Page:The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis III 1922 1.djvu/11

 MANIFESTATIONS OF THE FEMALE CASTRATION COMPLEX 3

idea, as we have often observed: 'I had a penis once as boys have, but it has been taken away from me'. She therefore en- deavours to represent the painfully perceived defect as a secondary loss, one resulting from castration.

This idea is closely associated with another which we shall later treat of in detaU. The female genital is looked upon as a wound, and as such it represents an effect of castration.

We also come across phantasies and neurotic symptoms, and occasionally impulses and actions, which indicate a hostile tendency towards the male sex. In many women the idea that they have been damaged gives rise to the wish to revenge tliemselves on the privileged man. The aim of such an impulse is to castrate the man.

We find therefore in the female sex not only the tendency to represent a painfully perceived and primary defect as a secondary idea of 'having been robbed', but also active and passive phantasies of mutilation alongside each other, just as in the male castration complex. These facts then justify us in using the same designation in both sexes.

As was mentioned above, a girl's discovery of the male genitals acts as an injury to her narcissism. In the narcissistic period of development a child carefully watches over its possessions, and regards those of others with jealousy. It wants to keep what it has and to get what it sees. If anyone has an advantage over it then two reactions occur which are closely associated with each other; a hostile feeling against the other person is associated with the impulse to rob that other of what he possesses. The union of these two reactions constitutes envy, which represents a typical expression of the sadistic-anal developmental phase of the libido.'. ,., :, . . .,

A child's avaricious-hostile reaction to any additional possession it has noticed in another person may often be lessened in a simple manner : one tells the child that it will eventually receive what it longs for. There are many ways in whi ch such pacifying promises

' The character trait of envy is treated more in detail in an article by the author to appear shortly, 'Erganzungen zur Lehre vom analen Qiarakter '.