BULLFIGHT - THE AFICION

Bullfighting, as a spectacle, provides a special frame for projections , externalizations, and identifications. The central appeal of bullfig hting is sadistic gratification, which seems to be of a mostly parrici dal nature. The public experiences intense ambivalence toward the prot agonists of the fight, who exert attraction for the id as well as for the superego. The existence of intrasystemic conflicts is pointed out. The history of bullfighting reflects the evolution of collective comp romise formations between the fulfillment of sadistic drives and super ego sensitivities, as influenced by changing social tolerance. The aut hor reviews the most common rationalizations of the spectators, the se xual prototypes in bullfighting, the manifestations of envy toward the bullfighter, and the public's narcissistic regression due to the gran diose identification with him. Some associations from patients are com mented upon.