PSYCHODYNAMICS OF FATHER DAUGHTER INCEST*

BRUNO M. CORMIER, M.D.', MIRIAM KENNEDY,

Among human practices, incest is the differentiates male incest into three main
one most enveloped in myth and mystery. types: (a) an indiscriminate promiscuity
This applies to some extent even to pre- where the incest is part of a pattern of
sent times, and may partly explain why sexual psychopathology; (b) intense
many age-long beliefs still prevail and craving for young children, pedophilia,
tend to be accepted without examination. which also includes the daughter as a
Thus, the incestuous father is generally sexual object; and (c) the endogamic or
described as a degenerate, intellectually intra-familial oriented incest. An incestu-
inferior individual, living in poverty, ous participant of this type is defined by
with gross overcrowding; or an alcoholic Weinberg as "the adult ... who confines
with a low standard of morals and marked his sexual objects to family members,
sexual pathology. Incest is likewise resorts to incest with a daughter or sister
described as occurring mainly in remote because he does not cultivate and does not
rural areas, among backward, primitive crave social or sexual contacts with
people. Though it has been recognised women outside the family." It is with this
that statistics on discovered incest are type of incest offender that we are con-
unreliable, and that the practice is more cerned.
prevalent than would appear from police The present paper on the subject of the
records, the feeling persists that incest is incestuous father developed from research
confined to the most debased, perverted on offences which occur within the
elements in our society, or the relics of framework of the family, or are closely
more archaic, primitive modes of behav- related to conflicts within the family
iour. (2, 3). The fathers described in this
More recent studies, however, give us study are, apart from incest with a
a broader view of the subject and throw daughter, non-criminal and show no his-
doubt on some earlier preconceived ideas tory of adult sexual perversion, including
about the incidence of incest, as well as pedophilia. They are not, as a group,
the personality of the incestuous partici- conspicuously promiscuous, and it was
pants. It has been established, for instance, noted that some who had extra-marital
that incest is found as frequently in cities affairs before the incest occurred discon-
as in the countryside; overcrowding as a tinued once incest was established. The
contributing factor appears to have been majority of the men are of normal intelli-
exaggerated, as incest is known to occur gence or above; a few of low average. We
where this does not exist; incest may be have excluded those of defective intelli-
committed by men who cannot be called gence, or with primitive personalities.
otherwise criminal, nor degenerate, nor We have, therefore, a group of men who
sexually psychopathic. have, until the commitment of incest,
One of the most valuable recent contri- made on the whole an acceptable occupa-
butions on the subject is the sociological tional and social adjustment. They are
study by Dr. S. K. Weinberg (1). He generally good workers, some skilled.
Our findings, therefore, may differ from
°This is part of a research programme carried out
by the Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, surveys which include a.U incest offenders,
financed by Dominion-Provincial Mental Health Grant
No. 604-5-62. those who are intelleetaally sub-normal,
1 The authors acknowledge the assistance of Michel or show overt sexual perversion and other
Trottier, L.Ps., who. was a member of the research
team at the beginning of the project, and of Andre pathology as well as incest. We have
Thillault, L.Ps., and Anton Obert, Soc. Wkr., who are
presently members of the research team, studied 27 cases: 21 were Seen in prison,
203
2W CANADIAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION JOURNAL Vol. 7, No.5

sometimes many years after the event, more subject to change through death,
and six were seen in the clinic at the re- separation and divorce than in the earlier
quest of the court, social agency, or psy- years of the marriage. Marital stress is also
chiatrist. Twenty-two of the men had more likely to develop during this period.
committed incest, and five had confined With time, a marriage may become in-
themselves to sexual caresses or given creasingly frustrating, and where there
evidence of abnormal sexual interest in is the presence of a daughter who has
the daughters. reached puberty and become appealing,
In studying this group of men, we incest may occur.
asked ourselves what problems of per- All these sociological factors, while
sonal, social, or marital maladjustment led significant, do not, however, in them-
to incest. There are a few sociological selves explain incest. Many husbands are
and psychiatric investigations which give faced with similar problems, and find
us data and suggest causes.. other solutions. They may accept the
Among factors mentioned by sociolo- frustration of an unhappy family situation
gists as predisposing to incest is the pro- and find satisfaction elsewhere, in work
longed absence of the father from the or in outside interests, or they may in-
home. Cases are reported in the literature, dulge in affairs outside the marriage. In
among them Mannheim (4), Nurnber- the psychoanalytic literature there is a
ger (5) and Greenland (6), of men who, scarcity of material on the psychogenesis
after many years of separation from the of incest itself in contrast to unconscious
family, return to find a changed and aging and repressed strivings. The oedipal stage
wife and a young daughter who seems in particular has been well studied and
almost a stranger and becomes a tempta- documented. Psychiatric studies tend to
tion. The loss of the wife by divorce, be descriptive and most are concerned
separation, or death, leaving a father with the effects of incest on the daughter.
alone with an adolescent daughter, may, In the early psychoanalytic literature
according to Holder (7) and Rennert (8), Abraham (13) describes "neurotic endo-
precipitate incest. Gross overcrowding, gamy", referring to individuals who have
physical proximity and alcoholism are been unable to establish object relation-
analysed by many writers, including ships outside the kinship group; therefore
Riemer (9) and Szabo (10). The inability they tend to marry cousins or other rela-
to establish normal social and emotional tives.
contacts outside the family, created by Bender and Blau (14) in their study of
extreme poverty and the remoteness of the reaction of children to sex experiences
some rural areas which may draw the with adults make the observation that the
father to seek satisfaction within the child was often either a passive or active
immediate kinship group, is stressed by partner, and in some instances the initiator
many, including Riemer (9), Mannheim or seducer. This is borne out by other
(4) and Scherer (11). Intellectual and investigators, including Barry and John-
constitutional inferiority, as well as son (15), who have noted that there is
hereditary factors, are mentioned as pre- little anxiety in a father-daughter incest
disposing to incest by von Hentig (12) relationship in the case of young children
and Holder (7), who also describes the and where the mother accepts the fact of
apparent lack of guilt in some incestuous incest. Friedlander (16) observes the pre-
fathers. sence of a desire for sexual relationship
The important factor of age is men- with the father in the young girl, and
tioned by most authors. Incest generally stresses the significance of the stage of
occurs in a specific age span, the father emotional development at which incest
being in the late thirties and forties. In occurs. In her view, a very early occur-
these decades, the marital relationship is rence may impede the resolution of the
October, 1962 FATHER-DAUGHTER INCEST 205

