The Power of Sexual SurrenderRobinson, Marie Nyswander
Science
The Power of Sexual Surrender
Robinson, Marie Nyswander
Frigidity (Psychology); Sex (Psychology); Women -- Sexual behavior
After letting her air her feelings, I pointed out to her the possible
connection between her new sensual experience and her regression to
her old defenses. She was incredulous and remained so until, a week
later, the episode repeated itself in its entirety: vaginal sensations
and delight, followed quickly by a quarrel and ill feelings toward her
husband. Forewarned, she was now on guard for such negative reactions,
and when they did appear, knowing their significance, she was able to
handle them, prevent herself from actually acting out her irrational
feelings by quarreling with her husband.
In making the above point I do not wish to be misunderstood or
thought to be contradicting myself. I am not advising women to fixate
obsessively on their new sexual sensations. However, noticing such new
experiences will be unavoidable, and I am simply saying that it is
helpful to know that they may be followed by minor neurotic regressions.
The above observations now lead me to a closely related matter which I
consider to be of central importance.
In the move toward womanhood there comes a juncture in most cases
which can be called “the danger point.” When a woman is working with
a therapist on her problem, the danger when she reaches this point is
minimized by the fact that her therapist is aware of the problem and
can usually help her to handle it when it arises. If a woman is working
on her problem by herself, however, she should be strongly forewarned
of her potential reaction.
This danger point generally comes when a woman who has suffered from
frigidity has at last allowed herself to experience orgasm for the
first time. Her immediate reaction is one of tremendous relief. But
this is almost always followed by the same kind of regression I have
described above; only this time the pull-back from her own advance and
from her husband is far more powerful. We have seen in some of the case
histories in the last section just how dangerous this period can be to
the entire relationship. Indeed, the wife may at this point precipitate
a crisis of such severity that the marriage itself is endangered.
The form the difficulty takes is always individual; it is usually an
exaggerated version of the particular woman’s most typical neurotic
characteristic. If she is argumentative, she is apt to start a fight
of proportions heretofore undreamed of. If her tendency is to become
depressed, her melancholy can become very, very profound indeed. If
she is critical and carping, she can make Craig’s wife appear to be a
normal, healthy woman.
I am not exaggerating. It is not impossible that many divorces are
caused by wives who, by the natural reassurance that marriage to a
tender husband often brings, have moved close to their true natures
all unwittingly. They achieve orgasm; and then, without the benefit of
any insight, the intense anxiety reaction sets in, causing a powerful
desire to flee from the frightening situation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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