The Origin of the Rejected and Crippled Hero Myths

There is a child rearing procedure in common usage throughout Western civilizations that seriously interferes with the emotional growth of an infant. This procedure is conventionally stylized. Radical applications of this insalubrious method of child-care are detectable and suppressed. But subtle applications of the unhealthy practices are so commonplace they are seldom if ever observed. They go unnoticed. Even the Pavlovians have not focused emphasis on this abuse of the child's prerogatives.

This commonly used and harmful procedure in child-care is composed of two constituents. These constituents diametrically oppose each other. The first constituent entails a direct maternal ministration to the baby. The tending of one of his needs, such as feeding him when hungry, would be representative of the first constituent. The second constituent of the unhealthy child-care procedure is a withdrawal of the mother's attentions to the infant after the need that initiated her care has been attended.

In brief, in this culture, the maternal attention is an initial attention which is always followed by the subsequent loss of the mother. After she attends the baby's need, the mother disappears. At this time she is quite satisfied with herself and the sufficiency of her attentions to the baby. When she is in this state of high satisfaction with herself the mother is likely to become irritated if the infant makes further demands upon her. Ensconced in the eiderdown of outraged indignation, the mother develops irrational feelings.