oedipal complex and be the source of cest of a young woman, married and
many later disturbances. On the other separated, with nymphomaniac compul-
hand there may be no problems. She in- sion and many somatic symptoms. The
cludes the case illustration of a girl of 12 history revealed a very frustrating rela-
who had incest relations with the father tionship with the mother and a pre-
which affected her relationship to men cocious transition to the father. Incest did
afterwards. Her emotional development, not actually occur till the twenties,
however, was not eventually disturbed. though the "father acted as a kind of se-
Sloane and Karpinski (17), in their study ducer and pander. Sociological and psy-
of a group of incestuous daughters, find chiatric studies on incest and on the
that there appears to be more emotional structure of the incestuous family, while
damage where the incest occurs in adoles- giving us valuable information, have left
cence than when it takes place during the unsolved the question of why incest
latency period. Incest during adolescence occurs only in some cases, indeed in rela-
is generally followed by promiscuous and tively few considering the prevalence of
unstable behaviour. Kinberg (18), on the the problems described as favouring in-
other hand, does not report psychic cest. The answer can be found only in
trauma in the daughters, and describes the study of the individual psychology of
them as generally mentally inferior. The the people concerned, and this study will
inability of the mother to protect her deal mainly with the psychopathology of
daughters is also discussed. Kaufman (19) the father.
made a study of daughters seen shortly
after disclosure of incest and found that Latent Incestuous Relationships Between
they were depressed, guilty and anxious. Parents and Adolescent Children
Guilt seemed related rather to the break- To understand how an abnormal rela-
up of the home than to the act of incest tionship may develop between a father
itself. Vestergaard (20), who had a con- and a daughter, it is relevant to describe
tact with 16 daughters ten years after the phenomena developing normally within
event, claims that the incestuous relation- a family in the course of time, as husband
ship and the reaction of the family to it, and wife meet inevitable changes in the
had been almost invariably damaging. It children and in themselves. The adoles-
sometimes resulted in acting out of an . cence of children is a period of change
anti-social nature, though most of the for parents as well as for children, which
daughters had overcome this in later life, may bring problems, but also provides
and were no longer behaviour problems. compensating satisfaction. While remain-
There were feelings of intense anger and ing the adult, parents, guiding their
bitterness against the father. They tended children's adolescence enables them to re-
to be anxious, depressed and over-fearful. call to some extent th~ir own youth.
There was evidence of sexual conflict in Mothers become preoccupied with the
marital histories. Gordon (21), in her success of their sons and vicariously re-
study of the case of an incestuous girl, live their own girlhood and courtship,
considers that rivalry against the mother while fathers appreciate the beauty and
originates not in the oedipal situation but charm of their daughters, and their suc-
in the oral phase. The seduction of the cess with young men. However, things
father is seen by the daughter as revenge do not always go so smoothly for the
against the mother for abandoning her, parents. It is during the children's adoles-
and the unresolved conflict is carried on cence that marriages often become shaky,
in later life in incest, seduction of males, or parents previously faithful go astray
promiscuity, etc. Rascovsky and Ras- for the first time. On the part of adoles-
covsky (22) report a psychonalytical in- cent children also there is a certain
vestigation of a case of consummated in- amount of playing at growing up, of ex-
206 CANADV\N PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION JOURNAL Vol. 7, No. 5

perimenting in new kinds of relationships. in his first love affair. The conduct of the
For many of them, the first person on incestuous father also resembles sexual
whom they test their growing powers to play between brother and sister. He is
attract is the parent. We can say that both like an older brother who forces his little
parents in their thirties and forties and sister to misbehave, threatens her with
adolescent children are in a somewhat punishment if she tells the mother, and at
special psychological position. the same time blackmails her by saying
Normally, parents and children work that if she complains about him, or the
through this situation safely as they are mother finds out, she, too, will be
psychologically well protected. How- punished for wrongdoing. Mother will
ever, some fathers become very sensitive also be angry with her.
and aware of an adolescent daughter. In the course of the incestuous rela-
They are tempted, and while they do not tionship, the father becomes exceedingly
go so far as to court their own daughter, jealous of the daughter, often refusing to
they may displace this temptation by permit her any social contact. He is afraid
having an affair outside the marriage with that she will tell, but even more afraid
a young girl; or they may respond to the that he will lose her to others. He at-
danger by being overly severe towards temps to attach her to him by bribes and
the daughter, refusing to grant her nor- presents, and he sometimes shows great
mal independence. They are sometimes affection and tenderness. Conversely,
extremely possessive, under the guise of however, he may seek to gain the same
shielding her from harm. In a few excep- ends through the use of force and threats,
tional cases, the conflict about the daugh- and the exercise of his parental power. He
ter is neither unconscious, suppressed, thus moves from the adolescent to the
nor displaced, but is acted out in an in- all-powerful father who has absolute
cestuous relationship. rights over his daughter, believing that
To summarize, external reality such as one of his privileges is to initiate her
the death or absence of the wife, dis- sexually. As the father he even deceives
turbances in the marital relationship, the himself into thinking that his conduct is
return of the father after a long absence, virtuous; he sees himself as her protector,
physical overcrowding, alcoholism, a re- guarding her from the sexual advances of
latively young father living close to an other men.
adolescent daughter, all these precipitat- What is quite striking is the contradic-
ing factors which are put forward are tion between the accounts made by the
commonly found without leading to in- fathers and those elicited by the police
cest. In some predisposed fathers, how- from the daughters after disclosure. The
ever, they can reawaken concealed and fathers almost invariably claim that the
suppressed incestuous temptation which is daughters were provocative, or in any
eventually acted out. event willing. The daughters usually state
that they were forced, threatened and ill-
The Participants treated physically. The impression is that
What characterises the incestuous the latter statement is not invariably true
father is that while fully exploiting his and that in many cases there is at least a
position as the authoritarian head of the certain degree of assent. This is not as sur-
home, he also acts in many ways like a prising as may appear at first sight. In
caricature of an adolescent. Whether he very young girls, the father's conduct
uses threats, force, or blackmail, or offers may be acceptable, simply because he is
rewards and bribes to gain his daughter, the father. Sometimes rivalry with the
he behaves not so much as a grown man mother plays a part, and the daughter
wooing a woman, but rather a maladroit may consciously or otherwise enjoy her
adolescent attempting to win a young girl new status of supplanting the mother.
October, 1962 FATHER-DAUGHTER INCEST 207

