"Clinical Observations on the Role of Oral, Anal, and Oedipal in Generating Persistent Penis Envy in Women"

Presenter:  Martin A. Silverman, MD
Discussant:  Lucy Lafarge, MD

This paper focuses on the need to explore the unique, developmental origins of penis envy that persists beyond the mild, temporary, and transient phenomenon that commonly occurs as girls are growing up.  Extensive clinical material is presented that demonstrates how early and persisting narcissistic injuries and traumatic experiences at various levels of early development can lead to significant and lasting penis envy.  Highlighted is a detailed account of the way in which exploration of its genesis, via understanding of its expression within the transference-countertransference transactions, in the analysis of a middle-aged woman, led to its successful resolution.