“Throughout history people have knocked their heads against the riddle of the nature of femininity…to those of you who are women this will not apply to you-you are yourselves the problem.” Sigmund Freud
“There is no such thing as an isolated repetition of isolated experiences; but the entirety of infantile experiences combines to form a certain character structure.” Karen Horney
When looking at all of the contrasting views of women, perhaps the two individuals who differ the most are those of Sigmund Freud and Karen Horney. Freud takes a biological view when analyzing women. In addition, Freud puts great emphasis on sexual processes and how they affect the development of individuals. Horney on the other hand disagrees and “rejects Freud’s insistence on the centrality of the sexual drive in determining human personality” (Horney 245). Horney posits that a person’s character is the result of the individual responding to situations that occur in life (Horney 245). Human development takes place because of the events that occur in an individual’s life and how they respond to those events, whether the events are negative or positive. In this paper, I will contrast Freud and Horney’s views of women and state why Horney gives a relevant and well-founded critique of Freud.
According to Freud, the first thing that a woman does when she meets another human being is to designate that person’s sex; this observation is made by a woman before any other characteristics are acknowledged. Freud believed that men and women are the same only when it comes to their body parts that contribute solely to reproduction. Freud also believes that men and women are equal as far as both sexes having other body parts that contribute to the distinction of the individual as male or female. The standard characteristic of the man is active and the woman passive. The sperm and the egg demonstrate this; the man pursues the woman. Women suppress their aggression because of social expectations and this produces masochistic tendencies in them. Using psychoanalysis, Freud attempts to tell how a woman “develops from a child with a bisexual disposition” (Freud 227).
Since there are two more steps that must be achieved in the development of woman, it is a much more complicated process than that of man. Women must first transfer the focus of their “masturbatory acts” from the clitoris to the vagina. This step is absent in the development of men because their focus remains where it began, on the penis. Also, women start out very early in life with resentment towards their mother. This resentment must be transferred to love for the father when the girl realizes that he has what she is missing, the penis that she desires. These two steps set woman back in development; therefore she is always trying to catch up to the man but is never able to. Horney, on the other hand, put great emphasis on the environment in the development of a person’s character. She encouraged women to look past their femininity and see themselves as humans instead. Horney believed that women have been metaphorically castrated by society and the subjugation they receive from men (Tong 137).
One of the most prominent features of Freud’s theories on women is the concept of penis envy. The girl realizes at a young age that she is missing something that boys her age possess, a penis. According to Freud, the fact that the woman envies the man of his penis shows in her a weakness, a biological and psychological lack. The woman recognizes this lack and attempts to make up for it in different ways throughout the rest of her life. Horney gives several reasons for why penis envy is an unreasonable theory. Even though girls seem to desire to have a penis, there are other things that they desire as well. Little girls also desire to have breasts, which is a strictly feminine possession. Therefore the wish to have a penis does not necessarily mean that every woman desires to be male. Many little girls also display a desire to be a male by acting like a tomboy. However, this activity could have many other causes, such as insecurities or not fitting in with other girls.
In contrast to Freud, Horney believes that external as well as internal processes affect the development of an individual. Horney gives two possible reasons for the justification of the presence of penis envy in women. The first is that women often express certain hostility towards men; often this is displayed in the desire to achieve equal status with men and gain the same amount of success. Second, women often complain about the functions that go along with being a woman, such as menstruation. Horney refutes these justifications and says that what appears to be a desire to be male is simply the woman’s desire for equality in society. In addition, Horney once again criticizes Freud by saying that he puts too great an influence on the subconscious. She believes that these desires are relevant and there is no need for women to push them aside or try to suppress them.
Freud and Horney present contrasting theories about the development as women and. Freud believes that women are negatively affected by the internal desire to have a penis, to be male and Honey thinks that women are more influenced by external forces and the fact that they are subjugated by men. Horney presents a convincing argument when critiquing Freud; she presents an idea that analyses women more fully than Freud’s purely sexual analysis.