The expression “need for punishment” leaves us in the dark as to who hands out the punishment: Who is it that punishes? The self? The object? Punishing oneself or being punished, each of these phrases has its own pole: the narcissistic pole for the first, and the object-related pole for the second. The coupling between these two poles has attracted the attention of the author, who highlights an oscillating movement between the two poles in an analysis. Ultimately, the “need for punishment” is not necessarily synonymous with melancholic guilt, and in some cases is part of a neurotic dynamic. Questioning the “need for punishment” and examining its sources also involves the notion of “fixation”. In this respect, the author compares “object fixation” and “invasion” by the object; once again both are possible indicators of neurotic or less neurotic territories in relation to the more or less secure limits of psychic spaces.