ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses in detail the problems Sigmund Freud had encountered in his discussion of sadomasochism in 1905. It mentions the problems he comes across with regard to fetishism since they are of a similar kind as those related to sadomasochism. The chapter presents the introduction of the developmental approach in Freud’s thinking. It provides an analysis of the references to phylogenesis, biology, and homosexuality that Freud adds in the later edition and that are intrinsically linked to his new developmental approach. In the years after 1905, Freud looks for empirical evidence that would support his theories on infantile sexuality. In both the 1905 and 1915 editions, sadism is interpreted as a magnified form of the aggressive component of the libido. According to Freud, libido is linked to the drive for mastery. The drive for mastery is essentially integrated into a sadistic component of the sexual drive. Fetishism, Freud writes, is a very common characteristic of human sexuality.
