ABSTRACT
The father of psychoanalysis is surely the man who elevated the importance of the father to unknown heights. It is worth taking a closer look at the position Freud assigns to the father. Re-reading his case studies and their accompanying theoretical conceptualisations reveals a curious gap between theory and practice. In virtually all of the cases, the father of his patient turns out to be a weak figure, the opposite of someone who radiates authority and strength. The effect of the traditional solution is, among other things, a clear division of roles between the sexes—the son-warrior, the pure virgin, the childbearing mother and the omnipresent, primal father. In so far as any justification is given for this traditional solution—in particular, the attempts at reintroducing a primal father and the related fundamentalism—references are usually made to the progress believed to be inherent in the monotheistic patriarchal complex.
