Wednesday, July 3, 2013

The deutero stages- seduction vs. rejection (absence)

I've focused mainly on the seduction of the egoist by the mother at the phallic stage that splits the paternal imago and creates the phallic image of the mother. In one or two previous posts I've also mentioned how the deutero phase of the anal stage is brought about by the egoist feeling rejected by the mother (with in ego drive: not playing with him or object drive: ignoring if not restraining his attempts at romantic possession).

By contrast I have one patient who "runs" when she gets too close to men and the way she describes feeling overwhelmed points to the fear of losing her mind (total merger) if she continues to allow herself to stay close. This suggests that the altruist might experience something of a seduction at the anal stage to create the deutero phase.

Also, the rescue phantasy found in some altruists seems to suggest that the mother might be depressed and have a failed phallic image that the altruist has to "step up" to save her. The mother has to be cheered up, the mother's name is disgraced as someone who can't be loved (at least the lack of the father's love would cover 'public opinion'), etc.

However, the Bellerophon complex, that is based upon the relation to the mother and transcribed to the father, suggests that the mother ignoring or rejecting one's individuality or uniqueness means that the object altruist will initially treat her like a mentor but then try to usurp. This 'trope' of the apprentice who ends up making a grab for power is one I remember from many childhood movies.

I'm skeptical about whether this seduction vs. rejection symmetry between the egoistic and altruistic trends in the personality will bear out, but I've come to the idea several times and thought I'd share it. 

No comments:

Post a Comment