Sexual aberrations : the phenomena of fetishism in relation to sex / Wilhelm Stekel ; authorized English version from the first German edition by S. Parker.

  • Stekel, Wilhelm, 1868-1940.
Date:
1953
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: Sexual aberrations : the phenomena of fetishism in relation to sex / Wilhelm Stekel ; authorized English version from the first German edition by S. Parker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    own sexual expression plenty of elbow room. But the antith- eses rub against each other here just as in every other form of compromise. But these are closely bound and unified. That is why we must not be astonished to find the paraphilia and re- ligion occupying the same mind, being expressed in a single symptom. Fetishism unites heaven and hell, the high and the low, the past and the future, but it also indicates the regression and the progression, the final tendency of asceticism and the neglect of the present as well as all teleological trends. In this sense, the fetishism is a curative tendency. Indeed, for the patient it signifies a protection against their own sadistic trends. It is pleasure and pain in one. They all feel them- selves to be the martyrs of their own instincts. They seem to sacrifice as much as they enjoy. The symbol of their martyr- dom is Christ who saved the souls of men through his own death. I am, however, convinced that still other identifications with the martyrs occur in such cases. That shows us how potent the guilt feelings of these patients are. We have already emphasized the relations between sadism and fetishism in this book. The cruelty which was originally projected outwards is later turned upon the individual's own personality. The recognition of this aggressiveness, the introspective knowledge of his own inimical attitudes towards society, the fact of his asocial-autistic tendency leads the parapathic to the formation of his guilt consciousness as the most biting expres- sion of his conscience. Primitive man had no conscience. He knew no other guilt but that towards himself. It was only after the formation of social units that conscience arose as a measure of social protection. Conscience was originally anti- conscience—a knowledge of the imperatives of the external world which are directed against our striving for pleasure. The guardians of the law which protect society against the in- dividual were originally individuals. The king or chief was also the judge and executioner. Since, however, the chief could not have a knowledge of all transgressions, he had to have help in his name. The law is directed against all asocial tend- encies. A second, a higher judge, was erected: divinity. God is omnipotent and all-seeing. There is no hiding and no flee- ing from His justice. The fact that asocial creatures might