Sir, - Kevin Myers's claim that Freud attributed his patients' allegations of child abuse to sexual fantasies (April 15th) cries out for qualification. Sexual fantasies were presented by Freud as a central element of infantile sexual development. He argued, for instance, that the onset of what he came to term the Oedipus complex in infant girls is characterised in part by fantasies in which the father appears as sexual seducer. Infantile sexual impulses may occur independently of any external influence; indeed, Freud maintained that the very general occurrence of certain fantasies indicated that they must be to a great extent independent of individual experience.
At the same time, Freud stated that actual seduction of the child by another was not uncommon and that, where it occurred, it inevitably disturbed the natural course of development (as he conceived of it), leading to extensive and lasting consequences. - Yours, etc.,
Patrick O'donovan, Department of French, University College, Cork.