The role of the wife must here be con- from the discovery. This denial is evi-
sidered. In studying the wives of in- dently necessary to preserve self-esteem
cestuous fathers, we found that a certain in the face of the extreme feeling about
number were not only frigid, but hostile incest, but it is also related to guilt. Some
and unloving women. Some never denied writers have noted what appears an ab-
their husbands and were described by sence of guilt in incest offenders. These
them as good wives, but the relationship observations seem mainly to apply to
was ungratifying because of the inability incestuous fathers who are physical de-
of the wives to respond. Others were generates, severe mental defectives or
passive and submissive women to the chronic alcoholics in whom not only is
point where they were unable to stand the feeling of guilt impaired but judg-
up against the husband, even in a known ment and capacity to function at a normal
incestuous situation. The question may social level. There are also fathers with
well be asked how incest could go on, abnormal personalities where incest is
often for years, without the wife finding only one manifestation of many other
out. In some cases, there is overt conceal-sexual problems, and the incapacity to
ment of the fact of incest, but sometimes feel guilt is an aspect of the personality.
the wife does not know because she does The cases we have selected are of in-
not wish to know. Whether she is dividuals much more within normal
genuinely unaware, is concealing, or re- standards with regard to social and moral
fusing to see, the mother is no longer ablevalues, intellectual achievement, work
to fulfill her function in the family and adaptation, etc. In these men, guilt was
protect the daughter. obviously present throughout, though it
Where there is an incestuous relation- was often repressed and denied. It mani-
ship with two or three of the daughters, fested itself, however, in different ways
rivalry often develops among the sisters, in the period of the incestuous relation-
which may result eventually in disclosure. ship, at the time of disclosure, and during
It would seem, however, that no matter the serving of the sentence. The guilt of
what the precipitating circumstances of the father was also, so to say, differently
incest are, the daughter eventually rebels distributed among the family members
at this exclusive possessiveness and seeks involved, the wife, the victim and the
her freedom. She either runs away, makes other children.
another attachment, or she reveals the fact With regard to the wife, guilt may be
of incest. avoided during the period of incest by
The sons are also involved, if indirectly.
a process of rationalization. The in-
The incestuous father tends to over-value cestuous father views his behaviour as a
the daughters at the expense of the sons. logical consequence of the wife's frigid-
He either ignores or is hostile to them. ity, or denial, or absence. The need for
gratification suppresses his normal feeling
Guilt and Denial iu Iucestuous of guilt. However, he fears the wife and
Relationships the punishment that may follow should
It has been frequently pointed out that the incest come to light, and in this very
sex offenders as a group tend to deny realistic fear guilt is swallowed up. After
their offences. Of all sex offenders, the incest has been discovered, there is almost
one who denies the most is the man who invariably an invasion of deep guilt and
commits incest. Even when confronted remorse about the wife. It results from
with facts, and after confession, he will the realisation of having injured her and
later deny or minimize greatly. A com- substituted another in her place, with
mon explanation is that denial follows irreparable damage to the relationship,
from the universal taboo against incest and a resulting anxiety that he can never
and the shame and humiliation resulting return to his wife, and as a consequence
 CANADIAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION JOURNAL Vol. 7, No.5

Inay lose his family. There is a great need preserve a self-image, to deny the reality
to be forgiven, as if he were a child who of the fact, and to avoid guilt by placing
must be reconciled to his mother. In some responsibility outside himself.
cases, a state of depression can only be There is also eventually much guilt in
alleviated when there is forgiveness and relation to the other children, the
a satisfactory relationship can again be daughters who have not been victimized
achieved. and the sons. This results from the realiza-
In the type of incest we are discussing tion by the father that he has been a bad
here, created by ingrown, intrafamilial parent. When the father acted as an
relationships, a great deal of guilt exists adolescent with his daughter, it inevitably
towards the daughter. Sometimes guilt created a 'confusion in his parental role.
does not appear present during the incest The consequent guilt was dealt with
period, and if it is felt it does not stop the either by isolating or disregarding the
act. One of the reasons guilt is not other children, or acting like the all-
dominant relates to the father's complex, powerful, over-harsh father.
many-faceted relationship to the daugh-
ter. His feelings towards her are sexual, Case Histories
but the giving and receiving of love and Following are case summaries of two
affection is often felt as the main need, incestuous fathers, describing briefly the
and fatherly and sexual love are mingled. childhood, early history, marriage, and
Some fathers up to disclosure deceive inter-personal relationship which led
themselves about the nature of their rela- eventually to incest.
tionship. They cannot see the expression
of their love as harmful, and thus guilt is Case I
suppressed. B. a man in his late thirties, a skilled
There are some fathers, however, who worker of at least average intelligence. In
feel intense guilt throughout the whole his childhood there was a certain amount
incestuous relationship; which they try of poverty and dislocation, as the father
to cope with by various means. For was invalided and the mother worked to
example, they may resort to prayer, go support the family. This created a con-
to confession, and urge their daughters fusion of roles, the father in effect taking
to do likewise; but so strong is the over the management of the home. B. was
temptation that guilt, however present, is sent away to school when he was 10 and
bypassed. he missed his home very much. He re-
calls his father, an old Army man, as
Once incest is discovered, guilt may be
over-strict; the mother was warmer and
dealt with by a number of mechanisms.
more loved.
One is to admit the fact but find many
excuses, such as the frigidity of the wife. He remembers his adolescence as a
There is also the need to implicate the quite happy one. He became a skilled
daughter and make her equally respon- worker, was a good looking lad, led quite
sible. The father thus accuses her of an enjoyable life, had a number of sexual
being provocative and seductive, or he contacts, but no serious involvement till
says that she was a willing accomplice. he met his future wife when he was in his
He may claim that she was already not a twenties. He describes her as resembling
virgin and had been with other men, or him to the point that they could be taken
that all he did was to prevent her from for brother and sister. He fell deeply in
misconduct outside the home. The father love and claims he has continued to love
may, on the other hand, accuse both wife her.
and daughter of laying false charges For the first five years, the marriage
against him in order to put him into went fairly well from accounts of both
prison. All these manoeuvres serve to husband and wife. He complains, how-
October, 1962 FATHER-DAUGHTER INCEST 209

