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Int. J. Psycho-Anal. (1997) 78, 351
THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX, CASTRATION
AND THE FETISH:
A REVISION OF THE PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY OF SEXUALITY
NORBERTO CARLOS MARUCCO, BUENOS AIRES
The following remarks should be regarded
as no more than a preface to my revision
of the theory of sexuality. This is because
the ideas put forward in this contribution
cannot be developed in the depth they de-
serve owing to the stipulation of brevity for
pre-published Congress papers. My 'starting
point' will be what Pontalis called 'the in-
troduction of fetishism' (1977, p. 85) into
Freudian theory-that is, the way in which
the Oedipus complex is resolved, when the
subject is confronted with the castration com-
plex, by the constitution of the fetish, giving
rise to a specific structuring of the psychic
apparatus (splitting of the ego), and its con-
sequence, namely, a special mode of rela-
tionship between man, his reality and his
sexuality. Moreover, since sexuality is trans-
ferential, my 'point of arrival' will place this
revision in the context of the theory of ana-
lytic treatment, and will include some con-
siderations on the transference.
INTRODUCTION: TODAY'S ANALYSAND
Revision of the psychoanalytic theory of
sexuality proves necessary whenever our
clinical practice confronts us with so-called
present-day pathologies. Can we claim to-
day, as analysts could legitimately assert in
This will be presented at the panel on 'The Review of the Psychoanalytic Theory of Sexuality', 28 July 1997.
Translated by Philip Slotkin, MA, MIT!.
Freud's lifetime, that problems of sexuality
are the underlying unconscious mechanism
in all those who consult us? Perhaps not,
but the provisional nature of this answer
suggests that today's sexuality is expressed
differently from that of a century ago. These
'present-day pathologies' require us to deal
with: (1) known symptomatic expressions of
repressed sexuality; (2) new expressions of
sexuality that we must recognise (new vicis-
situdes of the drive?); and (3) symptomatic
expressions of traumas attributed to an ob-
ject that has erased the presence of the sexual
drive-that is, manifestations of the death
drive arising when the sexual drive is over-
whelmed by an object that succeeds in af-
firming its primacy. To the analyst, perhaps
the greatest clinical challenge of the symp-
tomatic expressions of 'present-day patholo-
gies' is that he cannot confine himself to
interpreting the drive and its vicissitudes but
will also-even if the sexual problem com-
plex must then be at least provisionally side-
stepped-be compelled in some cases to occupy
the place of the object by his presence (is this
the pre-oedipal object of Freud's 'Female
sexuality' [193I]?), in order to be able sub-
sequently to detach himself from it and awaken
or even 'give birth to' the sexual drive.
Clinical work with these 'present-day pa-
thologies' shows the need for a revision of
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352 NORBERTO CARLOS MARUCCO

the theory of sexuality in which the sexual drive, that the child not only acknowledges
drive is placed in a new position coexisting but also resorts to disavowal (Verleugnung).
with the status of the object. He disavows the mother's lack of a penis and
creates in its place (by displacement and
transmutation of values) another 'something'
FROM THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX TO THE that replaces it, and in this way the fetish
'COMPLEX' ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF comes into being. What then is the signifi-
CASTRATION: THE FETISH cance of this disavowal of a lack and its
compensation by that 'something' in relation
Whereas Freud's paper on fetishism (1927) to sexuality, whether satisfied directly or in
describes a particular mechanism in order sublimation? What will be the importance
to explain the fetishistic perversion, in his of this split in the ego that is generated by
late work this mechanism gradually takes on disavowal in analytic treatment? The fetish
a structuring character for the psychic ap- object of Freud's coupeur de nattes (or any
paratus (Freud, 1940a, b). To recapitulate, fetish materialised in an obvious way) is not
the combination of the threat of castration the same as in the case of the famous 'shine
and the acknowledgement of woman's lack on the nose'. 2
of a penis led to the 'dissolution' of the When the fetish is materialised in an object
Oedipus complex. But is this the end of the (perversion), the pathways of sexuality are
oedipal story, and hence of infantile sexual- narrowed, and so, too, are those of subli-
ity? If so, how are we to explain the 'intro- mation. The 'shine on the nose', as a virtual
duction' of 'fetishism' into Freudian theory object, implies the triumph of the drive over
three years later? Was it the 'chance' discov- castration. What nurtures the creation of the
ery of these asymptomatic fetishes in his fetish, or virtual object, is this desire 'at its
patients that made Freud reopen the oedipal whim' (Rosolato, 1978, p. 31). It is this that
file, and hence also that of infantile sexuality? I regard as the structuring element of a split
Or were those 'eccentricities of neurotics' psychic apparatus and its mode of psychic
and their particular clinical expressions in- functioning (Marucco, 1993); I also consider
strumental in the discovery of a new psychic it to be the determining factor not only of
structure with a split ego that allows the the choice of object but also of the conditions
fetish to emerge? of love. These theoretical ideas are reflected
The fate of the repressed sexual drive, in such phrases as 'I know, but even so ... '
then, is to be dissolved; indeed, according (Mannoni, 1969).
to Freud (1925), the Oedipus complex should The fetish thus protects instinctual life
ideally be destroyed. I This destruction (Zu- from the demands of a 'culture' that, by its
grundegehen) may, if successful, satisfy a 'ideal of destruction of the Oedipus complex',
cultural ideal, but is surely disquieting for may not only bring about the death of the
the human subject. If 'acknowledgement' is drive but also affect it both in the choice of
the path that leads to destruction, it will surely sexual object and-perhaps more seriously
be in his own defence, or in defence of the -in the conditions of love themselves. Is it
----------------------------

