ABSTRACT
Freud’s theories about women have proved highly controversial from the earliest days of psychoanalysis. With his insistence on penis envy as the central motivating force in the female’s development and character, he defined femininity entirely in relation to masculinity. Consequently he saw female sexuality in terms of a deficiency as opposed to assigning to it any intrinsic value of its own. Freud believed that as a result of this deficiency women tended to be intellectually handicapped, morally deficient, envious, and vain. They were also more passive and masochistic than men, had weaker sexual drives, and less self-esteem. At the same time, he emphasized the paternal power within the Oedipus complex in a way that neglected to an important extent the influence of the mother’s role in the development of the infant and young child.