ever, that she was never sufficiently The daughter was admittedly the best-
responsive sexually, and that she grew loved child, a very attractive girl named
more frigid with the years, though she after his own mother. He has confused
did not at any time deny him. Five his daughter with many important female
children were born, the eldest a girl. In figures in his life. She resembles both him-
many ways it was a good marriage, as B. self and his wife, who, according to him
worked hard, was a faithful husband and could be taken for brother and sister.
very fond of his children. He had few He has identified his daughter as the
interests outside the family; lack of young wife he courted, as a sister, and
money was a problem; the home was also with his own mother, whose name
small and rather crowded for their she bears. Though feeling very guilty, he
rapidly growing family. finds it hard to believe that she did not
B.'s first evident failure was shown in accept him willingly. He described how
increased drinking, which impaired the pretty she was, and how provocative she
marital relationship. He was not an alco- appeared to him. He said that he was
holic and he never deprived his family in jealous because she would make some man
order to drink, but even a little alcohol, very happy, happier than he was with his
taken to relieve tension, affected him own wife. It was not too difficult a step
badly. He grew irritable, lost his temper, to act as if he were that young man in-
and became depressed. When depressed stead of the father.
under the influence of alcohol, he was With exposure and sentence came
sexually very demanding; along with severe depression, to the point where he
compulsive sexuality, he became partially made some suicide attempts in prison. As
impotent. The marital relationship de- he recovered, he saw himself unrealis-
teriorated, but it had never at any time tically re-establishing the old familial pat-
occurred to B. that it could be dissolved. tern, without of course the incest. The
About a year prior to the occurrence wife would not forgive him and he there-
of incest, B. became involved for the first fore oscillated between the hope that he
time in his married life with the wife of a could restore the marriage, and depres-
friend, and this affair continued for a few sion when he felt she would never pardon
months. He described the relationship as him and he could not return.
satisfying, but there was guilt on the part
of both. Nevertheless, when the mistress Case 2
broke off the affair, he felt unhappy and F., now in his fifties, is nearing the end
at a loss. He tried to find the same kind of a twelve-year sentence for incest,
of physical satisfaction with his wife, but which he committed over a three year
failed. period with three of his four daughters.
In the summer of that year, his wife When first interviewed, F. was extremely
went to visit her family. She left the home puzzled himself by his behaviour and the
in charge of the 14-year-old daughter. At only explanation he could give was that
this point, B. found himself deprived in he was a heavy drinker, and that he was
every way. He was also worried about invariably at least a little drunk when the
money and suffered from severe depres- act occurred. He saw readily that this
sion. In his account of what took place, he could not be the basic explanation, as this
states that he became confused, and "lost" pattern of drinking was long-standing
two or three weeks. In this crisis, he since early in his marriage. The alcohol
turned to his 14-year-old daughter. The could, therefore, be only one causative
girl accepted his advances, but after a factor.
few days ran away and told a neighbour. F. is a French Canadian, coming from
The mother was recalled and a charge a rural background, the father being a
was laid. carpenter and woodworker as well as a
210 CANADIAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION JOURNAL Vol. 7, No.5

farmer. He has one brother, considerably daughters, and paid little attention to his
older, who left the home early. There is sons.
a younger sister, who married very The marriage continued its comfortless
young, leaving F. for many years alone and unsatisfying way until the oldest
with his parents. He got on well enough daughter was 15. One night, when the
with his father, who taught him his trade. wife was away, and he was in a state of
F. is a very good worker, who has never intoxication, he initiated sexual relations.
had trouble getting and keeping a job. The girl was sleeping in the same room
The relationship to the mother was far with him, as she was minding the baby in
closer than to the father. She was the her mother's absence. He claims that she
stronger, a woman of considerable force, did not object, that she knew more than
dominant but very warm. F. describes her he suspected. After this, the relationship
as gay and high-spirited, with a temper. continued regularly. About a year later,
As he grew up, she permitted him a good he began to commit incest with the
deal of liberty, did not object to his love second daughter, and this in turn was
affairs, but he remained very much under followed with the third. The first
her control. He gave her most of his daughter continued, however, to be his
money, but more important, when at age favourite. He bought her pretty things
19 he fell in love with a young girl and and gave her money, partly because she
wanted to marry, the mother broke off blackmailed him mildly, but also because
the match. She said he was too young, and he wanted to. When the fourth daughter
she did not like the girl. As a result, he reached puberty, he attempted relations
continued to live at home until his with her, but she was unwilling. He did
mother's death when he was 36, and then not persist.
he drifted into a marriage with a neigh- This situation continued for almost
bour's daughter. three years without discovery. From the
The marriage was conspicuously poor time incest started, F. stopped going out
from the start. He seems to have found with other women. At age 18, the eldest
in the wife the controlling dominating daughter suddenly decided to leave the
mother, without her gaiety and warmth. home to take a job in Montreal. The
He claims that she has always been a second daughter replaced her to some
frigid and denying woman, and fanatic- degree. A few weeks later, the eldest
ally devout. She was also bad-tempered daughter, during a visit home, unex-
and a scold. He responded by withdraw- pectedly and apparently impulsively dis-
ing from her dominance; he worked in closed the situation. This was followed
Montreal and came home to the farm for by police inquiry, resulting in a confes-
weekends. He began to drink quite early sion on the part of F. His wife was vindic-
in the marriage. Though generally a tive in her accusations, and according to
good-natured, easy-going man, under him did her best to have him heavily
drink he grew quarrelsome. Also, when punished. He was given a severe sen-
on rather extended alcoholic bouts, he had tence. Since his imprisonment, he has had
casual relationships with women who no word from his daughters, and contact
meant little to him. with his wife only around farm business.
F. had four daughters, followed by Otherwise, she has neither visited nor
three sons. His favourite child was his written. F. understands that his daughters
oldest daughter, who at a very early age are lost to him, but he is now very anxious
acted as a substitute mother for the to have news about his sons, with whom
younger children. He found her bright, he is at last concerned. With regard to
and sharp, resembling his own mother, the wife, after many ambivalent feelings
but as a daughter she was also obedient. he has now decided to relinquish any
He was always more interested in his attempt to return to the marriage.
October, 1962 FATHER-DAUGHTER INCEST 211

