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Abstract

This article describes the author's understanding of shame and the relationship between shame and enmity. “The enemy” does not merely represent hostile external forces, but also dark forces within the self that lead to inner conflicts. The expression of these dark forces may be recognized in dreams; by the use of words such as devil, demon, Satan, fascist, or nazi in relation to self or other; and in religious fundamentalism. Such expressions may represent inner fantasies and/or feelings from childhood, introjections that symbolize the “bad parent.” By projecting the destructive parent onto others, the child, and later the adult, relieves his or her fears and discomfort. The division or split between “good” and “evil” forces is a universal phenomenon affecting individual lives, groups, and nations. These ideas are illustrated with clinical examples, comments on Sophocles' version of the Oedipus myth, and a critique of Freud's concept of the Oedipus complex, including how abuse and shame in his personal life influenced his theory.

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Shame: The Enemy within

Abstract

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