Castration complex
"castration complex" (Fr. complexe de castration)
Contents
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
- ↑ Freud, 1908c
