Sociocultural Influences in the Theory of Karen Horney

Karen Horney was complex, full of contradictions and conflicts. She was attracted by her youthful reading of Zola's Nana, and then, immediately after, she would be quoting the moralistic statements of Spinoza and agreeing with them. She was an avid reader of the books of Karl May in her childhood, which describe the adventures of a young German who traveled the American Wild West. There he has many adventures with Winnatu, the Indian chief. Although these may be typical childhood dreams, they are also common escape thoughts for adult Norwegians, secluded in harsh Norway between snow-covered mountains and a violent sea. Horney experienced in real life the end of the Victorian era, the exalting Weimar period, the Nazi tyranny, and modern America. Here, Miccolis describes the roots of Horney's theory.