The Aberrations: "...in surprisingly numerous individuals, the nature and importance of the sexual object recedes into the background. What is essential and constant in the sexual instinct is something else" (15). Where does Freud draw the line between dispersing sexuality into different elements and unifying it into something 'essential and constant? Why is he so adamant about preserving something essential and constant when his project at this stage is precisely that of de-essentializing sexuality?
Infant Sex: On page 64 Freud refers to thumb-sucking as a relic of breastfeeding. In what ways is he transforming or dividing up sexuality into knowable things, which gain their own histories and characteristics? More importantly, what cultural effect does this have on the experience of sexuality and consciousness in general?
Puberty: "The finding of an object is in fact a refinding of it" (88). Is he positing an originary object, or is the Oedipal origin merely a provisional method of description? How does this relate to ideas of the gift, in terms of the supposedly unique quality of gifted items?
Fetishism: "Probably no male human is spared the shock of threatened castration at the sight of the female genitals" (163). Is this meant literally? Is it meant universally?
-Jonathan
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