Barring a few exceptions, the small boy does not desire his mother sexually nor does the small girl feel erotic at the thought of her father.
That such incestuous desires arise at the time of puberty cannot be doubted. But they are observed mostly in neurotics3 to whom the incestuous situation suggests, as I pointed4 out in the previous chapter, to the boy, food, comfort, the mother's easily won love, to the girl, the protection and the attentions of the strong father. In many cases too, homosexual and incestuous practices among the children in one family mean nothing but the neurotic search for the line of least effort.
[Pg 42]
Freud seeks at times very far fetched explanations for very simple phenomena5 in order to show the sexual motive6 at the bottom of them. He states in his Introduction to Psychoanalysis that a girl may show great affection for a younger sister "as a substitute for the child she vainly wished from the father." The truth is that the older daughter, in her close imitation of her mother, also starts "mothering" a child.
"A boy," Freud states in the same book, "may take his sister as the object of his love to replace his faithless mother." He rather imitates his father and starts to protect and order about a little female of his age, which at times, when both have witnessed the parental7 embraces, may lead to actual incest.
The Incest Fear. Incest is at the present day the form of sexual relation which provokes the most powerful expression of disapproval8 on the part of civilised and uncivilised races alike. In fact the primitive9 races seem obsessed10 by a panicky fear of incest. In many tribes, brothers and sisters are not allowed to meet or speak to each other and, in certain cases, they must even avoid the sight of each other and eschew11 every mention of each other's names.
In the Fiji Islands, where the rules against incest[Pg 43] are especially rigorous, there are, on the other hand, special holidays on which orgies are held in which incest becomes permissible12.
In other words, the natives of those islands, while recognising the irresistible13 nature of the incest temptation and taking all sorts of measures in order to prevent the commission of that sin, supply at stated intervals14 an outlet15 for incestuous cravings.
Innumerable details of primitive legislation separate the son-in-law from the mother-in-law, the father-in-law from his son's bride.
The Basogas of the Upper Nile loathe17 incest to such a degree that they punish it even in animals whenever it can be observed among them.
Incest in Ancient Times. The horror of incest, however, is a relatively18 recent development in human psychology19 and ethics20. The ancient dynasties of Egypt and Peru practiced incest. Incest was indulged in by all the archaic21 gods. The authors of the book of Genesis must have accepted the idea of incest as the sole means of explaining Adam's and Eve's descendants.
The horror of incest which we all feel or pretend to feel, is indeed an acquired feeling. Since every race has adopted stern legal measures to prevent in[Pg 44]cest, it can only be because a desire for incest is one of the cravings which mankind is constantly struggling against.
As Frazer says: "There is no law commanding men to eat and drink or forbidding them to put their hands in the fire. Men eat and drink and keep their hands out of the fire instinctively22."
If men and women avoided incest instinctively no legislation would be needed compelling them to avoid it.
Indeed the confessions23 received by psychoanalysts reveal that the first sexual desires of the young are directed toward children of the opposite sex within the family circle. The many slight or serious indiscretions of an incestuous nature in which neurotic brothers and sisters indulge in infancy24 and childhood are generally "forgotten," that is, repressed, in later years, but analytic25 probing brings a great amount of such repressed material to the surface.
Since neither animals nor human beings experience any natural fear of incest, why is it that all races are officially so afraid of it?
Inbreeding. It cannot be due to the fear of race deterioration26 consequent upon inbreeding. Inbreeding is not necessarily a harmful process of reproduction as East and Jones have shown in their book on[Pg 45] "Inbreeding and Outbreeding." It seems to have, at times, for instance in Athens during the classic age, led to the production of many very superior individuals.
Furthermore the primitive savages27 who punish incest even among domestic animals have no conception of such eugenic28 theories. Some of them, incredible as it may sound, do not even realise the relation of cause to effect which exists between intercourse29 and pregnancy30.
Freud offers an explanation based upon the Darwinian hypothesis of the primal31 horde32 in which the old father kept all the females for himself and drove away the growing sons.
This state of affairs has been observed among herds33 of wild cattle and horses. It generally leads to the killing34 of the oldest bull or stallion by the younger males.
The Primal Horde. Freud assumes that this must have been the usual occurrence in the primal horde. One day the sons joined hands and killed the father.
