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The perverse and the psychotic superego

Franco De Masi

To cite this article:  Franco De Masi (2020) The perverse and the psychotic superego, The
International Journal of Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis,, 101:4, 735-739, DOI: 10.1080/0020
10.1080/00207578.2020.1779
7578.2020.1779454
454

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207578.2020.1779454

Published online: 18 Aug 2020.

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INT J PSYCHOANAL
2020, VOL. 101, NO. 4, 735 –739
https://doi.org/10.1080/00207578.2020.1779454

The perverse and the psychotic superego

Franco De Masi
Italian Psychoanalytic Society, Rome, Italy

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
In this contribution I will sustain that, given its origin, meaning and Primitive superego;
function,
funct ion, the superego
superego is readily
readily susceptibl
susceptible
e to the pathological
pathological melancholia; guilt;
distor
distortio
tions
ns observ
observed
ed in cliclinic
nical
al psycho
psychoana
analyt
lytic
ic work.
work. After
After all
all,, destructive narcisism;
pathological organization;
while we as psychoanalysts are unacquainted with the   “normal”
psychosis
supere
sup erego,
go, we are accust
accustome
omed d to seeing
seeing patien
patients
ts with
with eit
either
her an
abnormal sense of guilt or a seeming absence of guilt.
However, a distinction must  󿬁rst be drawn between the primitive
superego and its pathological counterpart. Whereas some clinical
situa
situatio
tions
ns involv
involve
e a supere
superego go whose
whose pri
primit
mitive
ive aspect
aspectss featur
feature
e
promin
pro minent
ently
ly in the foregr
foregroun
ound,d, in other
other cases
cases one encoun
encounterterss
psychopathological structures that do not stem from the primitive
superego, even if they share the latter ’s seductive,
seductive, dominant
dominant or
intimidatory aspects.

Introduction
Freud’s theory fails to bridge the gap between the formation of the normal superego and
that of its pathological counterpart. In   “Mourning and melancholia”   (1915)1915) he refers to a
consci
con scienc
encee imb
imbued ued wit
with
h pow
powerf
erful
ul sad
sadism
ism th
that
at giv
gives
es rise
rise to an intintrap
rapsyc
sychic
hic vic
viciou
iouss
ci
circ
rcle
le,, bu
butt in   “ The ego and the id”   (1923)
1923) he inst
instea
eadd de
desc
scri
ribe
bess a su
supe
pere
rego
go that
that is

formed by the introjection of parental images and becomes the representative of all
value
val ue jud
judgem
gement
ents.s. A pol
polari
arity
ty in the con
concep ceptio
tion
n of the sup
supere
erego
go rem
remainainss app
appare
arent
nt
throughout Freud’s complex construction: on the one hand it is seen as the expression
of sociality and of positive identi 󿬁cations with the father   󿬁gure, while on the other it is
the heir to the cannibalistic destructiveness of melancholia.
 The importance of the aggressive instinct is implicit in Freud’s conception of superego
pathology: he writes that in melancholia the superego is   “as it were, a pure culture of the
death instinct”   (1923,
1923, 53); while later, in   “ The economic problem of masochism”   (1924
1924,,
167), he notes that owing to defusion of the death instinct the superego becomes cruel
and inexorable against the ego. In   “Civilization and its discontents” (1929
 (1929,, 123) the aggres-
sion of the superego is said to be turned against the ego itself and transformed into the

sense
longerofcoincides
guilt. Considering
with that all
of these facts,
the real Freudbut
parents, notes that theinstead
depends severityon
ofathe superego no
combination of 
environmental and innate constitutional factors.

