Family Pathology and the Infantile Neurosis

In this study we have attempted to investigate the connexion (in the sense of a complex interplay) between the infantile and the adult neurosis where severe family pathology has been an important determining force. In the clinical illustrations of two female patients we tried to determine the fate (i.e. in terms of the compulsion to repeat) of the early infantile conflicts and experiences within the purview of their pathological family condition. In sorting this out, we distinguished between those repetitions viewed as passive reproductions and those repetitions viewed as re-creative; the former finding their way essentially into the adult neurosis, the latter finding their way into parts of the personality under the aegis of their ego's organizing activity. The fashion in which the family pathology impinged upon the adult neurosis made the development of the transference in the analytic situation a most difficult arena for clarification, since there was a tendency to confuse past (early) events, past fantasy, current reality and current fantasy. In concluding we noted that both Oedipus complex and oedipal drama came together in these patients, revealing the link between the tragedy of their life-long family situation and what was termed a 'fate neurosis'.