ABSTRACT
The evolution of the beating fantasy as Sigmund Freud describes it includes radical formulations about the operation of memory. Freud confronts us with the complexity of memory and its centrality to both theory and technique. In addition, he uses the theory of Nachtraglichkeit, or deferred action, to account for the appearance, intensification, and modification of the beating fantasy in its third phase. Freud's 1924 concept of primary erotogenic masochism highlights the drive component of sadomasochism and has allowed many to forget that drives are manifest only in the context of an object relationship. In studying the sadomasochistic solution to conflict in child, adolescent, and adult patients we have concluded that sadomasochism is not a specific or separate diagnostic category but an integral part of all pathology. The multiple functions served by a sadomasochistic organization lead to manifold and often seemingly intractable technical difficulties in treatment.
