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THE INTERNATIONAL
PSYCHO-ANALYTICAL
LIBRARY
EDITED BY ERNEST JONES
No. 3
THE INTERNATIONAL PSYCHO-ANALYTICAL LIBRARY
No. 3
THE
PSYCHO-ANALYTIC STUDY
OF THE FAMILY
BY
J. C. FLÜGEL B. A.
Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Psychology,
University College, London. Sometime John Locke Scholar in Mental
Philosophy in the University of Oxford. Honorary Secretary of the
International Psycho-Analytical Association.
THE INTERNATIONAL PSYCHO-ANALYTICAL PRESS
LONDON VIENNA NEW YORK
1921
COPYRIGHT 1921
PRINTED BY
THE SOCIETY FOR GRAPHIC INDUSTRY
VIENNA III
I refer to those appetites which bestir themselves in sleep; when,
during the slumbers of that other part of the soul, which is
rational and tamed and master of the former, the wild animal part,
sated with meat and drink, becomes rampant, and pushing sleep away,
endeavours to set out after the gratification of its own proper
character. You know that in such moments there is nothing that it
dares not do, released and delivered as it is from any sense of
shame and reflection. It does not shrink from attempting in fancy
unholy intercourse with a mother, or with any man or deity or animal
whatever; and it does not hesitate to commit the foulest murder, or
to indulge itself in the most defiling meats. In one word, there is
no limit either to its folly or its audacity.
PLATO, "Republic," Book IX.
* * * * *
Man, forsooth, prides himself on his consciousness! We boast that we
differ from the winds and waves and falling stones and plants, which
grow they know not why, and from the wandering creatures which go up
and down after their prey, as we are pleased to say without the help
of reason. We know so well what we are doing ourselves and why we do
it, do we not? I fancy that there is some truth in the view which is
being put forward nowadays, that it is our less conscious thoughts
and our less conscious actions, which mainly mould our lives and the
lives of those who spring from us.
SAMUEL BUTLER, "The Way of All Flesh,"
Chapter III.
PREFACE
The circumstances that have led to the production of this little book are,
I think, sufficiently explained in the introductory chapter; there is,
therefore, no need to dwell upon them here. It is only necessary perhaps
to warn the reader that he will find in what follows but little that
is original. With the exception of small contributions and suggestions
upon special points, in the last few chapters alone does there exist
anything that has not already found a place in the literature dealing with
the subject; and probably it will be the earlier rather than the later
portions of the book that will most often be consulted. Nevertheless,
a work of compilation, such as the present for the most part aims at
being, may have its justification and a certain sphere of usefulness;
especially so perhaps in the present case, since a certain proportion
of the original papers to which reference is here made is contained in
books and periodicals that have at no time been readily accessible to the
English-speaking public and were for some years practically unobtainable.
The reader may possibly experience some surprise and disappointment at
finding that, while the relations between parents and children and between
brothers and sisters come in for much attention, those between husband
and wife (which will probably be regarded as equally fundamental to any
consideration of the psychology of the family) are but lightly touched
upon. That this is the case is merely a consequence of the lines along
which psycho-analytic knowledge has for the most part advanced. It is
perhaps less to be regretted than would at first appear: for in the first
place, the amount of consideration given to the marriage relationship has
been fairly generous during recent years, while the relations between
parents and children and among the junior members of the same family,
have been relatively neglected: in the second place, the study of the two
last named, chronologically earlier, relationships (and especially the
filio-parental one) is--as will be seen--capable of throwing considerable
light upon the subsequent marital relationship; it would seem probable
indeed that a thorough understanding of the problems of love, sex, and
marriage cannot be attained without a preliminary knowledge of the nature
of the psychic bonds that unite parent and child--a knowledge that
psychology is only now beginning to afford.
On the other hand, I feel a very genuine regret that I have been unable
to include some discussion of the problems connected with the _size_ of
families. These problems are, I am convinced, of the greatest importance.