One fact that emerges is that the eldest wife; or, asked why he did not seek out-
daughter, in spite of her acceptance, side affairs as the solution, he will quite
eventually turned against her father. She often explain that, "it is a sin to go with
not only left home, putting herself out other women". The daughter is thus
of his power, but she accused him. The placed in the special role; she is not a
younger daughters followed suit, and in woman outside the family with whom it
their turn confessed the relationship. is a sin to commit adultery, but someone
They united to denounce the father. In who belongs to him, a permissible alterna-
doing this they appear to have been moti- tive to the wife.
vated as much by a desire for indepen- When an incestuous father takes his
dence as for punishment of the father. daughter as a substitute for his wife, she
Young as they are, they have all left the is by no means the present aging wife,
home and are working in Montreal. but the young girl he courted many years
We have had a contact of over two ago. This is often quite openly expressed,
years with F. and he has himself thought especially when the daughter resembles
out some of his motivations. He thinks her mother. He will sometimes describe
that the main problem lay in his poor not only the beauty of his daughter but
marriage and that he chose badly. For a of his young wife, and two images merge.
number of years, he forgot his griefs and He thus recaptures in his daughter the
his needs in drink and in casual sexual image of his young wife.
affairs. When his oldest daughter, how- As the incestuous father transforms his
ever, became adolescent, she reminded daughter into the young wife, he trans-
him not so much of his wife, but of the forms himself in the same process.
girl he loved when he was 19 and whom Though he may attempt to maintain and
he was not permitted to marry. He found even to reinforce his role of an omni-
his mother's warmth and acceptance in potent father, he will at the same time
this first love and looked for it again in behave towards his daughter as if he were
his daughter. He also felt that in his a young man. He seems unaware of the
daughters his youth was restored. incongruity of this situation, and there is
here a great distortion of reality that per-
Discussion mits him to forget his actual age and status
In the light of these two clinical ex- and play the young lover.
amples, and from material from our other He is now faced with the dilemma of
cases, we will describe some of the psy- reconciling the two figures, the daughter
chodynamics involved in the incestuous who has become the young wife, and his
relationship. We will deal mainly with actual wife, whom he may have loved
the psychopathology in the father, and once, but who has disappointed him.
with his pathological relationship to his Unconsciously his own wife now as-
wife and daughters. We will touch sumes for him another role, that of the
briefly on the Freudian theory on incest mother. She is, however, a severe mother,
as described in "Totem and Taboo", our a menacing figure who will punish him
own observations on this, and finally on when she discovers what he is doing. This
the questions of prevention, recidivism is actually a real danger, but what the
and treatment. incestuous father does not realize con-
sciously is that in the wife he sees the
Psychopathology punishing mother.
The psychopathology of the incestuous A further transformation takes place.
father can be traced as follows. The The wife, having been identified with the
daughter replaces the wife. An incestuous denying mother, he recaptures in his
father will sometimes give as excuse that daughter not only the young giving and
he took the daughter in mistake for the desirable wife he feels he has lost, but the
212 CANADIAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION JOURNAL Vol. 7, No.5

early good image of the mother. In taking is seen as resulting from this revolt of the
the daughter, he satisfies the unresolved sons. After killing the father they were
incestuous craving for the mother of his able to possess the women, but for their
childhood. This can be understood by own protection, and because of guilt,
the fact that the daughter represents more they created a defence against the father/
than a substitute for the young wife of daughter incest.
his youth, because when he originally How can we reconcile our material
courted his wife he was looking for a with Freud's hypothesis? There is one
mother as much as for a wife. In taking striking analogy, in the fact that the in-
the daughter, therefore, he is at last able cestuous fathers we have observed are
to possess the mother he felt was denied very possessive of the daughters, and re-
to him in his childhood, and whom he jecting of the sons; they also tend to be
can take because he is now powerful. In highly authoritarian husbands and fathers.
other words, he has found in his daughter This domination and possessiveness be-
the all giving maternal figure of his child- comes even more marked once the in-
hood dreams. cestuous relationship has been established.
Incest, however, is self-defeating and They almost literally make their daugh-
disappointment is only perpetuated. Be- ters prisoners, both by coercion and by
cause he was frustrated in the oedipal love. They also try to separate the sons
situation, he was also disappointed and from the daughters and the wife. In this
frustrated in the marriage; and in look- kind of familial relationship, the sons un-
ing finally to his young daughter to find doubtedly become resentful and hostile
happiness, he suffers the keenest disap- to the father. In some of our cases the son
pointment of all. In the end he is defeated was the one who disclosed incest, and
and humiliated. occasionally a son has attempted incest
The process may be described in sum- himself, following the father's example.
mary in five stages: (1) the daughter be- Here we discern the conflict between the
comes the substitute for the wife; (2) the son and father as described by Freud in
daughter is the substitute, not for the his, perhaps allegorical, attempts to ex-
present wife, but for the girl he courted plain how the incest taboo originated.
many years ago; (3) parallel to this, he, However, we feel that Freud's em-
too, has the illusion that he is again the phasis on the revolt of the sons is only
young man he was when he wooed his part of the picture. He did not perceive
wife; (4) the real wife now symbolizes the effect of the father's total domination
the forbidding mother; (5) the daughter on the wife and daughters. The daughters
herself has become transformed to the in the end resist the father's exclusive
early giving mother. possessiveness and revolt in their turn.
This conflict becomes acute at the stage
Freud's Iuterpretation of the Incest when the daughters realize that more
Taboo suitable partners are available. They rebel
Freud's well-known explanation of the against the father and achieve liberation.
origins of the taboo on incest in "Totem The omnipotent incestuous father thus
and Taboo" (23) is that at one stage in loses his authority over all his children,
the history of the race, the father had daughters and sons alike.
absolute right over all the members, and One of the bases of the incest taboo is
especially over the daughters whom he that in order to maintain his authority
jealously guarded and initiated sexually. and respect, the father realizes that he
Freud postulates that the sons rose against must give up his right of exclusive pos-
the father and destroyed him because he session over his children. In our society
did not allow them access to the young the feeling against incest is strong. The
women. The origin of the incest taboo father, whether or not overtly incestuous,
October, 1%2 FATHER-DAUGHTER INCEST 213

