Soiling and the Anal-Narcissistic Character

“Feces are the child's first gift,” Freud said (1918, p. 73), “the first sacrifice of his affection, a portion of his own body which he is ready to part with, but only for the sake of someone he loves.” However, when he does not love, but in fact hates that primary someone, Freud noted, he may not choose to give up his gift, but in fact may cling to it out of spite. He called this second alternate “a narcissistic clinging to anal eroticism” (1917, p. 130). In rereading Freud's speculations, and those of other classical analysts, I found myself pondering these matters myself, using the same early Freudian language.

Freud was the first to consider the anal character (1908)—or, more specifically, the anal-retentive personality—which results from toilet training in which anal incontinence has been prolonged or in which there have been isolated incidents of encopresis later on. He notes that the three traits of frugality, obstinacy, and orderliness are invariably found in such types. Abraham (1921) and Fenichel (1945) elaborated on this anal type, and anthropological studies by Kardiner (1939) and Gorer (1943) corroborated the theory, showing that cultures in Japan and Tanala, in which early toilet training was emphasized, were cultures in which personal cleanliness, compulsivity, perfectionism, and ritual were also prevalent. However, despite his reference to anal narcissism, Freud did not delineate an anal-narcissistic character type. Rather, he linked anal narcissism to the anal-retentive character.

The urethal character has also been described in the literature. The outstanding personality features of the urethral character are ambition and competitiveness, according to Fenichel (1945), both of which are said to be reactions against shame. Fenichel sees the urethral character as one who has been a bedwetter as a child, and has been inordinately shamed because of it. He grows up to become proud and ambitious in an effort to undo the childhood shame. Fenichel believes th