1 'In normal, or, it is better to say, in ideal cases,
the Oedipus complex exists no longer, even in the
unconscious' (Freud, 1925, p. 257).
2 Assoun comments on this point: 'Freud invokes
the opposite of a fetish in the "substantial" sense
... By according the fetish its full status as an "en-
igmatic phenomenon", psychoanalysis locates the
"quid" of this enigma in the very heart of the sub-
ject, thereby taking the risk of experiencing the mys-
tery of the "object" which post-Freudian psycho-
analysis has been tempted to "hypostatise" or "render
imaginary". This fetish "object" is actually-because
of the threat of castration-at one and the same
time both "mask" and "practice" for the split sub-
ject' (1994, p. 153).
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THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX, CASTRATION AND THE FETISH
really a matter of 'efficacious' dissolution of
the Oedipus complex? Or could it be that
'cultural' normality, in its demand that cas-
tration (reality) be accepted, imposes itself
so 'efficiently' as to leave absolutely no mar-
gin for the disavowal of castration, thereby
preventing the creation of the fetish?
In the therapeutic situation, can-and
should-this breach in the splitting of the
ego due to the mechanism of disavowal be
mended? Any attempt to mend it would
merely cause it to be 'corrected' in one
direction or another (both potentially dan-
gerous). Were it to 'shift' towards the ac-
ceptance of castration (thus leaving no space
free for disavowal), the result would be the
gradual disappearance of the sexual drive,
with the consequence of idealisation of the
object. But if the shift were towards the area
of disavowal, perversion would dominate
object relations, perhaps to the point of
repudiation of reality itself (in which case
delusion would replace creationj.' The ideal
outcome would be a creative balance be-
tween 'I know' (acknowledgement of castra-
tion) and 'but even so ... ' (the action of
disavowal that preserves the drive and its
correlate, fantasy). Excessive emphasis on
symbolic development (acceptance of castra-
tion) in the theory of analytic treatment
would constrict the creative space of fantasy.
Considering the problem in these terms, we
could devise a theory of sublimation based
on the dialectic of acknowledgement and
repudiation of castration.
The fetish could be seen as a hinge im-
plying, in Freud's terms, at one and the
same time acceptance of and triumph over
castration. This little 'detail' (the 'shine on
the nose'), which is not included in the
stock-in-trade of post-modern sexual mar-
keting, reflects a psychic structure that con-
tains the potential for sexual satisfaction, the
conditions of love, and creation. As Assoun
puts it, 'psychoanalysis turns it into the
3 I am here no longer considering disavowal from the point of view of its structuring function for the
psychic apparatus but in terms of its pathogenic effects.
353
"instituting symptom" of the "structural mis-
understanding" that is castration ... The
fetish is a stigma indelebile on account of
which "man" is subject ... to splitting!' (1994,
p. 154). On the metapsychologicallevel, the
primacy of the phallus is thereby reaffirmed,
while at the same time the 'maternal' object
retains its founding validity; and in the clini-
cal situation (or in life) the sexual drive
recovers its strength. Hence the fetish must
not only be respected and sustained but also
be recreatable in the analytic link. In our
clinical work, we shall be (active) observers
of the encounter between the passion of the
liberating drive and the presence of the object
that demands idealisation (castration?).
SEXUALITY AND THE OBJECT:
ON TRANSFERENCE
A theory of transference in analytic treat-
ment ought to include the dialectic of drive
and object, mentioned earlier, as the corner-
stone of the revised theory of sexuality in
psychoanalysis. If one of the terms of the
dialectic were to predominate in the analytic
transference, how would this be expressed?
As Freud pointed out in Group Psychology
and the Analysis of the Ego (1921), the greater
the subordination of the sexual drive in the
process of falling in love, the more the object
will be idealised, and the extreme form of
this phenomenon is the obliteration of sexu-
ality under hypnosis. In the context of the
analytic link, the prevalence of the object
could take the form of a gradual increase
in the power of the analyst by virtue of
this subordination-or even obliteration-of
sexuality. The concealment of the manifes-
tations of the sexual drive in 'present-day
pathologies', flooded as they are by 'attach-
ment drives' that exalt the power of the
object, surely increases this risk. If this is
overlooked, the creative potential of the sex-
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354 NORBERTO CARLOS MARUCCO

