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To explore the origins of incest and the taboo against it, Freud was influenced by the Darwin-Atkinson hypothesis of the primal horde. Re-examination of incest from recent anthropologic data confirms that the taboo has its origin in the jealousy of the father. Such data indicate, however, that different ethnic groups have different Oedipal conflicts according to variations in family habits and customs. Clinical instances of father-daughter incest demonstrate that such relationships have been fostered by both parents. This fact indicates that an important factor in the incest barrier rests on conscious and unconscious communication between the parents and the child.
A theoretical résumé of the terminal phase of analysis of a man by a woman analyst is presented. Thorough analysis of the castration complex, in the classic sense, may not be a deterrent to incestuous genital strivings toward the analyst. Examination of the last barrier in analysis indicates that in some instances it may be a mutual fantasy. In such instances it is believed that the analyst's countertransference can be a threat to her which she parries by attributing her patient's recently acquired genital attitude toward her as an infantile striving to his detriment.