who exerts total domination over his ponsibility, The more that he "explained"
family and prohibits the healthy social his behaviour, the more it was evident
development of his children eventually is that he could not tolerate being con-
faced with revolt. When his possessive- fronted with the clear-cut facts of his
ness goes as far as incest he is defeated and
incestuous intention. When, however, he
humiliated, and he loses his role of father was asked how he would feel if he saw
as protector and guide. another man acting towards his eldest
daughter in exactly the same way, touch-
Prevention
ing and caressing her, taking her to
Prevention appears not easily possible, movies alone, wanting to be exclusively
unless one member of a family becomes with her and withdrawing her from
aware that incest is likely to occur, and others, he became aware of the real con-
takes some action. This does not happen tent of his feelings. He was able to discuss
frequently to our knowledge. In some these, and from then the interviews went
cases known to us, incest was prevented. on to analyze his incestuous temptations.
In one instance, the wife came to see the As a result, not only did his behaviour to
psychiatrist because of her husband's be- his daughter change, but the marital re-
haviour to his 13-year-old daughter, lationship was more soundly established.
which not only alarmed her, but aroused In the course of relinquishing his
her jealousy. She was further upset be- daughter, he also became. a better father
cause he accused her of being needlessly to his son and younger daughter, both
jealous, and laughed at her fears. The previously rejected.
wife reported that it seemed to her that In another case, the wife reported that
her husband courted the daughter as he the relationship between her husband and
had courted her before their marriage. As daughter was abnormal, and that she was
she described his conduct towards the really afraid of the consequences unless
girl, his caresses and attentions, his pre- something was done. The husband re-
occupation with her to the point of iso- fused to see the psychiatrist, who there-
lating himself and her from the rest of the fore had to limit himself to discussing the
family, it became evident that her problem with the wife, and give her help
jealousy was well founded. The relation- and relevant advice. She took the sugges-
ships in the home were now very strained, tion to remove her daughter from the
as her husband was not interested in his home and sent her to a boarding school,
son, and was abrupt and severe with the thus avoiding the immediate possibility. of
younger daughter, aged 8. In discussing incest. While this did not in itself clarify
her marriage, the wife stated that it had the relationships between wife, husband
been on the whole satisfactory, but that and daughter, she was thus at least able to
in the past few years her sexual drive had protect the family.
diminished, and her husband had grown In a third instance, the father was re-
both less demanding and less interested. ferred to us for a psychiatric problem not
The husband was seen and at first he manifestly related to incest. He was a
denied everything, insisting that his be- very unstable personality, who displayed
haviour was purely fatherly, and there- a compulsive sexuality, had rape fantasies,
fore permissible. He said that his wife's but was never pedophilic. Eventually he
jealousy was highly unreasonable and confessed his fantasies about his 12-year-
that it was she who needed treatment. old daughter and his incestuous desire
Questioned about his lack of interest in for her, which frightened him. He had
his younger children, he replied that as a responded by being extremely severe to
father he would naturally not be as con- her, critical and punishing, in an effort,
cerned over them, as they were still he said, to place distance between them,
young and therefore the mother's res- but also he wished to dominate her ex-
214 CANADIAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION JOURNAL Vol. 7, No.5

elusively. He agreed that his daughter normal relationship, he will return to the
should be removed from the home, but marriage. Should this not be possible, or
before this plan could be carried out he where there were extra-marital affairs
left on his own account, because of the prior to incest, it can be assumed that the
acute conflict, created by the fact that he father may return to these. We have dis-
had confessed to his wife. covered indications of this kind of solu-
tion in our study of some of our offenders
Recidivism
in the penitentiary. The men recounted
Recidivism in incest is rare. By this we that during the first period of imprison-
do not mean the repetition of incestuous ment, they continued to have fantasies
behaviour before disclosure, but after- and dreams about their daughters, but as
wards. While it is not uncommon to see time went on, they began to think of
the incestuous father continue the rela- other women in their fantasies. The image
tionship with one or more daughters, of the daughter as a sexual object began
over a period of years, it is seldom that to fade.
there is a recurrence after he has been The most significant change is the
discovered. Once incest has been dis- father's new awareness of himself. True,
closed, conflicts and relationships pre- he is no longer able to conceal his act,
viously concealed are in the open. Every and he is under constant observation from
member of the family is sharply affected family, social agency, court, etc. But
as the result. added to this, he suddenly finds he is a
The impact of disclosure is perhaps man in middle-age who has mistaken his
sharpest on the mother, who usually role and lost his status. He cannot retrace
responds with shock, depression and with his steps.
anger. Often the anger is partly directed All the children are more or less deeply
against herself for having been so bIind affected by the disclosure of incest. The
and permitted incest to occur. There may daughters who have not been victimized
also be resentment against the daughter by the father, whether or not aware of
for not confiding in her, and some what has happened, will be protected by
jealousy. After the discovery, if the the changes taking place in the parents,
marriage continues or is restored, incest and the new attitudes that are established
will seldom recur. The mother having as the result. Disclosure erects a barrier
worked through her anger and depression between the father and the daughters.
will from then on be conscious of the The position of the sons also changes, as
problem, and be a better guardian of the the father is no longer able to exercise
children. Controls which should have authoritarian power over all the members
existed in the first place are finally of the household.
created, and new insights and attitudes The victimized daughter who has
are established. Should the family be dis- gained her liberation through direct dis-
solved, the separation itself prevents re- closure or through having confided the
currence. fact of incest, is now in a situation where
The changes taking place in the father the father is at last no longer on the scene
are equally decisive in the prevention of This liberation is not achieved without
further incest. In studying the psycho- emotional storm. The fact that in obtain-
pathology of the incestuous father, we ing her freedom the father is humiliated,
have noted that the daughter is a specific degraded and punished carries with it
object relationship in whom the father pain and guilt for her and some regret.
attempted to recapture the mother of his It is rare for a victimized daughter to
childhood. After discovery, this specific wish to inflict on the aggressor father
relationship is no longer available. In the punishment as harsh as that imposed by
event that the wife is willing to resume a society. No matter how unwilling she
October, 1%2 FATHER-DAUGHTER INCEST 215

