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A FORM OF DEFENCE 1
BY
SIGMUND PFEIFER
BUDAPEST
Freud mentions in Hem-mung, Symptom und Angst that before the
sharp delimitation between the ego and id takes place forms of defence
will be found which differ from those that appear after this stage
has been reached. In my opinion he supported this assertion by an
example when he spoke 2 of the conversion of the death instinct into
sadism and masochism by fusion with the life instincts. Perhaps we
shall not be unduly extending the idea if we include this process under
the concept of defence and consider it as a defence against an instinct
-here, the death instinct-by the process of fusion. The opposite
kind- of defence would be effected by defusion of instincts, a process
which, according to Freud, takes place in regression to the sadistic
stage. Possibly the first kind of defence is the more primitive and
present, as such, before development of the ego. The ability to bind
the death instinct by libido, once acquired, is never lost; it operates
in various ways, from the healing of wounds to the incorporation of
neurotic symptoms into the structure of the ego and is always accom-
panied by the tendency to convert pain into pleasure.
The prototype of all this is, of course, masochism, and it is no
accident that" the cases I have in mind either practise this perversion
or show traits more or less characteristic of it. Specially striking was
the effect of this kind of defence, to be described below, in peculiar
chronic neurotic conditions which owed their existence to the pre-
dominance of this mechanism. In these one could observe a chronic
state of erotic excitation which was not allowed to be disturbed.
During such conditions masochistic erotic phantasies were continually
being formed, or else actions constituting a substitute for onanism and
representing erection were carried out, often by the strangest muscular
activity. The symptoms obviously provided a narcissistic-erotic
gratification, as was also evidenced by the more or less ecstatic condi-
tion which accompanied them.
The. symptoms could also be described as a copious return of the
repressed· libido; but neither of these descriptions explains the

1 Read. before the Eleventh International Psycho-Analytical Con-

~ess, Oxford, July, 1929.
J • The Economic Problem of Masochism " Collected Papers, Vol. II.

49 2
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A FORM OF DEFENCE 493

peculiar permanence nor the special combination of these symptoms.

One received the impression that the continuous production of the
symptoms was necessitated by a deeply-rooted anxiety which was
first of all easily recognized as castration-anxiety; in fact this formed,
in one case, the conscious content of the masochistic phantasy. Later
investigation, however, showed this anxiety to be not only fear of loss
of the penis, but also fear of the possibility of never more being able
to achieve the sensations of erotic excitation. Castration-anxiety was,
in one case, strongly coloured by the fear, expressed by the patient,
of for ever losing the power to masturbate if he gave up the practice
for a time. To emphasize the difference, I may mention that in these
cases the attainment of erotic excitation at will was the goal sought,
not merely the possibility of release of psychic tensions.
The libidinal activities mentioned were carried out with this inten-
tion and so we are faced with the phenomenon of libido being employed
as a defence against anxiety. Undoubtedly we are here dealing with
a castration-anxiety which had extended its ground by following the
object-libido into its narcissistic regression and thereby-to express
the matter metapsychologically-appropriating part of the narcissistic
libido, the continuous existence of which may be necessary to hold the
balance between the life and death instincts.
But with this form of defence too much libido comes into the
symptom. How is this to be explained?
No doubt every one of us has seen several cases in which similar
phenomena were to be observed. People who suffer from great anxiety
are able to escape from it by inducing erotic excitation; some
masturbate, while others can make use of pornographic books, etc.
It seems to me that this stands in opposition to the usual defence-
technique, in which libido is guarded against because of the develop-
ment of anxiety. As was mentioned at first, the opposite path-the
binding of anxiety by an access of libido-is open. One is almost
forced to the opinion that it may, after all, be a re-conversion of
anxiety into. libido in the economic sense. The neurotic condition
described is, however, not identical with an anxiety-neurosis which
is cured when the sexual restraint is relaxed and discharge of libido
obtained. Here the anxiety did not cease, but remained hidden all
the time behind the narcissistic satisfaction, making its appearance
when the latter was withheld. We have here a fusion of anxiety and
libido which certainly imitates the many amalgamations of the uie
and death instincts.
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494 SIGMUND PFEIFER

According to Freud's later conception, anxiety is itself a derivative

of the death instinct and constitutes in itself a danger, or the hallu-
cinatory recollection of one. It is also in effect a turning of the death
instinct against the ego and so, after the manner of the secondary
gain by illness (as Ferenczi fittingly describes it), is employed as a
signal on the appearance of internal or external danger. I need not
specially emphasize the fact that anxiety may have libidinal com-
ponents also.
The peculiarity in the psychical reaction to anxiety in the cases
mentioned consists in the fact that the anxiety was not used as a signal
for the introduction of defence but was regarded as in itself a danger
and treated in the archaic manner by amalgamation with libido.
The consequence of this process is that anxiety, as if bribed by libido
(to use a phrase of Alexander's in the opposite sense), no longer plays
its part of safeguarding against instinct; so that libidinal components,
which in other forms of neurosis would suffer repression, obtain access
to the Cs.
These psychical formations, therefore, present a picture neither of
hysteria nor of obsessional neurosis, but rather of perversion which,
nowadays more than formerly, is itself considered to be a symptom.
Or, holding to the concept of a neurotic symptom, we may speak of
one showingexcessive return of the repressed. The describedcondition
-anxiety producing the maintenance of narcissistic excitation, and
avoidance of anxiety by its amalgamation with narcissistic libido-
corresponds to both conceptions. We cannot suggest why these
people, and especially masochists, show such excessive sensitiveness
that they cannot endure anxiety even for the short time necessary for
the formation of a neurotic defence. Perhaps the cause lies in a
heightened primary narcissism. This narcissism might be regarded
as a reaction against a special tendency to defusion of instinct.s These
persons insure themselvesagainst a trauma which continually threatens
them; they are therefore always in a pre-traumatic state. In the
language of metapsychology, they can tolerate no unbound traumatic
excitation and must, therefore, in the sense of Beyond the Pleasure
Principle, constantly have at call considerable quantities of libidinal
excitation in order to be able to bind traumatic disturbances. Such
persons heighten their narcissistic cathexis prophylactically as if

