Part II    Psychodynamic Theories50
fei75766_ch02_019-071.indd 50  02/19/20 08:59 AMthefeminine soulis‘What doesawoman want?’ ”(E.Jones, 1955, p.421). Such a
question posed aftermany years oftheorizing suggests thatFreud regarded women 
notonlyasquite different from men, butasenigmas, notcomprehensible tothe
male gender.
Latency Period
Freud believed that,from the4thor5thyearuntilpuberty, bothboysandgirlsusu-
ally,butnotalways, gothrough aperiod ofdormant psychosexual development. This
latency stage isbrought about partly byparents’ attempts topunish ordiscourage 
sexual activity intheiryoung children. Ifparental suppression issuccessful, children 
willrepress theirsexual drive anddirect theirpsychic energy toward school, friend -
ships, hobbies, andother nonsexual activities.
However, thelatency stage mayalsohaveroots inourphylogenetic endow -
ment. Freud (1913/1953, 1926/1951b) suggested thattheOedipus complex andthe
subsequent period ofsexual latency might beexplained bythefollowing hypothesis. 
Early inhuman development, people lived infamilies headed byapowerful father 
whoreserved allsexual relationships tohimself andwhokilled ordrove away his
sons, whom hesawasathreat tohisauthority. Then onedaythesonsjoined together, 
overwhelmed, killed, anddevoured (ate) theirfather. However, thebrothers were
individually tooweak totakeovertheirfather’s heritage, sotheybanded together in
aclanortotem andestablished prohibitions against what theyhadjustdone; thatis,
theyoutlawed bothkilling one’s father andhaving sexual relations withfemale mem -
bersofone’s family. Later, when theybecame fathers, theysuppressed sexual activity 
intheirownchildren whenever itbecame noticeable, probably around 3or4years of
age.When suppression became complete, itledtoaperiod ofsexual latency. After 
thisexperience wasrepeated overaperiod ofmany generations, itbecame anactive 
though unconscious force inanindividual’s psychosexual development. Thus, the
prohibition ofsexual activity ispartofourphylogenetic endowment andneeds no
personal experiences ofpunishment forsexual activities torepress thesexual drive. 
Freud (1926/1951b) merely suggested thishypothesis asonepossible explanation 
forthelatency period, andhewascareful topoint outthatitwasunsupported by
anthropological data.
Continued latency isreinforced through constant suppression byparents and
teachers andbyinternal feelings ofshame, guilt, andmorality. Thesexual drive, of
course, stillexists during latency, butitsaimhasbeen inhibited. Thesublimated libido 
nowshows itself insocial andcultural accomplishments. During thistimechildren 
form groups orcliques, animpossibility during theinfantile period when thesexual 
drive wascompletely autoerotic.
Genital Period
Puberty signals areawakening ofthesexual aimandthebeginning ofthegenital 
period. During puberty, thediphasic sexual lifeofaperson enters asecond stage, 
which hasbasic differences from theinfantile period (Freud, 1923/1961b). First, 
adolescents giveupautoeroticism anddirect theirsexual energy toward another Final PDF to printer