XI. The Effects of Early Anxiety-Situations on the Sexual Development of the Girl

PSYCHO-ANALYTIC investigation has thrown much less light on the psychology of women than on that of men. Since the fear of castration was the first thing that was discovered as an underlying motive force in the formation of neurosis in men, analysts naturally began by studying aetiological factors of the same kind in women. The results obtained in this way held good in so far as the psychology of the two sexes was similar but not in so far as it differed. Freud has well expressed this point in a passage in which he says: ‘… and besides, is it quite certain that castration anxiety is the only cause of repression (or defence)? When we think of neuroses in women we must feel some doubts. True enough, a castration complex is always to be found in them; but we can hardly speak of a castration anxiety where castration is already an accomplished fact.’1

When we consider how important every advance in our knowledge of castration anxiety has been both for understanding the psychology of the male individual and for effecting a cure of his neuroses, we shall expect that a knowledge of whatever anxiety is its equivalent in the female individual will enable us to perfect our therapeutic treatment of her and help us to get a clear idea of the lines along which her sexual development moves forward.