ABSTRACT
The child’s earliest fantasies originate in the feeding situation. By feeding, the child makes the mother part of him/herself. The mouth is not only the means of physical survival but also the centre of the infant’s emotional life. The feeding situation provides the earliest experience of the ‘give and take’ of human relationships. The pleasure of sucking, biting and taking into oneself are ever-present with food and within relationships. Adult sexual behaviour may involve kissing or biting-a recapitulation of the early pleasures of the mouth.
