Maryse Choisy

Maryse Choisy (1903–1979) was a French philosophical writer and journalist known for founding the journal *Psyché*. Born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz on February 1, 1903, she was raised by her wealthy aunts in a Basque castle. After World War I, she studied at Girton College, part of the University of Cambridge.

In 1927, during psychoanalytical sessions with Sigmund Freud, he deduced from an anxiety dream that she was illegitimate. Choisy criticized André Breton's Surrealist Manifesto, arguing it misinterpreted Freud's concept of the unconscious. She responded by publishing her *Manifeste Surridealiste* in 1927, included in her novel *Mon Coeur dans une formule: C6 H8 (Az O3)6*. Between 1935 and 1937, she founded three occult journals: *Votre Bonheur*, *Votre Destin*, and *Consolation*.

Later, she distanced herself from this period, briefly mentioning it in her memoirs. After meeting Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in 1938, she converted to Catholicism, integrating science, religion, and psychoanalysis into her work. She founded *Psyché* in 1946, reflecting her evolving philosophical interests.

Choisy's controversial work *Un mois chez les filles* (1928), later titled *Psychoanalysis of the Prostitute*, aimed to humanize sex workers without moralizing. She also wrote about infiltrating a male monastic community in *Un mois chez les Hommes*. Her numerous works spanned quasi-novels, studies on palm reading, psychoanalysis, and various essays.

Awards included the National Order of Merit, a silver medal, and the Lamennais Prize (1967). Her memoirs, *Sur le chemin de Dieu on rencontre d'abord le diable*, were published in 1977.