Freud's last book spins a great yarn involving the founding of monotheistic religion. There are lots of twists and turns, and there's some very amateurish archaeology. So be prepared.
Oh, and here's a little spoiler to get you hooked: Moses, Freud says, didn't just walk like an Egyptian. He actually was an Egyptian.
Now let's unpack this text a little bit, shall we?
- Why might Freud have turned to religion at the end of his life? Does his interest in religion seem consonant with or different from his interest in literature?
- If you were to make Moses and Monotheism into a movie, who would you cast to play Moses? What about the other roles? Who would compose the music? What genre would the movie belong to: Biblical epic (like Ben Hur or Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ)? Western? Murder mystery? Go nuts thinking about a screen adaptation for the book. Go ahead, it's okay. Then ask yourself whether this exercise changed your understanding of Freud's text.