Summary of Freud’s book “Three essays on the theory of sexuality”
In his book titled “Three essays on the theory of sexuality”, Sigmoid Freud develops his theory on sexuality with specific focus on childhood. The book primarily focuses on themes of childhood sexuality, sexual perversions, and puberty. The three articles that the book title is in reference are “The Sexual Aberrations”, “Infantile Sexuality”, and “The Transformations of Puberty” (Williams 25).
In the first essay, the author makes a distinction between a “sexual object” on the one hand and “sexual aim” on the other. He explains that deviations from the norm often happen with respect to both. The author gives a description of sexual object as something that is desired or in other words, the object of sexual desire. Freud explains ‘sexual purpose’ as the acts desired in the sexual object. He reckons that this two are often wrongly confused to mean the same thing. In discussing the aspects of pedophilia and bestiality – the choice of children and animals as one’s sex objects respectively – Freud reckons that a majority of people often associate this sexual perversion with mentally challenged people for “asthetic reasons” while the fact is that these
abnormal sexual tendencies are also possible in ordinary people (Williams 58). The author further discusses the deviations of sexual aims, as in the habit to focus on such preparatory sexual aspects as touching and looking. To this effect he notes that children in puberty spend a great deal of their time striving to attain a sexual identity by exerting dominance over their own genitals. Through two basic concepts of object and instinct, the author argues that the sesual instinct is independent of its object.
Freud also addresses the topic of neurotics by emphasizing that tendencies to every type of sexual pervisions are usuallt common in them in the form of unconscious forces. He explains neurosis as the negative of perversion. The author is also keen to explain that individuals with abnormal behaviors are throughout sexually abnormal while most behaviorally normal people also often exhibit sexually abnormal tendencies.
The author concludes his first article with an argument to the effect that “a disposition to pervision is an original and universal disposition of the human sexual instions and that all kinds of sexual pervisions are only demonstrable in children” (Williams 69).
In his second article, titled “Infantile Sexuality”, Freud makes an argument that children experience sexual urges, which shapes their adult sexuality through psychosexual development. His observations of children led him to identiy a number of infantile sexual emotions which he terms as sexual forces that a child uses for self-soothing. He identifies thumb-sucking as a child’s way of sensual pleasure in an oral phase of development. The author also explains that children experience a “polymorphously perverse disposition”, where instincts centers around such erotogenic zones as the mouth, the anus or getting sexual excitement through vouyerism or exhibiotionism (Williams 69). The author further discusse the “sexual researches of childhood” where boys are curious about their physical differences with girls, while girls develop penis envy. Freud explains that a child undergoes “dysphasic” – quieting down during school-age but rekindling the feeling in puberty. Also the author identifies other forms of infantile sexual emotions that children experience such as autoeroticism, sibling rivalry, being thrown up in the air, rocking horse, “rough housing” play, fear, and love for intellectual work (Smith 19).
In the third essay, titled “The Transformations of Puberty, Freud addresses himself to the changes in males and females during puberty. He makes significant differences between the ‘fore-pleasures’ of infantile sexuality on the one hand, and the ‘end-pleasre’ of sexual intercourse on the other.
Summary of Deleuze’s revision of Freud’s thesis on sadism/masochism
Deleuze starts of his argument by the description of the Sade and Masoch languages. He then goes ahead and discusses the three women, the father, and the mother. He finally discusses the art of Masoch. In the language of Sade and Masoch, Deleuze describes how proper names are associated with diseases. Parkinson and Roger are the names that he has in mind. In The diseases Parkinsonism and Rogers, the patients are named after the diseases; this is the same case with sadism and masochism. According to him, Sade describes more than he demonstrates while Masoch uses description for a higher purpose. This is to say that persuasion and education are the most language used. According to Deleuze, three women exist in masochism. One of the women makes the punishing mother, another one forms the oedipal mother and finally there is the nurturing mum. Hence according to Deleuze, masochism is the growth and changes that is manifested in these mothers. This is to say in other words that the constant revolution of motherhood based on different mothers.
