A case history is presented in which masochistic fantasies of two kinds, crude beating fantasies and refined elaborate daydreams, played a central role in the patient's life and in her analysis. Study of this case and review of the psychoanalytic literature indicate that the central meaning of such fantasies is the wish to be loved by the father. Such fantasies develop in childhood in a setting of sibling rivalry and can be crystallized by a single traumatic experience. In adult life, such fantasies contain themes of reproach and accusation, are kept isolated from the rest of the mental life, and appear in response to current experiences of deprivation.

The elaborate, masochistic daydream which is associated with beating fantasies has in the past been considered to be an attempt to obtain the libidinal gratification of a beating fantasy while still avoiding masturbation. Analysis of this case suggests that the crude beating fantasy and the associated refined daydream both express the wish to be loved by the father, but the beating fantasy itself