ABSTRACT
Revenge is a reaction to insults and humiliation. In revenge, a person intends to regain narcissistic balance after damage to their self-esteem. Fueled by the death instict revenge aims at inflicting harm and damage upon an object. Freud considered revenge as an adequate psychical reflex to an insulting experience. Revenge may be manifested in fantasies or deeds, conscious or unconscious. I will discuss female revenge that has been traditionally a tabu. Women have been idealized as life-givers and mothers and a cruel avenger does not easily fit into this image. Women themselves feel shame and guilt about their aggressions. I argue that female retaliation is therefore often expressed indirectly. I will discuss how woman’s separation process and Oedipal configuration are reflected in revenge. I will further consider how feminine libido and the feminine inner space shape her revenge. Spesific forms of female revenge will be addressed; indirect revenge with her suffering, revenge with her body and her children, revenge on a man. The story of Lena, who took unconscious revenge on me in the course of her psychoanalysis, will be described. The crucial role of shame and shame-rage will be also discussed.
