The Deep of Tartarus–The Notion of the Feminine in Freud

Abstract

Gondar J. de O. The Deep of Tartarus–The Notion of Feminine in Freud. Int Forum Psychoanal 1992;1:169-174. Stockholm. ISSN 0803-706X

There are two ways of exploring the notion of the feminine in Freud's works. The first is by studying the articles dedicated to sexuality, which focus directly on the notion. The other is by studying his works on culture. In these articles Freud links the feminine to the forces of Nature, Death, and fate, opposed to the mechanisms that rule culture. He describes how civilization tries to defend itself from these feminine forces in all his cultural texts. These works can help us to get in touch with a dimension of femininity only suggested in the articles explicitly dealing with sexuality. This conception of femininity as the menace of culture is ancient: we can find it in Greek mythology. In my paper I underline the similarities between mythical thought and Freud's cultural analysis.