From clinical and biographical data the first-born male is seen as having special trouble resolving preoedipal ambivalence to the mother. As the previously privileged child he is displaced by the next sibling without an older sibling as auxiliary object. Alternating identification with the mother and the new infant may leave him severely frustrated, envious of the mother's reproductive capacity, and seriously impaired in his later ability to love and work. Under favorable circumstances his creativity may be enhanced and his love relations with women become satisfactory.