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The authors note that Freud's clinical struggle with the sadomasochism of his patients led directly to his theory of the superego, which in turn affected his ideas on sadomasochism. The authors use their dual-track model of two systems of self-regulation-the "closed," sadomasochistic, omnipotent system and the "open," competent, loving, reality-attuned system-to trace the origins, development, and functions of the "closed" and "open" superego. They suggest that the application of this model will help restore the importance of the superego in psychoanalytic theory and technique, and they provide clinical illustrations from the analysis of an older adult.
THE EDITOR OF THIS ISSUE OF PSYCHOANALYTIC INQUIRY NOTES THE decline in use of the superego concept in psychoanalytic technical and theoretical discussions. This is our impression also. We wonder why a concept so central to the history of psychoanalytic theory and techniques now seems to be considered irrelevant.
Vagaries of the Superego Concept
Although Freud's explicit shift from the topographic to the structural model did not occur until 1923, with The Ego and the Id, he found a superego concept necessary from the beginning of his work. In his early paper on defense (1894) and in his studies on hysteria (Breuer and Freud, 1895), he referred repeatedly to the emergence of "incompatible ideas," which were followed by "lively self-reproaches." This was because, as in the case of Elisabeth von R and many others, the erotic ideas "came into conflict with all her moral ideas" (Breuer and Freud, 1895, p. 164). There, in a simpler form, is the basis for Freud's later tripartite model of a fundamental conflict between id wishes, superego demands, and the ego's attempt ("active ego") to find a compromise solution between these warring parties. By the time he formulated the role of the superego in the structural model, the concept had become much more complex, interwoven with a deeper understanding of ideas about aggression, narcissism, mourning, the ego ideal, and so forth. Anna Freud (1936) made an important dimension explicit when she noted that the superego is an expression of conflict and a function of conflict-that the superego is indistinguishable from the ego until a conflict arises. Thus, examination of how conflicts arise and how they are resolved becomes central to understanding the functioning...