CONTACT   Franco De Masi   [email protected]   Via Ramazzini 7, Milano

© 2020 Institute of Psychoanalysi
Psychoanalysiss

73 6 F. D E M A SI

 Taking as her starting point Freud’s analyanalysis

sis of the proce
process ss of me
melancho
lancholia,
lia, Me
Melanie
lanie Klein
states that the infantile superego is essentially sadistic and postulates that this is due to
the cruelty and pitilessness of the  󿬁 rst introjections. Hence the principal aim in child analy-
sis is in her view to make the superego more benevolent and not to reinforce it as advo-
cated by Anna Freud (Klein 1927a
(Klein  1927a).). The superego does not coincide with the introjection
of the parents, but arises spontaneously out of the child ’s sadistic fantasies (Klein 1927b(Klein  1927b).).
In the par parano
anoid-
id-sch
schizo
izoid
id pos
positi
ition
on the super
superegoego is its
itself
elf the bad objec
objectt that
that mu
mustst be
destroyed by all possible means.
Klein’s innovation was to link the nature of the primitive superego to the destructive
instinct. A depressed patient’s sense of guilt is attributed to the excess of unconscious
hate and the awareness that this hate might destroy the object (Klein  1935).  1935). Part of the
guilt is due to the object’s ideal demands: objects are either extremely bad or utterly
perfec
per fect;t; in oth
other
er wor
words,
ds, the lov
loved
ed obj
object
ectss are int
intens
ensely
ely mor
moralal and dem
demandanding
ing (Kl
(Klein
ein
1948
1948). ). The primitive superego is born of the death instinct and of the violence that is
in󿬂icted by the child on frustrating objects and by which the child feels threatened.
While on the one hand the primitive superego perpetuates cruelty, on the other its intro-
 jection of the good object will constitute its benevolent aspect.
Freud too describes the protective aspect of the superego, which he connects with the
love of the parents. At the end of his essay   “Humour”   (1927, 1927,  166), he notes that the fact
that the superego tries to console the ego and to protect it from su ff ering ering does not contra-
dict its origins in the parental agency.

The perverse superego organization

However, primitiveness and pitilessness are not the only aspects of the complex pathology
of the superego. Albeit not explicitly, the element of trauma reappears in post-Kleinian
theories, in the guise of an a ff ective
ective trauma due to the lack of an empathic response
from the primary object: some of the relevant authors emphasize the failure of the   󿬁rst
object relations rather than primitiveness.
Bion (1959
(1959)) considers that the mother’s systematic rejection of the child ’s projective
identi󿬁cation gives rise to a superego that is intrinsically hostile to curiosity and to infantile
(1971)) describes the destructive narcissism that dominates the
vitality, while Rosenfeld (1971
healthy part of the personality by virtue solely of the force of idealized,   “moral”  propa-
ganda.
gan da. In the
these
se cas
cases
es the exp
experi
erienc
ence
e of gro
growth
wth me
media
diated
ted by a goo
good d rel
relati
ation
onship
ship is
lacking and the personality is colonized by a pathological structure.
 The narcissistic object present in the pathological superego gives rise to a particular
type of morality   –   a   “moral narcissism” –  in which, on the basis of the veneration of a
state of   “superiority”, identi󿬁cation with an ideal object leads to a pathological sense of 
guilt. From this point of view, morality is nothing but the cruelty that worms its way
into the ideal object, resulting in a practical morality based on submission to and venera-
tion of the   “moral”, ideal object.
 The pathological organization of the superego, considered in these terms, thus corre
sponds to its deadliness and not to its primitive character. It is less a matter of primitive
pitilessness (“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”) than of perversion and intimidatory
propaganda on the part of the   “moral”  agency. This suggests the existence of a superego
that has no interest in establishing guilt or in 󿬂icting punishment, but instead seeks to

I N T J PS Y C H O A N A L 7 37

seduce or intimidate in order to subjugate and distort mental growth. This kind of super-
ego is then no longer a primitive internal object but a psychopathological structure that
wield power over the rest of the personality.
Promising salvation at the cost of perverting the perception of human reality, the
perverse superego becomes what can only be described as a pathological organization.
In these cases there are unelaborated areas that become psychic structures   –  virtual
“ neo-creations ” –   in which aggression, seduction, terror and fascination hold sway.

