Clinical Notes On Masochism

MASOCHISM IS UNDERSTOOD BY PSYCHOANALYSTS as the ability to derive pleasure from pain or as the pursuit of suffering (Glick & Meyers, 1988). While its psychoanalytic origins were imbedded in drive theory and the notion of a death instinct, the concept has been elaborated richly both from an ego-psychological and object-relations perspective. Perhaps because the concept was derived from classical Freudian theory, the interpersonal school of psychoanalysis has tended to disregard various phenomena that fall under the heading of masochistic behavior.

Although Sullivan dismissed the concept of masochism as "foggy thinking" (1953, p. 352), it seems to me he did recognize implicitly that it could be understood as an interpersonal tactic to influence others. He noted that real benefits could be derived through suffering, such as eliciting reassurance, sympathy, and even caretaking. But Sullivan did not apparently see any value in the idea that guilt may lead to self-punishment, which is a cornerstone of the classical theory of masochism. Today we know that masochistic behavior may serve relational needs, keeping one emotionally connected via identification to lost objects. It also may operate in conjunction with other character traits, such as narcissism (Cooper, 1988), to maintain a sense of personal identity, autonomy, and control.

I believe that there is a hint of this idea in Sullivan's notion of malevolent transformation. He observed that there were people who had learned, as children, the futility or even danger of seeking love or tenderness from their uncaring and rejecting caretakers. Rather than continue to suffer the hurt and disappointment of trying to get what was not available, such a child would instead learn to change his or her behavior from tenderness-seeking to angry rejection or mischievousness. While the need for tenderness went unmet, the malevolent transformation did protect against the pain and anxiety of being rejected or punished for seeking