Freud's paper, A Child is Being Beaten, is re-examined in the light of clinical material from a patient whose manifest dream

was similar to a beating fantasy. Freud's later concepts on masochism and superego formation are discussed, as are the contributions of other authors. It is proposed that beating fantasies and dreams of beating derive not so much from the analsadistic period as from the phallic period when primal scene experiences lead to sadomasochistic concepts of intercourse and to shifting identifications with both (violent) father and (violated) mother.