Propriety of the Erich Fromm Document Center. For personal use only. Citation or publication of mate- rial prohibited without express written permission of the copyright holder. Eigentum des Erich Fromm Dokumentationszentrums. Nutzung nur für persönliche Zwecke. Veröffentli- chungen – auch von Teilen – bedürfen der schriftlichen Erlaubnis des Rechteinhabers. Freud and Castration Carlo Bonomi Paper presented at the Conference Psychoanalysis in the 20th Century Cultural Life, Reichenau, June 17-18, 1995 Copyright © 1995 and 2011 by Dr. Carlo Bonomi, Borgo Pinti 87, I-50121 Firenze, E-Mail: mail[at- symbol]carlobonomi.it. Introduction entities created by triangular speculations in which everybody takes the place of someone The topic of castration represents one of the else. Anatomy is ambiguous and the clitoris pro- most important links between the clinical and vides the illusion of power: thus only through the philosophical side of Freud's work. Freud's castration girls realize the expected passive sub- view of the human being is constantly associated mission, permitting the reality to be what it is. to castration. Primeval barbarism is represented Like in the ancient mystery cults and neo- by the image of the father who castrates the platonic philosophies (see Burkert 1987), also in sons, while civilization is represented by the Freud's vision of the world, the Being is con- ambivalent attenuation and substitution of cas- stantly risking to degenerate in Chaos and only tration by circumcision. In modern society, the castration permits to preserve stability. In circumcised penis, both sacred and damaged, Freud's view castration is, therefore, both the characterizes the essence of the Jew, represent- original trauma and the posthumous ing the mirror for the gentile fear of feminiza- (nachtr’glich) order of the world. Why? tion and dissolution of the evolutionary process. In contemporary psychoanalysis Freud's Castration is emasculation, and emasculation is speculations on castration have lost their original the symbol of defeat and passive submission. If fascination, but no serious attempts to histori- castration is not anatomically defined by Freud, cally research their origin and meaning have it is because the fear of castration is the fear of been made, in spite of the apparent contradic- homosexuality - i.e. the fear of becoming a fe- tions in Freud's „discovery“ of the castration male in relation to another man and, above all, complex. What is commonly thought is, in fact, the man par exellance, the father who appears that this discovery took place only in 1908, as the giant in the eyes of the little child. Thus, if through the „analysis“ of little Hans (Freud castration anxiety can be „fixed“, resulting in a 1908, 1909). However, this also raises the ques- „complex“, it is because of the desire of passive tion how we should understand the many fanta- submission, because of the longing for the father sies and symbols of castration which appear in and the wish of being loved by him. To be Freud's previous works, especially in The Inter- loved by the father is to be assaulted like the pretations of Dreams. Significantly, in Anzieu's mother who looses her penis by her surrender- study of Freud's self-analysis, the term „castra- ing. Rooted in the primal scene,castration anxi- tion“ is indexed 19 times and in Sigmund Freud's ety is a protection against passivity, helping the Dreams by Grinstein, castration's anxiety is child to recognize himself as a male. In fact, a quoted 16 times in reference to seven dreams male is a male not because of anatomy, not be- (Anzieu 1975, Grinstein 1980); but no adequate cause he has a penis, but because he may loose explanations for such an impressive and vast it becoming a female. Females as well are fictive presence have been given. page 1 of 9 Bonomi, C., 1995a Freud and Castration Propriety of the Erich Fromm Document Center. For personal use only. Citation or publication of mate- rial prohibited without express written permission of the copyright holder. Eigentum des Erich Fromm Dokumentationszentrums. Nutzung nur für persönliche Zwecke. Veröffentli- chungen – auch von Teilen – bedürfen der schriftlichen Erlaubnis des Rechteinhabers. In this study I will try to relate the emerging the German pediatrician most representative of of the symbols of castration in Freud's work to the approach claiming the etiological role of the medical practice of castrating hysterical masturbation and seduction in infantile nervous women. As a matter of fact, Freud created psy- disturbances. However, no significant reference choanalysis in a period utmost characterized by was ever made by Freud neither to this specific this medical practice. Nevertheless, he never di- teaching of Baginsky nor to the influence of the rectly referred to this framework, neither in the pediatric circles and ideas. On the contrary, his autobiographical reconstructions of his discovery later reconstructions about his „discovery“ of of sexual etiology, nor in the private letters and child sexuality