At a moment like the present when large portions of the human race are
suffering from a shortage of the very necessities of existence the
question of family limitation, in particular, becomes one that is of
enormous, one might almost say of paramount, urgency. Nevertheless, the
treatment of this question from the psychological, as distinct from the
ethical, sociological or economic standpoint, has as yet been so slight
and fragmentary, as to make a full consideration of the question scarcely
suitable to a volume of expository character; and I have thought it
better to omit the subject almost altogether than to deal with it in a
manner that would be either inadequate and superficial or else manifestly
inappropriate[1].
I am of course aware that much with which we have here to deal makes
far from pleasant reading. The unpleasantness arises mainly from the
fact that, in the pursuit of our present purpose, we are chiefly brought
into contact with the unconscious and more primitive aspects of the mind
rather than with the more recently acquired and more morally edifying
aspects. But those who realise the importance, for human welfare and
progress, of a true understanding of our mental nature, should no more
be deterred from the consideration of unpleasant aspects of the mind,
than should the student of economics neglect to take account of poverty
or the student of hygiene turn away from the contemplation of disease.
From personal observation and experience, as well as from more theoretical
considerations, I have acquired a deep conviction of the significance
of those aspects of the human mind with which we are here concerned.
It is principally because I am assured that a wider realisation and a
deeper study of these aspects--both by the student of the mind and by the
ordinary reading public--will contribute in very considerable measure
to the solution of many of the most important moral and social problems
with which humanity is faced, that I have ventured to embark upon the
following, I fear very inadequate, presentation of our knowledge on the
subject.
It only remains for me to express my sincere thanks to those who have
assisted me in one way or another; particularly to Dr. Ernest Jones who
was the first to interest me in the work of Freud and his followers, and
without whose personal help in more than one direction, the present pages
could not have been written. I am also deeply indebted to Mr. Cyril Burt
for many valuable criticisms and suggestions, to Mr. Edward de Maries
for several interesting comments on the subject matter of the last few
chapters, to Mr. Eric Hiller for assistance in seeing the work through the
press, and to my wife for help in a variety of ways throughout the work.
J. C. F.
Wood End Lodge,
Raydale, Yorks.
August 1, 1921.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: I have recently attempted elsewhere a preliminary treatment
of this question. See "On the Biological Basis of Sexual Repression and
its Sociological Significance", _British Journal of Psychology_ (_Medical
Section_), 1921, Vol. I, Part 3.]
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE v
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTORY 1
II. THE PRIMITIVE EMOTIONS IN RELATION TO THE FAMILY 6
III. THE ORIGIN OF CONFLICT IN RELATION TO THE FAMILY 21
IV. THE FAMILY AND THE LIFE TASK OF THE INDIVIDUAL--FREUD
AND JUNG 31
V. THE FAMILY AND THE GROWTH OF INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY 40
VI. ABNORMALITIES AND VARIETIES OF DEVELOPMENT--LOVE AND HATE 48
VII. ABNORMALITIES AND VARIETIES OF DEVELOPMENT--DEPENDENCE
ASPECTS 61
VIII. IDEAS OF BIRTH AND PRE-NATAL LIFE 66
IX. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INITIATION AND INITIATION RITES 79
X. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PARENT SUBSTITUTES 88
XI. FAMILY INFLUENCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOVE LIFE 102
XII. FAMILY INFLUENCES IN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 117
XIII. FAMILY INFLUENCES IN RELIGION 133
XIV. THE ATTITUDE OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN 156
XV. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAMILY TENDENCIES--HATE
ASPECTS 175
XVI. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAMILY TENDENCIES--LOVE
ASPECTS 184
XVII. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAMILY TENDENCIES--THE
REPRESSION OF LOVE 200
XVIII. ETHICAL AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS--LOVE AND HATE
ASPECTS 217
XIX. ETHICAL AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS--DEPENDENCE ASPECTS 230
INDEX 243
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
[Sidenote: The needs of social reconstruction]
There is now some very general measure of agreement that if humanity is
to escape the fate of having passed through the ordeal of world-wide
war in vain, the recent era of destruction must be followed by a period
of reconstruction and reorganisation, in which many of our systems,
institutions, customs and beliefs must be tested, and where necessary
refashioned, in the light of our changed ideals and points of view and
of the widened experience of human needs and possibilities which our
existence through these years of conflict has brought us.
