Throughout the novel, there is an undercurrent of antisemitism. Both Breuer and Freud openly discuss it, as does Mathilde toward the end of the novel when Breuer is under hypnosis. Breuer says to Freud, “Every day the anti-Semites grow more shrill” (33). This points to an increasing sentiment in Vienna at the time, when Jewish people were openly scorned and discriminated against. This conversation takes place in 1882, but it shows the catalyzing of a movement that would eventually lead to the rise of the Nazi Party.

During one of their conversations, Freud says to Breuer, “I should have succeeded him. Everyone knew that. But a gentile was chosen instead. And I, like you, was forced to settle for less” (33). Freud is discussing why he was passed over for a position as a research scientist at the university. Breuer responds by saying, “Anti-Semitism would ultimately destroy your university career” (33). Both Breuer and Freud point to how antisemitism has created conditions whereby their freedom to make their own lives what they want is limited. Breuer is a physician by default, and Freud does not want to experience the same fate. Breuer then describes the myriad forms antisemitism takes, both the insidious and overt.