"Though the brothers had joined forces in order to overcome the father, each was the others' rival among the women. Each one wanted to have them all to himself like the father, and in the fight of each[Pg 46] against the others the new organization would have perished. For there was no longer any one stronger than all the rest who could have successfully assumed the role of the father. Thus there was nothing left for the brothers to do, if they wished to live together, but to erect35 incest prohibitions36, perhaps after many difficult experiments, in the course of which they may all have renounced37 the women whom they desired."
In other words, the incest taboo38 was adopted to assure peace within the family circle, a convenience measure dictated39 by jealousy40.
Repressed Incestuous Feelings may at times drive one into a most objectional form of behavior. A brother who in childhood was too fond of his sister (or vice41 versa) may, from an unconscious desire for self-protection, adopt a hostile attitude to his sister. The more attracted he was to her the more sadistic42 he will appear in later years.
He may even avoid all the women who would in any way suggest his sister and in that way never feel satisfied in love, for the women who cannot possibly suggest to him his sister, lack all the fetishes which would vouchsafe43 him safety and eroticism.
Such a man should be analysed and made to realise the incestuous cravings which he has repressed into his unconscious. His hatred44 would then change into[Pg 47] affection and in his search of a mate he would logically seek the sister image which alone would insure him sexual happiness.
I have reconciled in that way several groups of brothers and sisters who had never been able to get along after puberty, altho most of them had developed a dangerous fondness for each other before puberty.
Repressed sister fixation like repressed mother fixation has been found on several occasions as one of the components45 of homosexualism in the man, father or brother fixation as one of the causes of frigidity46 in the woman.
Blood Relations. Mother or sister fixation is frequently the cause of marriage between blood relations. This sort of union has been unjustly suspected of breeding mental inferiors. We should rather say that it is the mental inferiors who seek their mate within the family circle. Unable to secure the mother or the sister as a mate, they select a woman who has as many of the family traits as possible, that they may feel more secure in her company. If a defective47 child is bred of such unions, it is not due to the close relationship of the parents but to the fact that too often one of the mates was deficient48 physically49 or mentally.
[Pg 48]
In this respect as in many others, self-knowledge and acceptance of one's personality, coupled with a courageous50 understanding of unavoidable biological facts, are the necessary conditions for perfect mental health and freedom.
The man with a mother or sister fixation, the woman with a father or brother fixation should be made aware of it, however slight or severe the fixation may be.
They must be made to realise that incestuous cravings are biological phenomena which for reasons of convenience have been made unlawful but which do not brand the individual experiencing them as a degenerate51 or a vicious person.
They must also be made to realise that their incestuous craving16 may be one of the symptoms of the neurotic search for the line of least effort, knowledge of which weakens the craving to the point of insignificance52.
The individual with a biologically real incestuous fixation should accept it and seek its substitute gratification thru association with a suitable mate presenting in his or her person the fetishes of the loved parent or brother or sister.
The individual whose fixation is purely53 neurotic should be freed of it by analysis and allowed to seek a mate without being inhibited54 by ghosts.
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1
entanglements
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| n.瓜葛( entanglement的名词复数 )；牵连；纠缠；缠住 | |
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neurotic
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| adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者 | |
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3
neurotics
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| n.神经官能症的( neurotic的名词复数 )；神经质的；神经过敏的；极为焦虑的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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7
parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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obsessed
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| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
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eschew
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| v.避开，戒绝 | |
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permissible
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| adj.可允许的，许可的 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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15
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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loathe
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| v.厌恶，嫌恶 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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archaic
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| adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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confessions
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| n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔 | |
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24
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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analytic
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| adj.分析的，用分析方法的 | |
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deterioration
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| n.退化；恶化；变坏 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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eugenic
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| adj.优生的 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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pregnancy
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| n.怀孕，怀孕期 | |
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primal
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| adj.原始的；最重要的 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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34
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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prohibitions
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| 禁令，禁律( prohibition的名词复数 )； 禁酒； 禁例 | |
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37
renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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38
taboo
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| n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止 | |
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39
dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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40
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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41
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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42
sadistic
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| adj.虐待狂的 | |
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43
vouchsafe
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| v.惠予，准许 | |
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44
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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45
components
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| （机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分 | |
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46
frigidity
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| n.寒冷；冷淡；索然无味；（尤指妇女的）性感缺失 | |
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47
defective
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| adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的 | |
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48
deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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49
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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50
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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51
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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52
insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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53
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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54
inhibited
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| a.拘谨的，拘束的 | |
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