Described by Freud in “Notes upon a Case of Obsessional Neurosis”, the rat man was the name applied to his patient, a 30 year old whose obsession with fear of rats was traced to death wishes (repressed) generated by underlying Oedipal conflict. Freud’s analysis laid the foundation for the psychoanalytical interpretation of obsessional neurosis.
RAT MAN: “Rat Man was a patient of Sigmund Freud.”