ABSTRACT

Freud's Oedipus complex, to the fore between ages 3 and 5 years, involves wish-ful®lling fantasies of the death of the same-sex parent, with usurpation of their place in the couple. Inverse forms are also central. The boy's fear of castration by the vengeful father and the girl's fear of loss of love lead to abandonment of these wishes and to installation of the superego. Freud describes all this at the phallic level.