Three contributions are presented as the background for a theoretical discussion of the psychological basis for 'congenital' indifference to pain. A psychoanalytic formulation is suggested to account for this phenomenon on the basis of a regressive reactivation of primitive denial mechanisms by the ego under the stress of Oedipal or phallic conflicts. Although the theoretical discussion leans heavily on considerations of early life as well as childhood difficulties, there is little material in the histories that provide convincing data on these points.