Masochism is a character neurosis and should be considered a defence mechanism of the ego against an instinctual conflict. There is identification with the hating or punishing love object. The aggressiveness of the masochist is not the manifestation of his primary sadism. He imitates in his search for love, to be the way he believes he is supposed to be. He incorporates the sadism of the love object through the oral need for the object's love and turns that sadism against himself. The subject's libido is blended with the sadism of the other person to completely disguise the original aggressor.