On the other hand, he discusses how a father is trampled in sadism in the father and mother. He argues that a masochist is the one who turns his face away especially from the father. In the book, he also tackles the art of Masoch (Smith 27). On masoch, he argues that humor, irony as well as the law go hand in hand. This is in contrast of the sadistic and masochistic ego. He also gives a description of sadism and masochism as well as their comparison to Sigmoid Freud’s combination of the two. As a combination of sadism and machosism, Deleuze is highly against Sadomachosism. In his revision of Freud’s thesis on sadism/masochism, Deleuze contradicts oidepalism which is a theory that was developed by Freud. He does this by associating the mother especially with the love as well as the object of the masochist. In addition, both the two philosophers argree on some similarities in the sense that they do not put a lot of emphasis on the sexual differences (Williams 71). However, the only notable difference is that Deleuze’s writing is more focused on the male masochists as well as female mistresses.
How Deleuze separates sadism and masochism as different “languages”
The characteristics that exists between sadism and masochism makes Deleuze to seprate them as having been composed of two languages. For instance, he argues that a sadist is a person who basically derives pleasure through acts that inflict pain on others. On the other hand, he describes a masochist as a person who gets the pleasure through inflicting pain to herself or himself. Hence he believes that a masoch is the higher doctor (Smith 30). This is due to the higher grasp especially of internally related signs which they derive. The author states that the symptoms to a sadist are very distinct. In as much as those symptoms might be similar with those of a masochist, they must be separated as being quite disctict. In addition, Deleuze argues that according to him, sadism is the language of the victim. For instance, the infliction of the pain by the Nazi on the Jews. Therefore, the only way to have a deeper understanding of the psychology of the sadist is to have a research on the Nazi and the influence of their actions on the Jews.
How Deleuze undermines the two languages
Deleuze goes ahead and brings to the fore the idea that the masochist is basically a poor copy of the sadist. According to him, it is the sadist that indulges in his own pain. As such, he or she is the slave as well as the master of his own (Williams 73). In addition, Deleuze is concened with the idea that the torturer is the fantasy of a masochist. Hence this can be a good explanation as to why the sadist is said to be an addict of pain. Hence Deleuze tries to pose a question that pertains to the reasons as to why the masochist could be comfortable especially while the two are put in the same room. This is because the sadist would be majorly concerned with the inflicting pain onto the other person and enjoy hurting his victim out of his character. On the other hand, he argues that probably the masochist would not be in a position to get pleasure from being hurt by the sadist (Smith 35). Hence the undermining of the two languages can be well explained by the Deleuze in this sense. In addition, a masochist is seen as one who makes the separation between the reason from violence. He does this by negating the violence as well as disowning it. Consequently, he is able to inflict the pain onto himself as opposed to another person.
Aesthetics of masochism in comparison to sadism
According to Deleuze, there are distinctions between masochism and sadism. This is because whereas sadism thrives in chaos on the other hand, masochism thrives well in an artistic aesthesis. Furthermore, in masochism, the parties engaged employ what Masoch indicated. As such they are actors especially in his movie and thus make masochism both a theatrical moment as well as a reality moment (Smith 48). The other difference lies in the fact that the masochist is first and foremost filled with fantasy which is closely followed by the reality. In contrast, the master is the one in power and in control while the slave has no right in sadism. In masochism performance, the power of the slave is given to the master.
Therefore, in a masochist drama the hero becomes the slave whereas in the sadist drama, the master becomes the hero. a typical view on masochism is given by the Psychoanalysis and it is presented as a disorder as well as a perversion. This disorder and pervasion puts a lot ofd emphasis on the position of the masochist especially in the childhood. According to Berliner, a person whose childhood was characterized by brutality as well as trauma is more likely to exhibit masochism (Smith 54). In addition, he argues that such a person is more likely to be an active troublemaker. Furthermore, theey are especially at the centre of a conflict and that they atrive so much to be the victim. In the modern culture, the by fashion characterizes an aesthetic of masochism. Therefore, the Phallic women are said to occupy the center stage.
Works Cited
Williams, James. Gilles Deleuze’s Logic of Sense: A Critical Introduction and Guide. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008. Print.
Smith, Daniel W. Essays on Deleuze. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2012. Print.