• Compare the heightened response to stimuli shown by narcissistic

persons who are not introverted.
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A FORM OF DEFENCE 495

always preparing for an overwhelming trauma. This trauma is iden-
tical with the threat of castration but, in my opinion, with a very
primitive form of it: the threat of extinction of all libidinal attach-
ments, including even the narcissistic. I will not here attempt to
decide whether this condition is identical with the aphanisis 4 described
by Jones: the latter appears to relate rather to object-cathexis.
But I wish to emphasize the point that there are conditions in the
deeper layers of the psyche in which the latter fears, not the accumula-
tion of excitation, but its loss, and desires to preserve permanently a
certain quantity of fundamental narcissistic excitation which has been
heightened in preparation for traumas. The kind of defence described
above seems to be generally connected with the particular danger in
which anxiety itself constitutes the trauma, to be healed by opposing
to it an increased libido-cathexis, as in the healing of wounds described
by Ferenczi. The binding of the death instinct in primal masochism
may serve as its prototype: the binding of anxiety by libido might
be regarded as a later phase.
The neurosis resulting from the outcome of the ffidipus conflict in
these cases also often shows a similar structure, especially in its upper
layers. For example, I found in the masochistic phantasies--to quote
only one of the cases-that the threatening mother finally revealed
herself as the boy's saviour. Consequently the masochistic neurosis
appeared as an enormous effort to change the already-formed negative
CEdipus attitude toward the wicked mother (who was also in reality
very harsh and sadistically aggressive) into a positive attitude, in-
volving the conquest of the father and-which is the important thing-
a loving and tender mother. In principle this also is a defence by
libido against the danger of castration threatened by the mother.
So we see that an extending ripple of this, let us say, masochistic
defence-mechanism is to be perceived also on the object-level. Its
actual field of operation is, however, that of narcissism: the binding
of anxiety by auto-erotic means. The result is slight symptom-
formation with surplus libido, in which a marked return of the repressed
together with perversion-like formations may be observed. The
symptoms frequently exhibit a chronic character which I formerly
attributed to the low level of development of the libidinal instincts
which form the symptoms. Now I would complete that view by

4 • The Early Development of Female Sexuality '. This JOURNAL,

Vol. VII, I927.

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496 SIGMUND PFEIFER

saying that the kind of defence described above forms an essential
part of them. It seems to me probable that more narcissism and
auto-erotism make their appearance in the chronic symptoms-even
when these are due to regression-than in those which, under pressure
of repression, temporarily show themselves more on the genitalleveI.
On the basis of these observations we can erect the hypothesis that
there are here two kinds of dangers to be warded off: (1) the increase
of libidinal excitation above a normal amount in the psychic apparatus,
e.g. the well-known castration danger, and (2) the diminution of excita-
tion which, in itself, constitutes only a relative danger. The latter
would be comparable with a pre-traumatic condition which lacks
sufficient mobilizable bound excitation to bind traumatic effects or
expressions of the death instinct. That is the metapsychological
meaning of the defence-mechanism we are discussing. Biologically the
mechanism may be compared with the libido-mechanism of wound-
healing described by Ferenczi, in which, after the partial death of an
area, a high measure of unbound excitation arises in it and healing
proceeds by an access of libido. The psychological meaning, however,
is that such persons' endangered from within' always need an in-
creased supply of libido, i.e. they must love themselves immoderately
or be loved by others in order to feel relatively safe in life. That this
is not without biological grounds is shown in the case of children, who
possess, as Ferenczi has shown recently, a strong, largely unbound,
death instinct which is not yet fused, i.e. not yet organized. They
need much love, we can even say much erotic excitation, in order to
be kept alive. In their case love-stimuli are life-stimuli; if they do
not receive these they die. Others, too, experience conditions which a
Viennese writer, Peter AItenberg, has appropriately described as a
, general strike of all pleasurable feelings'; such a state would be
synonymous with death.
One word about the therapeutic methods which can be employed
in the cases described. Experience and reflection both suggest that
the cure of such pre-neuroses first involves their conversion during
analysis into anxiety-neuroses.
The object of this contribution is to derive certain theoretical
points of view from analytical practice. It is an attempt to apply the
theory of the fusion and defusion of death and life instincts to the
problems of anxiety and defence, or any rate to prepare the way for
some such application.
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