[Sidenote: Science and reconstruction]
The degree of success attained by any such attempt at readjustment
on a large scale to changed standards and conditions, must to a very
considerable extent depend upon the advance that is achieved by, and
the application that is made of, the various branches of science
dealing with the phenomena of human life in all its aspects. Biology,
physiology, medicine, hygiene, economics, politics, law and education
must all contribute their share to the solution of the great problem of
reconstituting human society upon a satisfactory peace footing. Above
all perhaps, it is to the science of the human mind that we should
most naturally turn for enlightenment in dealing with many of the most
important aspects of this problem.
[Sidenote: The present status of Psychology]
Unfortunately it so happens that Psychology is among the youngest of
the sciences; its state of development, in comparison with that of
many other disciplines, is as yet in no wise commensurate with the
relative importance for human welfare of the problems with which it is
concerned. Conscious of this disproportion between our present knowledge
and the weight of the matters that are at stake in any application of
psychological theory to practical affairs, many leading psychologists
have preferred to postpone any attempt at such application until the more
important results of recent research, many of which are still matter for
controversy, shall have been firmly established upon a wider and more
unassailable foundation.
[Sidenote: The application of Psychology to practical problems]
Perhaps as a consequence of this attitude (praiseworthy no doubt in
itself), and of its effects--direct and indirect--upon psychological
outlook and procedure, there exists at the present time a fairly
widespread notion that Psychology is largely a matter of empty
speculations or trivial technicalities, "a happy refuge for the lazy
industry of pedants[2]," as a well known author has recently called it,
with little or no bearing upon the larger problems of human life and
conduct. It would appear, however, that the war--with its urgent call
for immediate practical action--may have proved the means of inducing
psychologists to adopt a less academic attitude in the pursuit of their
science; of compelling them to carry out a stocktaking of the results
already achieved with a view to ascertaining which, if any, are of a
nature to throw light upon the actual problems of the time, and to work
out in detail the application of psychological principles to these
problems in all cases where such application promises to be of importance.
Thus, immediately following upon the entrance of the United States into
the war, the psychological resources of that country were mobilised by
the American Psychological Association with a view to the immediate
investigation of urgent questions affecting the conduct of the war.
Under a central committee there were constituted no less than twelve
subcommittees, each in charge of a special field and each acting under the
chairmanship of a psychologist of special eminence in that field. Previous
to this there had already been formed in this country a War Research
Committee of the Psychological Subsection of the British Association to
deal with problems of practical and theoretical importance connected
with, or arising out of, the war. Assistance on a considerable scale in a
variety of matters of direct military importance has also been rendered by
several of the psychological laboratories attached to the Universities of
the United Kingdom.
[Sidenote: Medical Applications of Psychology]
[Sidenote: War-shock]
It is perhaps, however, more especially on the medical side that the
question of the utilisation of psychological knowledge for practical
purposes has been brought into prominence by the war. The very large
number of soldiers and civilians suffering from war-shock in its various
forms has emphasised the need for psychological treatment of the
functional nervous disorders; and has drawn further attention to the
various methods of treatment by suggestion, re-education, psycho-analysis
and other psycho-therapeutic measures, which even before the war were
beginning to attract widespread interest. The work that had been done
by these methods before the war had indicated that there existed a very
considerable prevalence of nervous troubles even among those who were
apparently subjected to no abnormally high degree of mental strain. The
examination of many cases of war neuroses has shown that there is little
if any qualitative difference between the case of those who break down
under the abnormal pressure of war conditions and the case of those who
are unable to stand even the relatively mild stresses and difficulties
incidental to a time of peace. All persons are, it would appear, liable to
suffer nervous breakdown if subjected to emotional strain beyond a certain
limit; this limit varying, however, very considerably from one individual
to another. Modern war increases to some degree the strain to be borne
by almost everyone, the increase being very great in the case of those
actually engaged in fighting; as a consequence the limit is passed, and
some form of nervous disability or breakdown occurs in a large number of
persons who would have remained unaffected during peace.
