Difference between revisions of "Castration complex"

From No Subject - Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 5: Line 5:
 
===Sigmund Freud===
 
===Sigmund Freud===
  
Freud first described the castration complex in 1908, arguing that the child, on discovering the anatomical difference between the sexes (the presence or absence of the penis), makes the assumption that this difference is due to the female's penis having been cut off.<ref>Freud, 1908c</ref>  
+
[[Freud]] first described the [[castration complex]] in 1908, arguing that the [[child]], on discovering the anatomical difference between the sexes (the [[presence]] or [[absence]] of the [[penis]]), makes the assumption that this difference is due to the [[female]]'s [[penis]] having been cut off.<ref>Freud, 1908c</ref>  
  
The castration complex is thus the moment when one infantile theory (everyone has a penis) is replaced by a new one (females have been castrated).  
+
The [[castration complex]] is thus the moment when one infantile theory (everyone has a [[penis]]) is replaced by a new one ([[female]]s have been castrated).  
  
The consequences of this new infantile theory are different in the boy and in the girl.  
+
The consequences of this new infantile theory are different in the [[boy]] and in the [[girl]].  
  
The boy fears that his own penis will be cut off by the [[father]] ([[castration]] [[anxiety]]), while the girl sees herself as already castrated (by the [[mother]]) and attempts to deny this or to compensate for it by seeking a child as a substitute for the penis ([[penis envy]]).
+
The [[boy]] fears that his own [[penis]] will be cut off by the [[father]] ([[castration]] [[anxiety]]), while the [[girl]] sees herself as already castrated (by the [[mother]]) and attempts to deny this or to compensate for it by seeking a [[child]] as a substitute for the [[penis]] ([[penis envy]]).
  
 
==Catration of the mother==
 
==Catration of the mother==

Revision as of 00:08, 4 August 2006

"castration complex" (Fr. complexe de castration)

Definition

Sigmund Freud

Freud first described the castration complex in 1908, arguing that the child, on discovering the anatomical difference between the sexes (the presence or absence of the penis), makes the assumption that this difference is due to the female's penis having been cut off.[1]

The castration complex is thus the moment when one infantile theory (everyone has a penis) is replaced by a new one (females have been castrated).

The consequences of this new infantile theory are different in the boy and in the girl.

The boy fears that his own penis will be cut off by the father (castration anxiety), while the girl sees herself as already castrated (by the mother) and attempts to deny this or to compensate for it by seeking a child as a substitute for the penis (penis envy).

Catration of the mother

Castration of the Subject

Castration and Clinical Structures

Castration and Sexual Identity

  1. Freud, 1908c