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In 1920, Freud's theoretical framework included the concept of masochism as the aggressive instinct turned against the self, while in 1924 he spoke of the masochist as a naughty child with the unconscious need to be punished for his fantasies. What was emphasized by Freud is the part played by the id and the superego in the phenomenon of masochism, while the role of the ego was relatively neglected. Since Freud, of course, ego psychology has made vast contributions to psychoanalysis, but to the best of my knowledge, certain aspects of the role of the ego in masochism have not yet satisfactorily been covered. In a recent paper by Hanly (1978), one sentence points in this direction: “Masochism always involves some recurrence of a disturbance in subject-object differentiation,” he states; but he does not go on to develop this theme.
The present paper, therefore, will take up the question of masochism from the point of view of the ego, particularly that of self-object differentiation and separation–individuation. Instead of the customary investigation of the instinctual, libidinal, and superego aspects, we will discuss the role played by pathological identity formation and deficiencies in the integrative function of the ego (Hartmann, 1958; Nunberg, 1931) in the phenomenon of sadomasochism.
According to Berliner (1958), “What is acted out (in the sadomasochistic affair) is neither the libidinal need in itself nor the defense against it. It is always the total conflict, the libidinal striving plus the inner and outer forces that oppose it.”
In my opinion, the sadist and the masochist are two sides of a