The psycho-analytic study of the familyFlugel, J. C. (John Carl)
Science
The psycho-analytic study of the family
Flugel, J. C. (John Carl)
Families; Marriage; Parent and child; Psychoanalysis
In a certain number of cases there is to be observed a combination of
the original prostitute phantasy (the remoter consequences of which we
have been here considering) with the rescue phantasy to which we referred
above. Such a combination of motives may give rise to the enthusiasm
for "rescue work" as displayed by such persons as John Storm in Sir
Hall Caine's novel "The Christian" or, more generally, may bring about
the desire to lead the prostitute, fallen or abandoned woman (mother
substitute) to a better way of life (_Cp._ Hamlet and his mother)[137]. In
women too this combination of motives may not infrequently be observed,
manifesting itself most often as a desire to effect the regeneration of
some drunkard, ne'er-do-well or criminal or of some class of men of this
description; sometimes leading even to marriage with a person of this
kind, with a view to the better attainment of this end (though in these
cases the superior sexual attractiveness of such men is of course usually
an additional--though not always a recognised--motive).
[Sidenote: The desire for chastity]
In still other cases again the intensely disagreeable feeling that is
associated with the idea of the mother giving herself to the father may
lead to an overwhelming desire for the strictest previous chastity in
any woman that may be selected as bride or sexual partner; the virginity
of the later love serving as a recompense for the supposed impurity and
faithlessness of the earlier object of affection, and to some extent no
doubt (through the process of identification) bringing about--so far as
the unconscious mind of the lover is concerned--a purification of this
former object. Such feelings as these, working in the Unconscious, are
probably among the most powerful factors which determine the behaviour
of that not inconsiderable number of men whose affection and general
attitude towards a woman are completely changed by the merest suspicion
that she has experienced sexual relationships with any but themselves,
however great the extenuating circumstances connected with such
relationships; who are utterly unable to entertain the idea of marriage
with any such woman (_Cp._ Angel Clare in Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the
d'Urbervilles") or who in temporary or venal intercourse will go to much
trouble or expense to secure a virgin for their partner[138].
[Sidenote: The importance of displacement in the love life]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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