Some Philosophical Speculations about the Concept of the Genital Character

Freud has stated in his Encyclopaedia Britannica article that 'There is no reason for astonishment that psycho-analysis, which was originally no more than an attempt at exploring pathological mental phenomena, should have developed into a psychology of normal mental life.' The emphasis in psycho-analysis has tended to remain, however, more or less centred on the pathological. Perhaps too little attention has been paid to that ultimate state of maturity in man which we might presume to be present in the absence of these pathological phenomena.

The psycho-analytic concept of the mature human is indicated by the term 'genital character'. As a point of departure I should like to quote in its entirety the paragraph on this subject in Fenichel's (3) book, since I believe it to be the classical psycho-analytic view:

A normal 'genital' character is an ideal concept. However, it is certain that the achievement of genital primacy brings a decisive advance in character formation. The ability to obtain full satisfaction through genital orgasm makes the physiological regulation of sexuality possible and this puts an end to the damming up of instinctual energies, with its unfortunate effect on the person's behaviour. It also makes for the full development of love (and hate), that is, the overcoming of ambivalence. Further, the capacity to discharge great quantities of excitement means the end of reaction formations and an increase in the ability to sublimate. The Oedipus complex and the unconscious guilt feelings from infantile sources now can really be overcome. Emotions, then, are not warded off any more but are used by the ego; they form a harmonious part of the total personality. If there is no longer any necessity to ward off pregenital impulses still operative in the unconscious, their inclusion into the total personality in the form of traits of the sublimation type becomes possible. Whereas in neurotic characters pregenital impulses retain their sexual character