ual drive may fail to be determined by its analytic encounter will in turn make it pos-
own generative strength and remain at the sible to confront the power of the object
mercy of the 'order' of the idealised object. that may have induced and even 'instigated'
Instead of creation, there would be pseudo- the destruction of the Oedipus complex-that
creation. is, of sexuality.
Might this warning about the danger of Let us now go a step further. In order to
idealisation of the object be of any 'use' in the be able to maintain a 'dialogue' with the ana-
treatment of pathologies in which the early lysand's sexuality as expressed through his
trauma has allowed the object to assume transference love, we shall need to assign a
such predominance as to define not only the place in theory to the analyst's sexuality. Ever
fate of the drive but also its very existence? since it 'surprised' Breuer," causing him to
Analytic treatment will necessitate the adop- reject it vigorously, acknowledgement of the
tion of a difficult position: even if the pre- sexuality of the analyst has been difficult, and
eminence of the analyst as an idealised object remains so to this day. The counterpart of this
tends to dilute the clinical presence of sexu- 'absence' of sexuality in clinical practice in
ality, can psychoanalysis renounce its thera- the last few years has been a certain 'freezing'
peutic 'commitments' in these cases? In my in the development of the countertransfer-
view, this pre-eminent position as an object ence. Hence the revision of the psychoana-
should be accepted provisionally, as a stepping lytic theory of sexuality also entails a revision
stone towards the 'dismantling' of the ideal- of the theory of the countertransference.
isation, in order to set in train the modifying In conclusion, can we now say why it is
potential of the sexual unconscious. important to assign sexuality a new place in
To return to the subject of the fetish, after psychoanalytic theory? The answer is that,
the dismantling of this idealisation, which is if it is not worked through, it may give rise
necessary to allow access to areas in which to asymbolic somatic disturbances or, more
sexuality may not yet have been born, the subtly, 'symbolic' representations devoid of
analyst must act as a (metaphorical) 'sup- the instinctual character of sexuality, which
port' for the psychic operation whereby the may approach perilously close to the purest
analysand uses him as a figure upon which manifestations of the death drive. Might
to construct the 'shine on the nose'-or its these clinical expressions be deemed products
equivalent-that will awaken the drive and of a 'culture' that has imposed its symbolic
its transforming effects. order by 'consummating' the ideal of de-
The idealised transference will thus allow stroying the Oedipus complex? In this case,
the unfolding, in the clinical process of psy- we should be confronted with the emergence
choanalysis, of the presence of an enlarged (not to say the emergency) of normopathic
object at the expense of the drive. However, individuals who are increasingly remote from
this will have been inherent in the request their drives. What can psychoanalysis do in
for analysis and must gradually make way this situation? It can revise the theory of
for the recovery of the sexual drive through sexuality, and reclaim it as transference. This
the erotic transference. The oedipal file is opens up new pathways for the drive, start-
then reopened through this biography of the ing from the here and now of the analytic
drive, which is 'republished' in the analysis field: its more appropriate repression in some
in a modified and corrected version. This cases, its birth or recreation in others, and

4 Laplanche writes: 'Breuer's approach with Anna in it, and still more his countertransference involve-
O. was anchored in psychic reality to a greater extent ment. Breuer's alienation from psychoanalysis re-
than that of Freud with his patients. However, he sulted from his countertransferential intolerance of
denied the transference and the element of sexuality sexuality' (1969-70, p. 43).
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THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX, CASTRAnON AND THE FETISH 355

its inscription as fantasy in the most severe sis, to deploy its full range of colours, like
pathologies. The ultimate aim will always be a kaleidoscope infinitely multiplying the im-
to allow the sexual drive, through the analy- ages of its creation.

REFERENCES

ASSOUN, P.-L. (1994). Elfetichismo. Buenos Aires:
Ediciones Nueva Vision, 1995.
FREUD, S. (1921). Group Psychology and the Analy-
sis ofthe Ego. S£. 18.
- - (1925). Some psychical consequences of the
anatomical distinction between the sexes. SE.
19.
- (1927). Fetishism. S£. 21.
- - (1931). Female sexuality. S£. 21.
--(l940a). An OutlineofPsycho-Analysis. S£. 23.
- - (1940b). Splitting of the ego in the process of
defence. S£. 23.
LAPLANCHE, J. (1969-70). La sexualidad. Buenos
Aires: Ediciones Nueva Vision, 1980.
MANNONI, O. (1969). La otra escena. Claves de 10
imaginario. Buenos Aires: Amorrortu Editores,
1973.
MARUCCO, N. (1993). Acerca de la cura en psi-
coanalisis. Reflexiones actuales sobre un legado
psicoanalitico. Rev. Psicoanal., 50: 377-393.
PONTALIS, J.-B. (1977). Entre el sueiio y el dolor.
Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1978.
[Frontiers in Psychoanalysis. Between the Dream
and Psychic Pain. London: Hogarth Press,
1981.]
ROSOLATO, G. (1978). La relacion de desconocido.
Barcelona: Ediciones Petrel.

Norberto Carlos Marucco Copyright © Institute of Psycho-Analysis, London, 1997

San Luis 3364
1186 Buenos Aires
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