Besides being subjected to prohibitions, the child is told to carry out certain actions which on the one hand gratify an instinct and on the other wound his narcissism. He may respond to a positive command of this kind either by obedience or by refusal or by wavering between the two. Certain adult neurotics remain fixed in these modes of reaction, and, faced with a similar situation, either accept the injunction or reject it or hesitate in an obsessional way between doing either. They do not seem able satisfactorily to separate the two elements of instinctual gratification and narcissistic injury so as to enjoy the one and avoid the other, although in fact they are often in a position to do so. The theme is illustrated by material from several cases.