The struggle for dominance in the Oedipus situation

In this chapter the struggle for dominance within the analytic relationship is examined in the context of the Oedipus situation. A proper analytic structure refl ects the different roles that patient and analyst play. These are related to family structures, which are represented in the patient’s internal world. A child’s place in the family is determined by reality factors such as his relative size, strength, and maturity, but his subjective sense of his role is affected by phantasy and can be distorted in particular by grandiose narcissistic illusions or delusions. These phantasies tend to be variations on the classical pattern, where in the child’s phantasy he is encouraged by his mother to adopt the role of her husband and in this way to oust his father. This pattern is illustrated in the material I am going to report.