may have been, an incestuous relationship use every effort to maintain the situation.
is not possible without some love. Be- It is only after disclosure that some
yond the humiliation and devaluation of fathers will accept treatment, either to
the father, one can venture that in the avoid prison, through an enhanced sense
deep silence of the unconscious the image of guilt, through fear of losing their
of the father returns, and remains forever family; sometimes through a genuine need
the undefeated hero of a bygone child- to understand the sources of their be-
hood. haviour. To be noted, however, is that
Treatment though most incestuous fathers co-
Writers on incest agree that many operate in treatment, they will not seek
cases occur that are never brought to it on their own account. This may be
light. Sometimes incest is disclosed only related to their passivity, to their fear of
years after the event, in the course of being humiliated, of being rejected by
clearing up another problem. To be noted the therapist. None of our subjects came
is that these revelations are made by the for treatment spontaneously because of
victim, rarely by the initiator or aggres- the fact of incest. We approached some
sor. The daughter often informs that no- because we knew that they had com-
one in the family was aware at the time, mitted incest, and others were seen by
not even the mother, or that the mother the psychiatrist primarily because of a
may have known but failed to intervene. depressive state, and from then on the
We can only venture to speculate how incest problem was dealt with.
incest ends when it is undiscovered. Our Treatment is often complicated and
impression is that it does not continue made difficult by legal procedures. Public
indefinitely, but comes to a close in the knowledge, involving exposure, brings
normal course of family evolution, with shame on the whole family and may be a
the inevitable changes brought about by great impediment to rehabilitation. An
time, both in the father and daughter. over-long sentence can also create hard-
The daughter rebels, seeks her indepen- ship for all. When a case is conducted
dence, and leaves the home. In the face in camera, on the other hand, there are
of his daughter's rejection, the father much better possibilities of arriving at a
grasps that he is an aging man who cannot sound plan which takes into account the
compete with younger boys. There is a well-being of the whole family, not only
greater or less degree of psychological the punishment of the offender.
damage to all concerned, but also a cer- Incestuous fathers usually have a great
tain amount of self-healing. need to return to the family. In many
In looking at the cases of discovered cases, this may be the best solution, but
endogamic incest, we have noted that the the most important factor to be con-
psychopathology of the father prevents sidered is the attitude of the wife. Treat-
him from maintaining normal, healthy ment and rehabilitation are greatly af-
relationships within the family, or, failing fected by the wife's position on the sub-
this, finding satisfactions outside. Never- ject, her wish for the return of her
theless, the framework of the family is husband to the home, or her repudiation
maintained up to the time of discovery. of him.
There are undoubtedly mounting stresses When the wife rejects her husband
of which various members grow aware, and is unwilling to resume the marriage,
without necessarily knowing what is he usually passes through a depressive
going on. The father realizes the cause of state with a feeling of almost overpower-
the growing tension, but, caught up in ing loss. We have observed such cases in
the incestuous relationship, he is both prison. An incestuous father will fre-
unwilling and unable to seek help, even quently ask for help because of severe
if he feels guilt. He will, on the contrary, symptoms of depression when his wife
216 CANADIAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION JOURNAL Vol. 7, No.5

