Discussed in this article are Freud's direct quotes that indicate his awareness of father's seductive behavior which evokes the girl's love for him. However, in his later description of the Oedipal phase, Freud made no reference to father's seductive activity. He postulated instead penis envy as the basic factor accounting for the girl's change of love object.

Mother's role as the first law-giver for both genders is depicted, as well as her specific role in relation to the girl during the Oedipal conflagration. Because of this interaction and their guilty feelings related to incestuous and murderous wishes, girls assign to mother the role of punisher.

Girls, like boys, fear the loss of the integrity of their genitals. This spurs the girl's internalization of prohibitions and the repression of incestuous wishes. For a girl, the mother establishes the “Oedipal law” and its moral foundations. These are internalized by the daughter.