Structures of this kind may be said to have developed   instead of the superego and 
ego ideal , so that they are unable to grow into more mature forms as in the case of 
primitive formations.
It is not unusual to observe the normal superego, the primitive superego and the super-
ego resulting from the psychopathological structure all operating at the same time at
diff erent
erent levels and in diff erent
erent areas in one and the same patient. While the primitive
supere
sup eregogo can be gra
gradu
dually
ally tra
transf
nsform
ormed
ed by the ana
analys
lystt’s acceptance
acceptance,, comp
comprehen
rehension
sion
and inter
interpret
pretative
ative respo
responses,
nses, the path
pathologi
ological
cal orga
organizat
nization
ion can be neit
neither
her integ
integrate
rated
d
be  deconstructed  so
nor transformed, but must, like a delusional formation, be deconstructed    so as progress-
ively to reduce its power over the rest of the personality.
 The superego derived from the destructive organization is one that is structured in the
absence of internal parents and expresses a narcissistic hatred of need and dependence.
Psychopathological structures, however, unlike primitive structures, are totally lacking in
(Caper  1998).
the quality of development (Caper 1998 ). If the distinction is not made, one loses sight
of the negative force that opposes mental growth and stems from psychopathological
superego structures that impose their will by intimidation or seduction.
In extreme pathological organizations the personality is subordinated to a perverse
criminal or psychotic superego nucleus that holds it in thrall, perverting the conscience
(super
(su perego
ego)) and dis
disto
torti
rting
ng ide
ideals
als (eg
(egoo ide
ideal)
al).. In som
some
e ano
anorex
rexic
ic or psy
psycho
chotic
tic pat
patien
ients
ts
there is no diff erence
erence between the superego and idealization of their own physical and
mental self-annihilation (De Masi 1996
Masi  1996). ).
 The superego’s dependence on the destructive part of the personality impels the indi-
vidual to embrace non-life-affirmin rmingg goals disguise
disguised
d by   “moral”  precepts. In this way the
pathological forces progressively dissolve the relationship with a human object, and con-
struct in its place psychic structures   –  the psychopathological organizations   –  that gener-
ate illusions in the patient, who is thereby seduced and captured by the promise of 
omnipotence. In seriously disturbed mental states, such as anorexia, drug addiction or per-
versions, the pathological superego gains power over the personality by  󿬁 rst bewitching it
Meltzer 1973;; Rosenfeld
and then brutally dominating it. As the post-Kleinian authors (e.g. Meltzer 1973
1971
1971)) hav
havee oft
often
en poi
pointe
nted
d out
out,, this typ
type
e of pa
patho
tholog
logica
icall org
organi
anizat
zation
ion may bbe
e rep
repres
resent
ented
ed in
dreams by a criminal gang that dominates and terri 󿬁es the patient, a fruit of falsi 󿬁cation
and intimidatory propaganda.
In su
such
ch a case
case it is ha
hard
rd to tell
tell wh
whet
ethe
herr th
this
is iiss du
due
e to
to pe
perv
rver
ersi
sion
on of the
the mo
mora
rall ag
agen
ency
cy o
orr to
pathological structures that have taken the place of the superego. The fact that every per-
verse system assumes the form of a hypermoral organization and that, conversely, the
supere
sup erego
go ten
tends
ds to desdestro
troyy lif
life
e in eve
every
ry hyp
hyperm ermora
orall sys
system
tem exp
explai
lains
ns the parparado
adoxic
xical
al
nature of morality and con󿬁rms the kinship between the superego and destructiveness
in psychopathological structures.

73 8 F. D E M A SI

The psycho
psychotic
tic supere
superego
go
Contradictory and befuddling in nature, the psychotic superego totally dominates the
mind, advancing as seducing and then threatening. When this is taken into account, it