refuses to forgive him. He sees himself involve themselves, and to work together
as losing everything, wife, family, the mutually towards a common aim.
possibility of being at last a good father
to his children. Sometimes, if the wife has Summary
accused the husband or turned against A study of father-daughter incest con-
him, feelings of anger and bitterness sup- fined to men otherwise non-criminal or
plant the depression. Depression, how- sexually deviant. Incest is here studied
ever, remains not deeply suppressed and mainly in function of the psycho-
whether the father is overtly angry and pathology of the father. The father seeks
resentful or depressed, the feeling of great to find in his daughter the young wife of
loss persists. His basic wish, despite the his early years. Unconsciously, however,
wife's rejection, is to return home. as a young man he was looking for a
In the therapeutic investigation the mother substitute in the girl he was court-
incest phase itself is usually short-lived. ing. We face a paradox, that in taking the
This is not so much because it is avoided, daughter the incestuous father is trying
but it soon ceases to be the focus of treat- to return to the mother. Once incest is
ment as the father grows more involved in discovered, there is rarely repetition. Dis-
his whole personal problem, of which closure brings about a breakdown of pre-
incest is a part. The severity of the reac- existing family relations. This is followed
tive depression is variable, depending either by separation of the participants,
greatly on the extent of punishment, or a re-organization where conscious in-
whether there is a realistic prospect of cest barriers now prevail.
reconciliation, or failing that, the degree
of acceptance of reality of the loss, and References
1. Weinberg, S. K.: "Incest Behaviour".
ability to plan for a future without the Citadel Press, 1955.
wife and family. 2. Kennedy, Miriam: "Dynamics Involved in
Should the incestuous father remain in Family Offences Appearing Before the
the home, the prospect of building a Court". Can. J. Corrections, Vol. 1, No.4,
July 1959, pp. 50-55.
sound marriage depends largely on how 3. Cormier, Bruno M. et at: "Family Conflicts
much husband and wife both accept and Criminal Behaviour". Ibid., Vol. 3, No.
without too much recrimination their 1, January 1961, pp. 18-37.
share of responsibility in the situation, 4. Mannheim, Hermann: "Criminal Justice and
though only one was legally guilty; and Social Reconstruction". New York, Oxford
University Press, 1946, Chapter V, pp. 77-80.
whether there is a possibility of a genuine
5. Nurnberger, H.: "Inzestprobleme der Nach-
change in the marital relationships, per- kriegszeit". Deutsche Z. fiir gerichtliche
mitting husband and wife to assume nor- Med., 44, 1955, pp. 259-261.
mal roles and fulfill their proper function. 6. Greenland, Cyril: "Incest". Brit. J. Delinq.,
They can then be of mutual help to one IX, July 1958, pp. 62-65.
another in trying to establish a marriage 7. Holder, Hans: "Zum Problem der Blut-
schande". Schweizer Archiv fiir Psychiat.
on a healthier basis and in looking to the und Neurol., 64, 1949, pp. 175-196.
protection and eventual independence of 8. Rennert, Helmut: "Zur Problematik des
their children. Inzest", D.Z. fiir ger. Med., 48, 1958, pp.
In treating these husbands and wives, 50-57.
9. Riemer, S.: "Research Notes on Incest".
one becomes aware that incest is an ex- Am. J. Sociol., 1940, pp. 566-575.
treme symptom of family maladjustment Riemer, S.: "The Background of Incestuous
which existed from the beginning of the Relationship". New York, Criminology
marriage, and that the incest was the last (Readings), Dryden Press, 1955, pp. 301-307.
and most serious manifestation. The case 10. Szabo, Denis: "L'Inceste en Milieu Ur-
bain". L'Annee Sociologique, 1957-58, pp.
becomes in effect one of family therapy, 29-93.
the outcome depending on the resources 11. Scherrer, P.: "La Sexualite criminelle en
of husband and wife, their willingness to Milieu rural". Paris, Masson & Cie., 1959.
October, 1962 FATHER-DAUGHTER INCEST 217

12. Von Hentig & Viernstein: "Untersuchun- epouse; 2) la fine remplace non pas
gen tiber den Inzest". Heidelberg. l'epouse vieillissante, mais la jeune epouse
13. Abraham, Karl: "Clinical Papers and Essays
qui fut jadis courtisee; 3) quand il cour-
on Psychoanalysis". New York, Basic Books,
1955, pp. 21-28. tise sa fille, le pere oublie d'une part qu'il
14. Bender, L. and Blau, A.: "Reaction of est le pere et se conduit comme un jeune
Children to Sex Relations with Adults".homme; d'autre part il utilise son autorite
Am. J. Orthopsychiat., 7, 1937, pp. 500-518.
parernelle pour vaincre les resistances de
15. Barry, Maurice J. and Johnson, Adelaide:
sa fine; 4) sa propre epouse devient une
"The Incest Barrier". Psychoan. Quart., 27,
1958, pp. 485-500. figure severe qui chatira et le pere et la
fine si la relation incestueuse est decou-
16. Friedlander, Kate: "The Psychoanalytical
Approach to Juvenile Delinquency". Lon-verte; 5) en derniere analyse, le pere
don, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1947, pp. recherche dans sa fine la mere de son
173-177.
enfance.
17. Sloane, P. and Kapinski, E.: "Effects of
Le pere, dans Ie genre d'inceste decrit
Incest on the Participants". Am. J. of Ortho-
psychiat., 1942, 12, pp. 666-673. dans cette communication, est justement
18. Kinberg, Olaf et al: "Incestproblernet i
tenu responsable legalement. II ne faut pas
Sverige", Natur och Kultur, Stockholm,
1943.
cependant minimiser la responsabilite
19. Kaufman, Irving et al: "The Family Con-psychologique de la fine et de la mere.
L'inceste dans une famille devient possible
stellation and Overt Incestuous Relations
Between Father and Daughter'. Am. J. lorsque pere, mere et fine n'ont pu
of Orthopsychiatry, XXIV, 2, 1954. acquerir les controles necessaires pour
20. Vestergaard, Emma: "Fader-datter Incest".
prevenir les relations incestueuses. L'in-
Nord. Tid. for Kriminalvid., 48, 1960, Pl':
159-188. ceste pere-fille doit etre vu comme un
symptome de relations pathologiques
21. Gordon, Lillian: "Incest as Revenge Against a
the Pre-Oedipal Mother". The Psycho- l'interieur de la famille. Une fois l'inceste
analytic Review, XLII, 1955. connu, la recidive est rare. La decouverte
22. Rascovsky, M. W. and Rascovsky, A.: "On
de l'inceste provoque la dissolution de la
Consummated Incest". Int. J. Psychoanal.,
31, 1950, pp. 42-47. famille ou la reorganisation de la vie
familiale avec des controles normaux in-
23. Freud, S.: "Totem et Tabou". Paris, Payot,
1947. existant avant les relations incestueuses.
Les peines legales contre le pere in-
Resume cestueux sont severes, Cependant le pro-
Les auteurs presentent une etude de 27 nostic est bon, et quand la famille est
peres incestueux. Ces peres incestueux ne referee a une clinique specialisee, le
sont ni des malades mentaux ni des per- probleme peut le plus souvent trouver une
vers sexuels. La psychopathologie du pere solution beaucoup plus humaine que les
incestueux peut se resumer en cinq points: condamnations legales ou condamnes et
1) le pere incestueux desire consciemment victimes ont a souffrir amerement et
sa fine comme une remplacante pour son inutilement.