Introduction

This chapter concerns the importance of the pre-Oedipal phase in girls. The female Oedipal problem is dominated by the necessity for a change of object and a change of organ. The chapter presents a synthesis of Melanie Klein's ideas on the female sexual development. She bases her study on the problem of the female equivalent of castration-anxiety. The chapter discusses that Freud studies the motives and the forms of the passing of the Oedipus complex for both sexes. The existence of a phallic libidinal stage with exclusion of the vagina for both is once more asserted, and its role in the structuring of the Oedipus complex is emphasized. Ernest Jones emphasizes the prejudices of analysts about female sexuality: men tend to have "phallo-centric" views and to underestimate the importance of female sex organs, while women tend to express an unconcealed preference for the male organ.