CASE HISTORIES 9 



Even his education was an autoerotic pleasure. He made 

 little effort to apply it in a constructive way, but regarded it as 

 a spiritual endowment to play with in egotistical isolation. In 

 this autistic thinking his mind was as he said supreme. But 

 that he had sometimes attempted a self-cure was shown by his 

 taking for a model Benjamin Franklin, the man with both feet 

 on the ground. 



BAILEY 



History: He was a thin, sallow fellow of thirty-three, the 

 youngest of three children, and had been much indulged by his 

 parents. He had always been sensitive, quiet and shut-in. In 

 childhood he seemed bright and once skipped a grade at school. 

 He stopped school at thirteen because a teacher unjustly accused 

 him of throwing a spitball. He would not explain her mistake 

 to her but absolutely refused to attend school any more. For 

 the next three years he worked in the family grocery and then 

 entered a machine shop. He apparently gave satisfaction to his 

 employers, but if the family asked him any questions about his 

 work he got very angry. He told me the work had been heavy 

 there, and he wasn't strong. 



At seventeen he quit work and lived at home for fifteen years, 

 supported by his father. His relatives secured jobs for him, 

 but he always backed out at the last moment. He worked only 

 at chores about the house. His amusements were talking and 

 playing cards with one boy friend, who has since become " queer." 

 Movies and other outside amusements made no appeal to him. 

 He had no use for money and refused it when offered. Home 

 and meals were all he wanted. His family did not consider him 

 sick, but they continued to indulge him. 



After nine years of this life at home he had a "breakdown," 

 and was confined to bed for two weeks during which he refused 

 to eat. A physician was called and informed the family he was 

 mentally sick. From this time on he did no work whatever 

 about the home and gradually became untidy. He had to have 

 his food just so, and insisted on preparing it himself. He 

 wouldn't change his clothes or bathe and he let his hair grow 

 long for a year and a half. The family brought barbers to the 



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