PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA | HISTORICAL FICTION | PSYCHOANALYSIS | LESBIAN
Secrets of the Velvet Trap — 8
As a discussion with Victor delves into Eddie’s psyche, Eleanor faces her own shadow.
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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Victor’s journey to becoming a psychoanalyst and his eventual role in Eleanor’s life were intertwined with the intellectual ferment of early 20th century Chicago.
The Midwestern city had produced a cultural renaissance with literary figures such as Carl Sandburg and publications like Poetry magazine. At the University of Chicago, John Dewey helped develop the philosophy of Pragmatism, and the Chicago School of Sociology became an influential center, studying the impacts of immigration and segregation.
Victor spent his early years as a psychiatrist at the Cook County Insane Asylum, its halls filled with suffering he could do little to relieve. A growing sense of disillusionment eclipsed his idealism, but it didn’t dampen his resolve.
