(1958). Psychoanalytic Review. XLIV, 1957: Oedipus and the Sphinx. T. Thass-Thienemann. Pp. 10-33.. Psychoanal Q., 27:287..

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Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing:[' Psychoanalytic Review. XLIV, 1957: ', 'Oedipus and the Sphinx.', ' T. Thass-Thienemann. Pp. 10-33.']

(1958). Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 27:287-288

Psychoanalytic Review. XLIV, 1957: Oedipus and the Sphinx. T. Thass-Thienemann. Pp. 10-33.

The Sphinx differs from other treasure-guarding monsters: her treasure was


WARNING! This text is printed for the personal use of the subscriber to PEP Web and is copyright to the Journal in which it originally appeared. It is illegal to copy, distribute or circulate it in any form whatsoever.
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not material wealth but knowledge, the secret of the sexual riddle. While treasure seekers killed other dragons, the Sphinx, defeated by insight and knowledge, killed herself 'when her secret is broken in time of sexual maturation'. The primary anxiety connected with the sexual riddle shapes the pattern of all subsequent anxiety arising from the unknown. The author believes that the unveiling of the riddle, the acquisition of the hidden treasure, is ultimately detrimental for man: '… a curse lies upon this knowledge', the dragon-killer ultimately falling victim to his victory over unconscious fantasies. Oedipus 'personifies the final defeat of the conscious self-evident thinking and the victory of the Sphinx, of the psychic forces which are hidden in the unknown and the unconscious of the own self'.


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Article Citation [Who Cited This?]

(1958). Psychoanalytic Review. XLIV, 1957. Psychoanal Q., 27:287-288
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WARNING! This text is printed for the personal use of the subscriber to PEP Web and is copyright to the Journal in which it originally appeared. It is illegal to copy, distribute or circulate it in any form whatsoever.