[Sidenote: Psychic integration]
[Sidenote: Importance of correct mental development]
The amount of strain that can be actually borne with impunity by any
individual is no doubt dependent upon a considerable number of complex
conditions. Recent research has shown that among the _psychological_
conditions one of quite special importance is constituted by the general
state of integration of the motive forces of the mind. A person whose
instincts and impulses are co-ordinated sufficiently to maintain,
as regards all the leading aspects of life, a relatively harmonious
functioning of the whole personality, can preserve mental health in
circumstances under which a less integrated mind would fail, owing to the
waste of energy occasioned by the internal struggles of the conflicting
tendencies and emotions aroused in situations of difficulty or danger.
The attainment of the desirable degree of mental integration is itself
very largely dependent upon a process of successful mental growth and
development, in the course of which the conflicting tendencies and motives
(of which the mind is so largely made up) so modify and mould each other
as to permit of the proper discharge of psychical energy along all
suitable channels without undue friction or inhibition. Great importance
attaches, therefore, from the point of view of mental efficiency and
stability in adult life, to the influences which control the development
of the conative trends during childhood and adolescence.
[Sidenote: Family influences]
It is to the consideration of one of the most potent of these influences
that the present pages are devoted. Even on a superficial view it is
fairly obvious that, under existing social conditions the psychological
atmosphere of the home life with the complex emotions and sentiments
aroused by, and dependent on, the various family relationships must
exercise a very considerable effect on human character and development.
Recent advances in the study of human conduct indicate that this effect
is even greater than has been generally supposed: it would seem that, in
adopting his attitude towards the members of his family circle, a child
is at the same time determining to a large extent some of the principal
aspects of his relations to his fellow men in general; and that an
individual's outlook and point of view in dealing with many of the most
important questions of human existence can be expressed in terms of the
position he has taken up with regard to the problems and difficulties
arising within the relatively narrow world of the family.
[Sidenote: their importance, difficulty, and complexity]
Besides showing the importance for mental development of the problems
connected with family life, modern psychological research has also
revealed something of the nature of these problems. It is true that
of the results obtained in this field there are as yet few, if any,
which can be regarded as definitely settled; many, no doubt, will, in
the light of future work, be seen to require more or less extensive
revision, qualification or addition; some perhaps may have to be rejected
altogether. Nevertheless it would appear that, as a consequence of the
work already done, certain main principles at least have emerged so
clearly as to justify, if not indeed to demand, the serious attention
of all those who, at this critical period of human history, have to
deal directly or indirectly with questions affecting family life in one
or more of its numerous aspects. The sociologist, the moralist, the
spiritual adviser, the teacher, the family physician and the parent are
all intimately concerned with such questions; and it is primarily with
the needs of such as these in view that the present brief exposition of
the subject has been undertaken. After what has been already said, it is
perhaps unnecessary to offer any further warning against accepting all
the results of psychological investigation which are here set forth as
claiming equal validity or as being equally capable of generalisation
or application on a large scale. No dogmatic enunciation of facts or
principles is here attempted or desired, even where, owing to the
endeavour to avoid entering upon the discussion of matters too intricate
or controversial to fall within the scope of our present treatment,
the statements may possibly appear somewhat dogmatic in form. Our aim
is rather to produce a more widespread realisation of the immense and
far-reaching significance of the psychological problems connected with
family life; to indicate some of the ways in which psychological knowledge
has thrown light upon the solutions of these problems; and perhaps, by
these means, to be of some assistance to that very large class of persons
who, at one time or another during their lives, find themselves compelled
to deal with such problems--whether as entering into their own lives, as
affecting others for whom they are responsible, or as forming part of
larger questions, social, religious, medical or pedagogic, in which they
have an interest. To those who have once realised the complexity, the
obscurity, and above all the tremendous intensity of the psychic factors
entering into these problems, there can be little doubt that in so far as
Psychology is able to afford some reasonably sure guidance as to their
solution, it will have achieved one of the most successful and valuable of
all applications of science to social and ethical phenomena. The time for
such application on a large scale has not yet come. But the progress that
has been already made would seem to indicate that the expectation of some
very real assistance in these matters from the science of Psychology is no
longer hopeless.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 2: H. G. Wells, "The Passionate Friends", 195.]