and sexual etiology were clearly documents published to date, actively building a intended to conceive, through various distor- taboo. However, what is even more astonishing tions and falsifications, the real connections with is the generalized taboo concerning this frame- the medical milieu in which they took shape. work which has characterized the psychoanalytic Why? culture and self-consciousness. In no study has While I was wondering about this behavior, the medical practice of female castration been I became progressively aware that supporting clearly connected to the beginnings of psycho- sexual etiology before Freud's etiological - and analysis, not even after the finding and publica- semantic! - revolution led, nearly unavoidably, tion by Hirschmüller (1978) of the case history to certain therapeutic implications, which were of one of the first patients of Freud, the castra- probably the reason of Freud's reticence. Sexual tion of whom Breuer had tried to oppose. The etiology was in fact conceived within the theo- collective disavowal of this historical context has retical framework of the „reflex neurosis the- been so vast and deep, that it could have para- ory“. According to it, the local inflammations or doxically confirmed Freud's castration anxiety overstimulations of the genital „nerves“ and or- theory had it not been for one, but not insignifi- gans were believed to be responsible for various cant, detail: that the object of castration were nervous disorders and symptoms, which were exclusively women. Therefore, in a previous pa- cured by „eliminating“ their local causes. Before per I have suggested that the taboo of women's puberty this was mainly done by cauterizations castration may be an essential root of the un- and surgical operations on the genital organs conscious dissemination of psychoanalysis in the like circumcision, the amputation or scarification 20th Century. of the clitoris, the cutting of labia minora and similar means. These treatments, which were rather spread in the second half of the nine- 1. Dissection of the pelvis teenth century, were considered as a cure for in- and dissection of the soul1 fantile onanism and hysteria, being recom- mended also whenever a clear „localization“ Freud's pediatric training represents the first was missing (i.e. when inflammations or abnor- connection with surgical treatments of hysteria. malities of the genital organs were not found) Freud worked for ten years (from 1886 to 1896) because of their „psychic“ effect. Such a theory with nervous and hysteric children. This took and treatment were also part of the teaching of place in a period when the onset of hysteria in Adolf Baginsky in the period of Sigmund Freud's children represented a crucial issue in the general paediatric training with him. theory of the disease, even more crucial than Surgical operations were not, however, lim- male hysteria, since it raised the question of ited to children. A new cure for hysterical and sexuality before the biological maturation of the nymphomaniac women, which was called „cas- genital organs. In 1886, immediately after his tration“, began to spread in the same period of studies in Paris, Freud had a short pediatric train- Freud's studies in Paris and Berlin. Around 1886 ing with Adolf Baginsky, who was at that time books, articles and dissertations began to appear with titles such as: Castration in hysteroepilepsy, Cure of hysteria by castration, Cure of moral in- 1 Sources and bibliographic references of this chapter sanity by castration, Castration of the woman, can be found in Bonomi (1994a, 1994b). page 2 of 9 Bonomi, C., 1995a Freud and Castration Propriety of the Erich Fromm Document Center. For personal use only. Citation or publication of mate- rial prohibited without express written permission of the copyright holder. Eigentum des Erich Fromm Dokumentationszentrums. Nutzung nur für persönliche Zwecke. Veröffentli- chungen – auch von Teilen – bedürfen der schriftlichen Erlaubnis des Rechteinhabers. Contributions to the problem of castration, Cas- the castration of hysterical women was pre- tration of woman in nervous diseases, On cas- sented as the most discussed problem of the tration in neurosis, Hysteria cured by castration, time (Merkel 1887). Few years later, in 1892, and so forth (see Bonomi 1994a). Finding such Jolly referred to „the contemporary vain sacri- references was a surprise to me, since in none of fice of a great number of ovaries“ while discuss- the many studies written on hysteria in connec- ing the idea that „hysteria does not come from tion to Freud's first years of practice, the „castra- the uterus“ (Jolly 1892) - a statement which will tion of women“ was even mentioned. Only re- be ambiguously recalled by Freud in his Auto- cently Shorter (1992) made a very detailed re- biographical study (Freud 1925). Finally, in construction of this medical practice2 which, 1896, Kroemer's impressive study Beitrag zur however, is still missing an important linguistic Castrationsfrage (Contribution to the problem point.