Chapter 9
DANGERS ON THE ROAD TO WOMANHOOD
Now we have seen the stages the normal woman goes
through on her way to true sexual and psychological maturity,
the step-by-step process of her growth. But we must,
of course, ask what might happen to impede this growth,
what pitfalls lie along the way into which she may stumble
(or be pushed), causing her to develop symptoms of frigidity
and the personality difficulties that always accompany this
frigidity.
I should like to list these pitfalls in the same manner that I showed the normal and unimpeded growth of a woman: by taking the stages of development in the order of their appearance. If you are able to see the specific dangers along the path to grown-uphood, you may avoid repeating them with your own child and may learn much about the origins of your own problem, particularly as I show their application in the specific case histories that follow this chapter.
In the first or infantile stage of development the greatest danger to the child comes from ignorance on the part of the parents. In the past, parents did not know that the newborn babe has sensual feelings that become quite specific by the
