Oral Stage

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The oral stage is the initial mode of organization of libidinal cathexes, establishing the buccopharyngeal area and the lips as the predominant erotogenic zone—and hence as the source of the instinct operating in conjunction with the instinctual aim (incorporation) and the instinctual object (the breast). The act of taking nourishment tends to symbolize the mother's breast and the primal link that the infant establishes with its mother. Sucking at the breast, governed by biogically programmed behavior, procures an experience of pleasure...