This paper examines the relations between fetishism and certain defense attitudes of the ego, in particular a special ego weakness which exposes the ego excessively to castration fear. The author is of the opinion that the structure of the unconscious ego of the fetishist has traits in common with the depressive and paranoid; like the latter the fetishist remains orally dependent and in connection with this dependence develops conflicts revolving about sadism. The longing for the fetish is a longing for 'good parents who may be introjected', who will protect him against anxiety. But at the same time it is a longing to atone for the fantasied destruction of the parents, expressed in certain fantastic tendencies: 'The relationship of a man to his fetish is the same as his relationship to his internalized parents'. In the history of the patient events are frequently to be found which tend to increase the dependence of the child upon the parents. Unclear is the author's statement that nosologically fetishism stands between the neuroses and the perversions. Is not fetishism by definition a perversion?