The empty mother: Women's fear of their destructive envy

This paper explains the importance of understanding the little girl's envy of her mother and how the resolution of this envy (and her fear of other wo men's envy) is crucial to a woman's development. I postulate that envy is a universal part of female development (with more or less destructive effect s on a woman's personality, depending on the libidinal/sexual components of her attachment to both parents). I hope to show that by interpreting a wom an's fear of her destructive envy, one can free her not only to enjoy her o wn sexuality and to find appropriate ways to express her aggression, but al so to be more creative. I believe that guilt about these envious feelings o ften leads to profound inhibitions and masochistic behavior. Two clinical examples illustrate how envy manifests itself in treatment wit h a woman analyst, and how the working through of intense envious feelings bads to a greater ability to enjoy one's own capacities without constant fe ar of retribution.