The Seduction of Money

Abstract

Mr. X is a sixty-year-old married, childless, wealthy retired lawyer. In the fifth year of his analysis he began a session by announcing that he was rewriting his will and would like to make me beneficiary in the amount of $250,000. When I suggested that he elaborate upon this fantasy, Mr. X became annoyed. He told me that I had helped him a great deal and was one of the most important people in his life. He wished to make my old age a bit easier. In the ensuing sessions, Mr. X became aware that, in spite of the reality of his considerable wealth, his wish to make me a beneficiary in his will expressed certain unacknowledged concerns of his own. He was anxious about being alone and uncared for as he grew older and wished I would never leave him and would instead take care of him.