedipal conflicts.

Eleanor shared other significant revelations during our session: