This paper deals with male impotence in relation to love. A detailed clinical presentation attempts to show how the symptom was embedded in faulty processes of separation-individuation, whereby regression in the service of intercourse, passion and love is hindered by the fears and fantasies underlying merging experiences. These problems are examined as they appear interwoven in transference and countertransference phenomena.

The clinical case presentation is followed by a discussion of different forms of male impotence from a more general viewpoint; its relation not only to castration and phallic anxiety, but also to earlier developmental aspects. Finally, some reflections about male and female gender differences in relation to symbiotic experience.