subject altruism: the antigone complex in defusion

In a previous post I have attempted to outline the structure of the Antigone complex

http://psychoanalysis-tcp.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-nuclear-complexes-antigone.html

After the defusion from the father imago the OA has two directions

She can 1. give up on her own independence and revert to drives to restore or rescue the name, reputation, or legacy of the father-substitute

Antigone sacrifices herself for the recognition of her brother

2. seek to continue her independence but has the need to enlist a helper or someone to do so

Antigone tries to enlist her sister to help

I think that this helper, who is often idealized, is probably a mother substitute.

The most important thing in this work is to find common examples or "seduce the senses" as Nietzsche puts it.

With some recent patients I've been thinking about the phenomena of the girl/woman who needs a friend to go out with her when she's going to meet a guy and how they have to go to the bathroom or take breaks to have conversations with each other. The altruist doesn't feel like she can do it on her own.

In the ego drives, as opposed to the object drives, the SA similarly needs a "study buddy" or someone who is there to help her or him do the work. If not to actually do the work, the helper has to be there so the SA can concentrate and do it to.

This makes me think of the form of the hero known as "the twins". While in the Antigone complex the helper is there just so that the SA can get by the father complex/phallic trito version (as the parallel between Heracles and Theseus) would be more than getting by but actually achieving something.

It never occurred to me before but the use of Medusa's head in the legend of Perseus can be symbolic of the use of the idealized friend to overcome the dangers/challenges. After the phallic deutero stage of the rescue of Andromeda the head is given to Athena which would be the concession to the incest taboo. Afterwards, the oracle is fulfilled by Perseus killing his grandfather. There are variants of what happens here and I'll have to do more investigating into this and myths of the "twins" overcoming obstacles together.