In this study of the Sanson family, who carried out capital punishment in France for two centuries, the author uses the family's memoirs to propose an oedipal interpretation of the motives of the family for maintaining this profession, particularly their attempt to ally with royalty. French society's continued approval of decapitation and its fascination with the Sansons are also interpreted in terms of the oedipal paradigm. This paper attempts to interweave the individual motives of the Sanson executioners with the historical changes occuring in France that culminated in the French Revolution.