“What Was Worse, She Appeared to Believe Them”: Authority and Credibility in the Sexual Misconduct Denials of Dr Ernest Jones and His Biographers

In 1911, Dr Ernest Jones, an early British follower of Sigmund Freud living and working in Toronto, was accused of sexual misconduct by a patient. He was then quickly cleared of wrongdoing by his superiors. Historians have been largely content to accept Jones’ account of the incident, the only that survives, even though his accounts of two earlier sexual misconduct allegations have been proven inaccurate and unreliable. Unpicking some of Jones’ supporting claims on Canadian prudishness and hostility towards psychoanalysis destabilizes his account and demonstrates the need for a more nuanced understanding of sexual ideas and attitudes in Edwardian Canada. Further, careful examination of Jones’ credibility in 1911 shows it rested on his authority as a male member of the medical profession, widespread disbelief of women’s sexual assault claims, and the explanatory power of stock narratives and so might well be questioned. This case thus demonstrates how personal narratives can be evaluated in terms of their past credibility when their veracity cannot be determined as well as the need for greater care by historians in authorizing personal narratives as credible today.