Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality

The first English-language translation of the essays' early form, revealing a radically different approach to psychoanalysis

This new edition of Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality raises the fascinating possibility that Freud suppressed his first and best thoughts on the topic. Only today, when societies have begun the serious work of reconceptualizing sexual identities, can these ideas be properly understood.

Translated from the 1905 edition, this version presents a Freud absent the Oedipal complex. In its place stands his autoerotic theory of sexual development, depicting an understanding of sexuality that transcends binary categorization. In these early essays, the development of self is not rooted in the assumption of a sexual identity. Instead, the imposition of sexual categories on the infant mind becomes a source of neurosis.

With an introduction from leading Freud scholars Philippe Van Haute and Herman Westerink.