ABSTRACT
The natural history of the Oedipus complex has been debated since Strachey, editing Freud's paper on its 'dissolution', raised the question of whether such dissolution in fact occurs. Octave Mannoni emphasised the interplay between identification and disidentification as an essential factor in psychic development. His examples indicate, though, that he is mostly concerned with defensive aspects of identification, and with the ongoing need to extricate oneself from counterproductive identifications. This chapter explains that: Identification begins as a functional necessity which helps psychic development forward; it then becomes a constraint from which it is necessary to liberate oneself by a process of disidentification; if this is successful the original identification may be taken up on fresh terms so as to make new creative use of it. Disidentification allows identification to be made use of in a state of freedom. Beethoven's piano sonatas offer one example.
