ABSTRACT
Infidelity has been and remains one of the main reasons for crises in couples due to the repercussions it has on the relationship. It is regarded as one of the most frequent reasons for visits to clinical practices and the main cause of divorce worldwide. Partners in a couple capable of keeping their sexual intimacy and protecting themselves from invasions by third persons not only keep their obvious conventional boundaries but also reaffirm their "couplehood" in their struggle against rivals. The conduct of the offended partner is supported by the social system, which tends to protect them. Hatred in larger or smaller degrees and fantasies of revenge may appear as a kind of law of retaliation which demands "justice" and punishment for the unfaithful partner. The unconscious gratification of the fantasy of the excluded third person represents an oedipal triumph and simultaneously a subtle oedipal rebellion.