is no longer
mind, but to feasible
view it astoa consider
pathological the structure
psychoticwithsuperego
no linkas a primitivetoagency
whatsoever of the
the primitive
supere
sup erego,
go, des
despit
pite
e it bea
bearin
ring
g som
some e res
resemb
emblanlance
ce to it. Wh Whils
ilstt the pri
primit
mitive
ive sup
supere
erego
go
observes the law of the punishment for the sin committed, the psychotic superego is per-
verse and deadly. What this superego is engaged in is distorting mental growth: manifest-
ing as an internal voice that intimid
intimidatesates the individua
individual,l, it stunt
stuntss his sense of freed
freedom
om and
his curiosity to learn from experience.
Not to
to be over
overlooke
looked d is that duri
during ng the ppsycho
sychotic
tic pr
process,
ocess, the su supereg
perego o is often part
partyy to
hallucinatory and delusion phenomena, wielding its power via intimidatory accusations
and orders. Befuddlement frequently manifests during the   󿬁rst stage, and it convinces
the patient that he has reached a superior, omniscient and pleasurable mental state.
Here, the superego acts as a force that can change the mental state for the better, provid-
ing it with a feeling of excitement and well-being. Under the in󿬂uence of this propaganda,
the patient convinces himself that he is equipped with special powers sustained by divine
guidance, the theme of divinity often being present in delusion constructions.
A second stage sees a transformation in the opposite direction: the patient is convinced
by one or more voices that his state of well-being, superiority and omniscience is not a
divine gift after all, but a destructive, diabolical disposition; at a certain point, he convinces
himself that he is like Lucifer, who challenges God in order to seize his powers, and that
having
hav ing now becbecome
ome diadiabol
bolica
ical,l, he rig
rightl
htlyy des
deserv
erveses pun
punish
ishmen
ment. t. Thi
Thiss tra
transi
nsitio
tion
n fro
fromm
superiority/goodness
superiority/goodn ess to negativity/destru
negativity/destructiveness
ctiveness is a very frequent occurrence: the delu-
sion accusation of being diabolical becomes unbearable, and feeling destructive, the
patient thinks he can annihilate the world, including the people he is connected with,
to the point of being killed himself or driven to suicide.
 The superego’s befuddling action is clear in the hallucinatory state, too. Typically, hal-
lucinations are initially positive, pleasant and seductive; only afterwards do they become
negative and aggressive, plaguing the patient with continual accusations and intimidatory
comments. At times, the friendly voices switch all of a sudden to aggressive voices, like
psychic splinters gone mad, all jumbled together; each piece belongs to a part of the
patient’s now dissociated and fragmented personality. The voices come forward as separ-
patient s now dissociated and fragmented personality. The voices come forward as separ
ate entities that converse, but that sometimes also   󿬁ght or get into arguments with one
another. Dialogue of this kind increasingly leads to confusion, and to the healthy part
being held captive within the psychotic structure.
On occasion, the psychotic superego’s accusations convey truths, however distorted.
 The voice that accuses the patient of being diabolical casts light destructively on one
truth: the patient, believing that he is God, has actually managed to subvert the order
of the mind and destroy the rules of thought. Accusing, scornful hallucinations stem
from the same superego that prompted the megalomania, the patient therefore   󿬁nding
himsel
him selff bom
bombar
barded
ded wit
withh dis
dispar
paragi
aging
ng inv
invect
ectives: the   voice   accu
ives: accuse
sess him
him of bebein
ing
g a
failure, or a homosexual, or a loser, and these hallucinatory accusations are projected
into
into the world aroaround
und.. In thr
thrall
all to the psy
psycho
chotic
tic sup
supere
erego,
go, the patie
patient
nt see
seess nor
normal
mal
human
hum an wea
weakne
knesse
ssess as pro
proof
of of cow
coward
ardlin
liness
ess or unw
unwort
orthin
hiness
ess.. Dom
Domina
inated
ted by a mad

I N T J PS Y C H O A N A L 7 39

unopposable voice, he projects hallucinations on to everyone, including those who inci-

dentally enter his life.
Worth noting is that several past scholars have postulated a kinship between schizo-
phrenic psychosis and manic-depressive psychosis, sustaining that they were possibly
one and the same illness. Although never con󿬁rmed, it can be seen that the psychotic
superego most certainly often assumes manic-depressive features, going from maniacal
exaltation to melancholic destructiveness.

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