ABSTRACT
From the many threads that form the matrix of male psychosexual development, this chapter considers and examines only the narcissistic injury caused by the boy's realization that he will never attain mother's femaleness and procreative capacity. Thus, the fantasy of a phallic mother is at first a defensive transitional fantasy helpful to a boy who is struggling with the narcissistic pain of not having mother's powers. The subsequent narcissistic over-investment in the power of the erect penis—which is not the same as sexual enjoyment of the erect penis—compensates a boy for the narcissistic injury of being different from mother. Analysis reveals that the stronger the boy's unconscious envy of mother, the more uncertain his sense of masculinity and the louder his proclamations of manliness. Jacobson attributes the meagre discussion of men's "woman-envy" to the repression in men of wishes for feminine attributes, subsequently reinforced by reaction formations.
