ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an overview of Freud’s theory and his view of latency and follows that by discussing psychoanalytic frameworks that have built on and extended Freud’s work. The agreement concerning the Oedipus complex resolution is the key point, since its resolution not only marks the start of the latency period but also marks the fact that social adaptation means leaving the triangular relationship behind. Classical theory distinguishes between ‘primary narcissism’ and ‘secondary narcissism’. ‘Primary narcissism’ is defined as the love of self which precedes loving others. ‘Secondary narcissism’ is defined as the love of self which results from introjecting and identifying with an object. Klein’s theory is called an Object Theory; more simply it is focused on the child’s primary relationship with the mother’s body or womb and the resolution of ambivalent feelings held towards the mother is seen as the most important subject in understanding development of the ego and superego.
